Thanks for the helpful video. I’ve been planning for this year’s deer and bear seasons for months in our D-8 zone. Had a great time hunting mountain quail in our area last season. Also saw quite a few bucks and a nice cinnamon-phase bear, but unfortunately I hadn’t purchased tags that year, so I’m looking forward to this coming season.
Good advice. I Personally hunt D6 for the last 25 years 14 bucks in those years never had a shot over 150 yards. I will not kill anything under 3x3 I would rather go without filling my tag than take anything less. I started scouting in March putting my cameras up. I checked them on the fourth of July two nice bucks on video well see if there still there when I check again. Once again good advice for the long shot
So fellas I put one down at 10:26 am nice 3x3 Sunday. I would post a picture here but not sure you can. 35 yard shot waited about 90 hours in same location for this guy. Sun up to sunset. Choked on him on the second weekend of the season, he seen me before I could react, moved my location 80 feet in better cover, at 10:00 am 6 very large doe went running by in a hurry. 21 minutes later he came from the opposite direction at a slow pace feeding until he was in perfect shooting position. Funny thing the no lead ammo recashash crazy left shoulder though the heart off the rib cage through his core without hitting his stomach out the bottom by his man hood taking out his left nut. Lead would have went right through.
Awesome video thanks. First year deer hunting with the wife. We are thinking of hitting B5. Do you suggest we wait a few weeks until after opening day, is there any benefits of that? Many years duck hunting, hiking and back packing, but first time deer hunting! Getting excited.
David Godinez There’s nothing like opening day of hunting season - it’s always fun. As the saying goes, you can’t kill deer from the couch! Especially as new hunters, we recommend spending as much time in the field as possible. There’s nothing that will replicate actual hunting experience
Thanks for the tips Boys! Just moved to SoCal from North Idaho and stoked to be Surfing again and going to be hunting first time in CA!! We rarely get long shots up North and I do 50yd zeros at the gun club I belong to and then move over to the big rznge and shoot 200/300/400 and I’m good for the season(s). I’m most interested in hunting way south in San Diego county have y’all ever??
Awesome video guys always appreciate the tips. First time hunter this year so super stoked! I do have a question, how do you guys select your camp area when hunting back country? is there a rule of thumb? obviously a little nervous about bears.
There are a few unwritten rules, like don't camp over a water source in dry country, don't camp in a spot where it will disturb the area you want to hunt (will the wind carry your camp smells to animals?), and don't camp under dead trees that are still standing (there's a reason they are called "widow makers"). As far as bears, just be cautious and you'll have nothing to worry about. Hang your food 100 yards from camp, don't eat in your tent, don't leave food or scraps/wrappers in or around camp, etc. Also, be mindful of non-food items that still smell good to a bear, like toothpaste, gum, etc. Best to keep those out of your tent (put them in the same food bag you hang your food in). Great questions! Hope this helps.
@@CacciaOutdoors thanks for the tips. I’ve looked everywhere on the tube and had no luck finding info on this. Thanks again and keep the videos coming, huge fan!
Tx guys, im a new hunter. Pulled a d7 tag and have some areas there im wanting to explore. Would you recommend sighting in relatively near to your hunting zone? I used to be a backpacking guide and intend to head into medium high country looking for burns, etc. Obviously don't want to even sight in nearby where i intend to hunt but do you often find yourself sighting in relatively nearby ? Tx!
@@maddawgnoll Technically that is true, just as the sound of thunder won't push out deer. However, gunfire is a result of human activity, and human activity absolutely pushes deer out of an area. Deer associate gunfire with humans.
What are the steps you take after you successfully shot a deer ? I heard your tags has to be signed by a law enforcement officer or something like that!! How does that work ? Also how many rounds can you have in your rifle ? Is it only 3 like shotgun ? Shotgun has a plug rifle does not lol kinda confusing How this works with rifle if it’s restricted to 3 only!! And thank you for the great tips
Great questions! Your best course of action is to find the answers in the CA hunting regulations handbook. Here is the link to the handbook nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=191772&inline
Andrew Bounkhoume It’s generally a tough area to hunt due to high predation and low population levels. Look for areas with good water and access to quality feed, and then find the trails to and from food/water. Thick, steep, and nasty north facing slopes will be your best friends. Good luck!
Nice video please let me add the more days you hunt better chance you have most california zones require at least 20 days of hunting look at the stats for the zone.....sooner or later you will spot some thing.....
Hey nick! Thanks for the reply. You can email me any questions or info you’d like. ben@cacciaoutdoors.com I can’t promise a prompt response, but we’ll do our best to get back to you before too long.
Archery seasons start in August (except for A zone), and most rifle seasons start in September. Your best bet is to read the annual CDFW annual rules and regulations publication. That is always the best place to start. Good luck!
