Some advice for J10 (FHL Junior deer hunt)

D

danville80

Member
Messages
21
Hi All,

Our 15 yrs old daughter drew a J10 tag. Really great as this was her last year as a Junior. I have only been to FHL once, about 10 yrs back so not too familiar with the area and rules. I applied for the hunter access about 3 weeks back but haven't gotten the clearance yet. Did receive the firearms permit.

I could sure use some advice from someone who has had their kids do this hunt recently. Will probably want to go once or twice before then to get a bit familiar with FHL.

Will some of the better areas for J10 be shotgun only and she should practice with a shotgun? I have a savage 220 that I have never shot. If needed, I can put on a scope and have her practice. She is petite though. While hunting antelope in Wyoming, she preferred a weatherby 300 WM with a muzzle brake ove a 30-06 because the lower recoil with a MB.

Any advice would be hugely appreciated. She is hoping to get a buck so she can get a shoulder mount in her room. She only drew doe tags in wyoming.

Best,
Bob
 
I was looking for the wild life biologist for theat area on the FHL site. But could not find it. Anybody have any idea? Otherwise I could just call the main office and ask.
 
I have seen some rutting that early, but not for several years and I have seen new borns at the start of archery , which would mean rutting like in January. Good luck reaching someone by phone. Be prepared to hunt primitive weapon and you will most likely be alone.
 
Jim runs the hunt programs. Very helpful.

IMG_6087.jpeg
 
wildfin said:
I have seen some rutting that early, but not for several years and I have seen new borns at the start of archery , which would mean rutting like in January. Good luck reaching someone by phone. Be prepared to hunt primitive weapon and you will most likely be alone.
Click to expand...
The rut along the central coast is way different than the rut period for So Cal deer. I grew up hunting D-14, D-11, and LA County archery (S-2/A-31) and they were later. In fact, I can vividly remember hunting D-14 the last weekend and seeing the rut starting to kick in (mid November). Our central coast deer will start to rut in mid- to late September and can vary quite a bit by location. Right along the coast they can be rutting pretty hard the last few days of the season (mid-Sept), then in an area 30 miles inland they haven't started yet. I shot this buck on Sept 20 and he was full rut chasing does and fighting off smaller bucks. Last year I was in the same spot just before Thanksgiving and the bucks had grouped back up together without does. The buck in velvet walked down my driveway on June 19 this year and is nearly done growing. The buck in the brush was in full rut too and that pict was taken Sept 28th. FHL should be rutty on Sept 30th, but come Oct 7, 8, 9 they should be going pretty good.

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My oldest daughter drew it last year and my younger one this year. Bucks were in the rut on the first weekend. All the open zones were not officially announced until the hunter briefing the night before the hunt. There are zones open for all types of weapon, so prepare for what suits you best. It was/is a great hunt and you’ll see lots of animals. Elk everywhere to look at and buy a pig tag.
 
wildfin said:
I have seen some rutting that early, but not for several years and I have seen new borns at the start of archery , which would mean rutting like in January. Good luck reaching someone by phone. Be prepared to hunt primitive weapon and you will most likely be alone.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! I went through the area maps for FHL on their website. I see some areas like 29, 13E, etc marked as "No rifles". Does that mean all these areas can be hunted with shotguns with slugs? I did not see any area marked just muzzleloader.
I don't think I have enough time between now and then to procure a muzzleloader, become proficient myself and train my petite daughter on that.
 
Bwht4x4 said:
The rut along the central coast is way different than the rut period for So Cal deer. I grew up hunting D-14, D-11, and LA County archery (S-2/A-31) and they were later. In fact, I can vividly remember hunting D-14 the last weekend and seeing the rut starting to kick in (mid November). Our central coast deer will start to rut in mid- to late September and can vary quite a bit by location. Right along the coast they can be rutting pretty hard the last few days of the season (mid-Sept), then in an area 30 miles inland they haven't started yet. I shot this buck on Sept 20 and he was full rut chasing does and fighting off smaller bucks. Last year I was in the same spot just before Thanksgiving and the bucks had grouped back up together without does. The buck in velvet walked down my driveway on June 19 this year and is nearly done growing. The buck in the brush was in full rut too and that pict was taken Sept 28th. FHL should be rutty on Sept 30th, but come Oct 7, 8, 9 they should be going pretty good.

View attachment 115028

View attachment 115029

View attachment 115030
Click to expand...
Thank you very much Bwht4x4! That is super helpful and the pictures are extremely interesting to see! I think it will be very interesting to be there that weekend in October to experience the rut.

