Your opinions?

[180SST]

Why has hunting gotten so bad in California? When I was a kid it wasn't great, but it seems to be really bad in comparison. What is your opinion? Is it really all dfg's fault? Or is it the predators? Winter kills? Hunters? Just curious what you think? I'm mainly talking about deer but what about the rest of the game in this state? It all seems like it's getting really bad! My oldest son is seven years old, by the time he's 12 will there be anything to hunt here or better yet what about his kids? This state needs a turn around!

 

[6x7]

Combanation of habitat and hunters I think,areas we hunte in the 80s in xzones are void of deer ecspecialy in the higher country, its all choked with timber the sage and bitterbrush is running out.Now comes the hunter part, all the guys that draw the tags seem to go to the same spots they use to hunt in the 80s,I hear it everytime I draw from other camps,about how the zone use to be great and that the deer were all over and now they cant find anything.
The deer are there just not as many or in the same places they use to be,with scouting they can be found,Since the draw has been in place I have had 5 xzone tags and taken 650 inches of antler,my girlfriend has drawn once and took a 175 inch buck, my brother has drawn two archery tags and has 1 buck at 173 and the buck he was huting the year he didnt get one was well over 175.
The key is scouting new areas, we spend a lot of time starting in july looking for new places incase years past spots dont produce,Which does happen.With the wet year last year one of our go to spots was void of deer we had to go to a back up spot which still produced three bucks for us.

 

[huntaddict]

Wolves...

 

[larrbo]

Mountain Lions

 

[sageadvice]

Coyotes

Joey


"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

 

[huntaddict]

On a serious note, I blame urban sprawl and over grown forests. I just recently read an article on the game and fish magazine website that was written by a nor cal biologist, he explained his view on what has happened, or hasn't happened, to our forests. It makes sense to me from what I have seen. If I knew how to share a link I would.

 

[sageadvice]

LAST EDITED ON Feb-06-12 AT 01:04PM (MST)[p]Huntaddict, hope you know that that is F&Game cool-aid that you are drinking! I've been to half a dozen meetings and the Biologists themselves admit that they can't do anything about the mt lions so they talk of what they can.

Come up to Chester sometime and look at all the prime empty deer habitat. i can show you millions of acres without hardly any deer that used to hold thousands, a very healthy deer herd!

Until our major predator problem is addressed and dealt with, all the great habitat and Urban withdrawal in the world is not going to help.

Joey


"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

 

[brownie]

+1 SAGE

Brownie

 

[Abiggerfish2fry]

BIGFOOT!

 

[huntaddict]

I don't need to go to chester, I can go just about anywhere in Nevada, a state that hunts mtn. lions, and look at 100's of thousands of acres of prime deer habitat that is void of deer.

 

[6x7]

They even fly helicopters and shoot from the air for dogs in nevada in fawning areas and the herds still have troubles.

 

[180SST]

I hunted Nevada 2 years ago and found probably ten carcass's that looked to be lion kills. Still saw around 50 bucks in 5 days! There were lion tracks and scat everywhere eventhough I did not see one, they were there and from the looks of it they were thriving on deer. I'm hopefully going there again this year if we draw and maybe I can compare. Do the lions have that big of an impact or are they something to blame when we can't figure the real reason out? As far as California goes, did the mountain lions eat 70% of the states deer in the last 20 years?

 

[huntaddict]

No doubt lions have an impact on deer numbers, but they aren't the only reason herd numbers have declined.

 

[Abiggerfish2fry]

This is what it looks like when a mountain kitty finds your kill first!

 

[180SST]

Wow that's a cool picture! I found a nice 4 point buck up in x3b covered up just like that years ago.

 

[Abiggerfish2fry]

Yep that was my New Mexico muzzy hunt in unit 17 two years ago! Bad thing was when I walked up Miss Kitty was still there!

 

[6x7]

Deer herd numbers have never realy increased since the winter of 92,I think it was.

 

[BuckSnort]

>Deer herd numbers have never realy
>increased since the winter of
>92,I think it was.

The winter of 92 did nothing to the majority of this state IMHO.. Other western states yes but not CA..Winters (even the tough ones) are not as severe here for the majority of the state..

I would say fire suppression and the downfall of logging has played a crucial role in the decline of our deer herd, between that and over predation..

Disclaimer:
The poster does not take any responsibility for any hurt or bad feelings. Reading threads poses inherent risks. The poster would like to remind readers to make sure they have a functional sense of humor before they visit any discussion board.

 

[huntindad4]

X-1000 Snort!

Quit pizzing out all of the fires and do some subscribed burns and a little more logging with less regulation. Bring back cougar hunting and a coyote bounty. These things will help Cali deer herds but will NEVER really happen IMO.

Bill

Kill the buck that makes YOU happy!

