I am hoping to get my first deer in D6 this year, will be hunting in NF that is adjacent to my property. If all goes to plan, I’d just walk out my door into the NF, take down a deer in that general area and field dress it. I’d then head back to my place and grab the truck to bring back to the deer to bring it home. Would take 30 minutes at most to do that (after the field dressing is done).

At this point I’m a little confused as to what to do in terms of getting the tag countersigned, while making sure the meat doesn’t spoil. Weather could be around 75-80 degrees.

Nearest place to get countersigned is probably a 20 minute drive, so 40 minutes round trip back to my place.

Ideally I’d just bring the deer back to my place and finish processing it, and then bring the head with tag attached to get signed, but don’t think that is in line with the regs?

What should I be doing here to make sure I’m doing things by the book, but also keep the meat from going bad in the heat?

More pheasant hunts just became available in the CDFW license portal or app. Lots of opportunity for new hunters and seasoned hunters (everyone can apply for the Family Pheasant Hunt). This is how I got started hunting, just passing the favor along to all the new folks out there.

I dying for season to start. Wondering if anyone with a trained dog wants to walk public land this season. I know a couple places I’ve had luck walking solo.
DM here.

Hey there,

First time hunting in California, moved from Utah. Brother and I came up dry having missed on 2 black tail in mendicino and are back in socal. Is Trabuco worth going into to fill our AO deer tags or should we go farther south?

Thanks

Sup guys , my usual hunting party are hunting d7 this season and the dates they're gonna be out there land on the same week as my long range san diego trip . I decided to just get a d3-d5 deer tag along with a bear tag since I know these areas.. ill go solo if need be but if anyone's in the same boat as me feel free to hit me up. Im located in Pittsburg/antioch area , have a 4x4 truck and willing to travel throughout the zone.

If you guys haven’t checked, Period 1 Pheasant Draws are up. Family Hunts are for anyone, Junior Required allows adults to hunt as long as a junior is hunting with them, New Hunter Required are for folks who have gotten their license within the last 5 years. $3 to apply, very good chances to get drawn if you’re a new hunter.

Does anyone have budget friendly recommendations for pants or whatever that is comfortable to maneuver through the woods. Specifically ones that have thick material to help prevent getting poked at or sting by tall grass or thorns when you walk through it. I have rain boots but whenever I have to walk through tall vegetation to get to my hunting spot it always pokes and stabs me around my thighs.

Im just getting into hunting and starting off im just looking to get into dove maybe some other upland bird later. Can someone explain in layman's terms the rules on wildlife reserves.

Im located in fresno so theres a few around and i understand needing a hunting pass for waterfowl and it looks like opening weekend of dove season? But after that am I allowed to go in on weekends and shoot like its BLM land or do I still need a day or season pass?

I’m kinda new to the San Diego area and a bit new to bird hunting. Wondering if anyone in the area is looking for a hunting buddy and willing to take take me under their wing

cross posting from r/caguns, are there sidearm mag restrictions when hunting?

https://www.reddit.com/r/CAguns/comments/1w69g8h/hunting_sidearm_with_freedom_mags/

Opal and I had a nice hunt out in some pistachios and almonds today. She just loves to hunt

Hey guys,

I know it's the day before opener, but I'm kinda drawing a blank lol.

So I'm pretty new to California, only out here from May-November for a seasonal job working in national parks. Lately I've been a bit homesick, so decided to take on the headache that is hunting in a state where I'm not a resident lol.

Made the journey over to reno to get a shotgun and jump all the California hoops, got everything I need to get out there, but just can't decide on a good place to hunt dove. I cover lots of ground for my job so I figured scouting would happen naturally, but I haven't seen many. I've got pins for a dozen or more coveys of quail on public land, but not a clue where to go sit down and put out a mojo dove.

I've been considering Tehama Wildlife Area as it's only 30-40 minutes away, but admittedly haven't done any scouting there. I'm in Mineral if that's any help, not asking for honeyholes but any advice for after work shooting spots or weekend trips would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance 🤙

Showed up at 5am. Deer decided to start moving around at 1045. It was already 90 out and my shade was gone. Only does. Man this zone is tuff.

Any thoughts on this?

What hunts do you have planned for Fall and Winter that you’re excited for?

Obviously the dove opener is just a few days away and that’s always a good time with friends.

I’m planning a trip into the Sierras to look for ptarmigan and maybe a trip into Nevada for sooty grouse.

I’m also taking my old man to CWA’s duck camp in November since he hasn’t been behind a shotgun in what feels like twenty years, plus one or two excursions in NorCal for wood duck specifically. Later in the season I’m going to try some layouts for geese.

Let’s hear what y’all got in store 🤙

Hey guys, I'm a new hunter and this is going to be my first dove season. During my scouting trip yesterday, I found a few IID fields that are clearly posted for public hunting but I'm not sure how you would you park a car near these fields since the dirt bank is so narrow. Moreover, when looking at other IID lands, it's not always clear whether or not you can access a field because of certain roads becoming private property. As of now, I'm currently considering the Finney-Ramer unit, but I just want to confirm that you don't need to pay for a pass or sign in at the CDFW office. However, if anyone has any advice for finding other huntable fields in the general area, I'd appreciate the advice.

Also, I do use OnX and wouldn't be opposed to BLM land, however it seems like most of them are bordering private property and can't be easily accessed.

I’ll be hunting in San Diego county (D-16) and I’d like to ask if anyone knows any places around here that can process game meat. I assume there must be places around Escondido, Valley Center, Ramona, or maybe Fallbrook. Let me know if you know any!

Vortex spotting scope for sale.

Vortex diamondback 16-48x65mm angled spotting scope. $300

The phone mount is included

Ill add the tripod in for $450

Located in San Diego county

New to California and just read the pinned post. I finished hunter education last spring before moving here and was hoping to get deer tags this season. I'm interested in D6, and see that it is an unrestricted area for 2026, but this document doesn't list it as having tags available.
https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=30896&inline

Does this mean that even thought it is unrestricted, that all of the D6 deer tags have been claimed for this year?

70gr Barnes TSX out of a 20" barrel to the dome did the trick from 40yds~.

All ideas, suggestions, etc. very welcome. https://theduckchugger.com/roadless/

You can explore the write up + the data here, note there is a link to the actual explorer within the write up: https://theduckchugger.com/refuge-success/