​

 
GunSlinger said:
My oldest daughter drew it last year and my younger one this year. Bucks were in the rut on the first weekend. All the open zones were not officially announced until the hunter briefing the night before the hunt. There are zones open for all types of weapon, so prepare for what suits you best. It was/is a great hunt and you’ll see lots of animals. Elk everywhere to look at and buy a pig tag.
Click to expand...
Hi Gunslinger, Thanks for sharing! Thats a great picture. She must have been delighted! And great that your younger daughter drew it this year! Hope she joined you last year on the hunt with the elder daughter. Look forward to seeing you at the briefing the Friday before. Are you planning to camp? I was thinking of the IHG hotel on base (Gibbs). Hope to make a couple trips before that. Have a few overseas trips to make before that so hope we get the access approved soon.
 
GunSlinger said:
Interesting, I have not received anything yet. I’ll wait another week and reach out to them.
Click to expand...
I had sent out applications on June 16. For our daughter it was just a copy of the junior hunting license since the do not need clearance for access. Still taking this long for both of us.
 
danville80 said:
I had sent out applications on June 16. For our daughter it was just a copy of the junior hunting license since the do not need clearance for access. Still taking this long for both of us.
Click to expand...
Last year for my other daughter I got paperwork from FHL to fill out and send in, and also info to get base clearance and register hunting rifle.
 
I received an email from FHL saying we were both cleared from vetting and approved to buy our yearly pass, which I then did.
I think my daughter is all set now.....
 
Bwht4x4 said:
The rut along the central coast is way different than the rut period for So Cal deer. I grew up hunting D-14, D-11, and LA County archery (S-2/A-31) and they were later. In fact, I can vividly remember hunting D-14 the last weekend and seeing the rut starting to kick in (mid November). Our central coast deer will start to rut in mid- to late September and can vary quite a bit by location. Right along the coast they can be rutting pretty hard the last few days of the season (mid-Sept), then in an area 30 miles inland they haven't started yet. I shot this buck on Sept 20 and he was full rut chasing does and fighting off smaller bucks. Last year I was in the same spot just before Thanksgiving and the bucks had grouped back up together without does. The buck in velvet walked down my driveway on June 19 this year and is nearly done growing. The buck in the brush was in full rut too and that pict was taken Sept 28th. FHL should be rutty on Sept 30th, but come Oct 7, 8, 9 they should be going pretty good.

View attachment 115028

View attachment 115029

View attachment 115030
Click to expand...
That last pic with the deer in the brush is a bomber of a buck. I saw one like this at FHL many moons ago. Of course it was 1 day after deer season closed. :ROFLMAO:
 
KGParker said:
I received an email from FHL saying we were both cleared from vetting and approved to buy our yearly pass, which I then did.
I think my daughter is all set now.....
Click to expand...
We got that as yesterday. Are you planning to camp on the base, and any plans to go there between now and the J10 weekend?
 
danville80 said:
We got that as yesterday. Are you planning to camp on the base, and any plans to go there between now and the J10 weekend?
Click to expand...
yes, we will camp at the base and hunt from there....not sure if we are going to hunt the general season or not...I try and stay away from FHL...it's not like it was in the 80's & 90's.....I did sign up to maybe hunt pigs and turkey, but not sure if I will hunt the A just yet...we live in Salinas, so it is only a little over an hour away.
 
Hi Guys I'm a little late to the game but my buddy let me know there was a thread going on this hunt. My daughter got this tag as well and we have received nothing. I was vetted for last season when I helped out on an elk hunt but forgot to redo it so that's in the process, I got my guns cleared, and my daughter should not need to be vetted since she is 14. What am I missing. I can't wait she hasn't hunted much but has been with me and my son on a ton of hunts. All of a sudden she says she's ready so here we go. Thanks and good luck to all.
 
ofdscooby said:
Hi Guys I'm a little late to the game but my buddy let me know there was a thread going on this hunt. My daughter got this tag as well and we have received nothing. I was vetted for last season when I helped out on an elk hunt but forgot to redo it so that's in the process, I got my guns cleared, and my daughter should not need to be vetted since she is 14. What am I missing. I can't wait she hasn't hunted much but has been with me and my son on a ton of hunts. All of a sudden she says she's ready so here we go. Thanks and good luck to all.
Click to expand...
Good you have your vetting in process. At some point before the hunt we are supposed to get some additional info on the hunt. None of us have it yet
 
Bump, lol.
Anybody bring bass rods when they hunted? When we drew the other night, I told Junior to come in here and look. I said “look what you drew”, he said “ is that the place with the elk and all the bass ponds?”
He has always much preferred hunting to fishing, but recently has now become addicted to bass fishing. He’s going to want to fish every pond we drive by if it’s open 🤣
 
canyoncrosser said:
Bump, lol.
Anybody bring bass rods when they hunted? When we drew the other night, I told Junior to come in here and look. I said “look what you drew”, he said “ is that the place with the elk and all the bass ponds?”
He has always much preferred hunting to fishing, but recently has now become addicted to bass fishing. He’s going to want to fish every pond we drive by if it’s open 🤣
Click to expand...
That’s Awesome Jeff, hope he has a great Hunt.
 

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