 

[6x7]

When I talk deer I forget about the rest of the state,The winter of 92 put the hurts on the northern x-zones ,we hunted a unit for years that gave out 2000 plus tags before that year now and since then its only around 500.
My father has a friend thats a train enginer and his route was roseville to susanville in the winter of 92 he said they killed hundreds and hundres of deer.The train plows cut a deep trench from hwy 70 and 395 to susanville and when the deer crossed it they droped down in it and couldnt get out. wiped out alot of the x6 herd that hadnt crossed before the storms hit.
The guy said it was preaty sick to watch and the snow along the edge was blood red for a few miles.

 

[6x7]

LAST EDITED ON Feb-07-12 AT 03:16PM (MST)[p]>X-1000 Snort!
>
>Quit pizzing out all of the
>fires and do some subscribed
>burns and a little more
>logging with less regulation.

They need to start logging the juniper in the x-zons,You would think they could make the into grocery bags or chip it for co generation plants.
most foot hill Areas of nevada are a waste land of pinyon and juniper It kinda makes me sick to see how thick it is.

 

[manny53]

lets see, Cali hasn't had a hunting season on Mt. lions Since the early 1970s so do the math...

http://www.csus.edu/indiv/b/burnettc/JOUR135/handouts/Sample Bill Article.doc

 

[brownie]

Don't forget about the bears and the coyotes! Here in the Eastern Sierra, their as big a problem on newborn fawns as lions are on the herd.

Thanks

Brownie

 

[180SST]

LAST EDITED ON Feb-07-12 AT 10:02PM (MST)[p]well all this talk about how predators are affecting our deer herd, i decided to try to do my part to bring the herd back! As of today there are 2 less fawn eaters!

 

[Wiszard]

I hunted Nevada (area 10) in 2010. We hunted for 5 days and I saw something I had never seen in the wild before (I've been hunting for 28 years). My Dad and I witnessed 3 coyotes chasing a doe. I thought it was really cool as we were watching nature take it's course. I don't know if the yotes ever caught up to her or not. The scary thing is that we saw the same thing happen the following day in an area about 15 miles from there. At first we thought, again, pretty cool. Until we sat and thought about it....never seen that before but we see it twice in 2 days? Something is wrong...

Steve
Worlds Best ebayer
Great transaction, fast payment, A+++++

 

[Buckhunter1]

Heck I kind of think the huntin here in No Cal aint so bad. Not a problem to kill my 3 longbeards every year.Crap kind of get tired of killin hogs as well. You can find some good blacktail hunting as well off the roads in our Bzone wilderness areas.GReat big bears in there too.Never even ventured over the border this year to kill plenty of red legs.When the timing is right and with the right tag I know a guy can find a great muley, big bull elk and large antelope. Just gotta have a little faith and some luck..just my thoughts. BH1

 

[Califelkslayer]

6X7, IMO you are right on if you're talking about this NE corner. When i drove up here for my interview in May of 89. I never got up to the speed limit, 55 back then, all the way from Bordertown to Susanville. There were deer on the road so often I had to brake before I got to 55. Highway 44 was even worse all summer. You can get to Redding 45 minutes faster these days.

BUT lions, urban sprawl and coyotes have stopped the deer from coming back.

I met an old timer when i moved up here. After the 92/93 winter I was worrying over all the deer that died. he told me not to worry. 1951 was worse and the record amount of deer killed in Lassen County happened in 1954. he told me they'd come back quick. They never have.

The differences are no lion hunting and homes on wintering grounds.

 

[180SST]

Are any of you guys going to that Adin coyote contest? If so good luck! Maybe in a few more years of having this contest the deer herd around there will look a little better!

 

[Califelkslayer]

24 hours and the best anyone out of 200+ teams could do was 6 lst year?? Everyone i know that participated took a 1 or a 0.

They should have this hunt the weekend after deer season when the yotes are still dumb if the goal is to improve the deer herd.

And I know a team that hunted east of Denio, so that won't affect Kali's herds.

After all those negative comments, I'm still appreciate everyone doing their part.

 

[bucksandducks]

Fire supression in the west and the 92 winter in the east then in certain year fish and game moved the season back a week and shorten the season making it harder to have weather when hunting season is on I feel there is still some deer around just harder to see them in the earlier season.

 

[180SST]

After reading all these posts, I think it's a combination of what everyone is saying. Sure Dfg could do a much better job at managing wildlife, controlling tag qoutas and maybe bring back the 3 point or better rules they used to have. Bring back a limited tag qouta on the mountain lions. Maybe offer a bounty for the coyotes. Those are things that are up to the Dfg. But I like the ideas of the coyote contests and the people that try to do thier part be it predator hunting or donating money to DU, RMEF, CWA, CMDA. I love to see hunters and outdoorsmen pull together to do our part. Thanks for all your opinions! I think we are all on the right track, we just need to keep doing our part and hopefully things will get better. Good luck this year and I hope you all make some great memories and share them with all of us on this great site.