You must decide on your zone when purchasing your tag. We recommend getting the CADFW handbook and reading it cover to cover. The process can be confusing, so get your info from the source is the best way to go.
We've never hunted that far south in California. Does D16 get a lot of hunting traffic during general season? It seems like the area would be best hunted with a solid knowledge of remote water sources
The main advantage I know of for a 200 yard zero is that no dialing is needed. If you have something even like a .308 and choose a fast enough round and type into your app, you will notice a rise and fall in the point blank range (PBR) 2 inches at most. So, envision a tube and your bullet goes in at the near zero or crossover, somewhere between 25 and 40 yards and then it rises and falls and crosses back over the x axis or line of sight at 200 yards and continues to drop. There is a point where it has dropped enough to be out of the vital are of a deer, such as the chest. That is MPBR, or maximum point blank range. So, just shoot with in the PBR. That means get closer. Don't shoot past 200 yards. You can if you want to but consult the drop chart you calculated to see what elevation to twist. Most guys hunting long range are mounting their scope on a 20 MOA canted rail and zeroing at 200 or 300 mainly because they don't plan to shoot under that. Zeroing at 100 is good. Where I hunt is extremely forested, much more than you have in that scenery there. I would be lucky to have a shot going 50 yards. So, with a zero at 100, I can raise the turret 3 clicks for .75 to .80 MOA and aim dead on. Another thing I have learned is that deer can move very slow and you are not likely to see the movie perfect trot into main view, broadside, that we get to see here. It's going to be a movement of brown amongst the tree trunks. A number of great shots have been through a maze of trees at 100 yards or less, with a shooting window of no more than maybe 10 inches. Hence the need to practice. And practice with the ammo you intend to hunt with. You may enjoy Nosler performance but if that is not what you are hunting with, you may get different results when you put in your Hornady American Whitetail, for example. Make sure you have a rifle with a 1 MOA guarantee. At most, you may get 3 shots at a deer before he is gone. But mostly, you are going to get the harvest on the first shot. So, you need a dead on the crosshairs rifle on the cold bore shot. I have found some barrels can hold accuracy as they heat up. Your regular taper can do it. Medium bull can certainly do it. The 4150M chrome moly barrel on my AR-10 can do it. Thin fluted barrels can flex a little more. Most important is what you guys said here. Hunt in the range of your competency. Right now, I am shooting 1/4 MOA to 3/4 MOA with a really good barrel at 100 yards. I consider myself competent to 100 yards. If I could test myself at 200 yards, that would increase my competency. In Jeff Cooper's "Art of the Rifle," he advises to never shoot off hand, to always shoot supported. Great advice, not always possible, and he knew that. So, don't rely on the off hand shot, but I still practice once in a while. Because it might be your only shot on the last legal minutes of light on the last day of the season. I don't say that to be dramatic. Many times, the coincidence and seeming chaos of our world is such that you could be in this very situation. Two choices. A) stand there and say, "wow." B) take the shot. You will be wavering around. The rifle may be 1/2 MOA rifle but your huffing and puffing may have you circling 1.5 to 2 MOA. Let the circle grow smaller, take the shot. Or wait until next season.
Great question! The answer is highly subjective. A "resident" buck can remain in a relatively small area (10 acres or less), only traveling to feed, water and bed as needed. However, a migratory buck may travel 60 miles once winter hits the high country. Usually, movement is predicated on pressure, moon phase, availability of feed, and water. The rut is another reason for movement, but we don't hunt the rut in Cali so it's a moot point. A buck that has been spooked out of his "living room" might only travel a quarter mile to the next drainage, or he may keep going for several miles. Again, it's highly subjective.
CACCIA Outdoors thanks, I’ve got bucks on my cams one week then there gone, covered the hole area by foot. Could I be walking past them it’s a thick area with heavy trails and sign
@@antman993 What time of day are they passing by? Are they traveling uphill or down? If you covered the whole area by foot you may have pushed them out. They are magicians at finding cover. Your best bet may be to ambush them
CACCIA Outdoors most of them are in the morning heading downhill, but sometimes one or two during the day. I assume there bedded down since we had that heat wave but I’m supprised we didn’t jump anything. Guess I have to spend more time up there and probably walk n stop more
@@antman993 Sounds like they're headed down for water or feed from a bedding area (usually they bed uphill from feed/water). They're probably taking a different route coming back up. I would advise following the trail downhill to find the water and/or feed, and there's your ambush spot.
You should know your rifle and what it does for where your hunting. Zero it at 100 and know your clicks. No sniper zeros their gun at 200. Thats a great way to miss. If your already doping your scope for longer shots zero it at 100 you don't wanna miss those close shots because your now guessing where to aim
Agree to disagree. The trajectory in the initial 200 yards of projectile flight is flat enough to substantiate a 200 yard zero, as there is less than 2" of variance at 100 yards and closer.
