D6, D7 wilderness hunting...
Last year I backpacked about 5 miles into the Mt. Hooper area for a 3 day hunt over opening weekend for rifle season. Didn't see anything except a few road hunters on the way back to my truck, but it was still an awesome trip. This year I'm going to get an AO tag and hunt A zone as well as D7 and maybe D6 as well, just to get some more time out in the mountains.
Basically, I had a horrible season last year hunting D7 as far as deer sightings go with 0! Not one doe spotted in 4-5 weekends from the North boundary all the way to the South boundary and from the foothills up to 10,000ft. I have heard that most people had a bad season last year, so I guess that takes some of the sting out if it. I'm not really used to that coming from Oregon where I would at least see doe's on almost every trip.
My buddy told me I should try D6, I'm not familiar with D6 at all however(Or A zone for that matter). I guess my question is should I stick with D7 and just keep trying some different spots or is it time to move on? At least I know where NOT to go this year....haha. Also, I found most of the high country difficult to glass due to the timber that grows right up to rock where I would expect to spot a mt. goat instead of a mule deer. I am already planning several backpacking/hunting/fishing trips in D7 for this summer but I am obviously missing something. Will somebody please point me in the right direction?
Last edited by desertcj; 04-22-2012 at 03:01 PM.
By the way, I'm not looking for you to tell me your' secret spot. I'd just like to know what I'm doing wrong or what I should be doing....
Where the hell you live d-cj? Your screen name would leave me to think you are a SoCal desert wheeler -- not true? Never mind, not pertinent. But BE AWARE, there is an ongoing yearly joke in our neck of the woods here in D7 country -- THERE ARE NO DEER IN D7. Mostly intended to keep outsiders from finding out how beautiful our landscape is around here because folks keep coming here just for the enjoyment of it.
But to address your question, there were deer in the areas that were in areas we could drive to, but not a lot that I heard of. Check out the old posts from D7 from last year and you will see that some very good deer were taken in areas accessible by vehicle, just needed to hump the hill a bit.
Lions are wiping out a lot of areas. You gotta get up there and find sign on the ground to know if the game is in the area. Some of my old areas are pretty much totally out of deer track sign.
I'm a big fan of the 9,000 ft level.
Vintage 1946
I live in the Madera area. That's just my screen name I use on all forums on the internet. Yes I am into rockcrawling and yes I go to the desert in so cal. Last year was the first year I've hunted in CA since moving here from Oregon so I just tried as many different spots as I could find. I did my share of hiking as well, so I wasn't just cruising roads in a truck like the rest of the hords. I did find some sign, some fresh but most of it was several weeks old I would say. I did find a tall fork shed in one spot, but all that tells me is that there was a buck there during the winter when the season isn't openI'm leaning towards concentrating on D7 again this year before jumping ship and having to figure out a whole new unit. I have 5-6 specific areas I'd like to check this year and almost all of them are at least a 3 mile hike in. I guess time will tell. I am wanting to hunt A zone with an AO tag just so I can start hunting earlier in the year. I'm sure you guys can understand! Also, with an archery tag I'm thinking it could be a whole different story starting a month before I did last year.
Last edited by desertcj; 04-22-2012 at 07:18 PM.
A zone is the coastal area of the State. It's pretty rugged. (And hot. And dry. And mostly private property. And closed in a lot of areas where there ARE nice looking deer. And LOADED with ticks and snakes.) What's more, the successful hunt numbers are very low. Successful hunters scout and keep tabs on the herds since they are not migratory in A zone. The biggest problem with this is that the herds aren't really herding together. They're really spread out. To the point of even the does being in small groups of 2 to 3 with 4 being the max including fawns.
I know some people in the lower Sierra (D7 & 8) and they have been telling me that the deer populations are way way way down. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't any deer up there. What it means is that you have to scout and keep tabs on the herds as they move on their migration paths.
Since either zone will require that you spend some time in the woods scouting, I'd suggest picking one zone and working it until you know where the game is. When choosing, look at the success rates for each zone.
Last edited by Rob P.; 04-22-2012 at 08:11 PM.
I hunt in D6 and I've wondered what D7 is like. I guess the deer look more common 'on the other side of the fence'. I'd encourage you to stick with D7 another year.
HAHA, thanks for the encouragement. From my experience, D7 is either lots of hunters or no deer....sometimes both! Hopefully the no deer experience will change for me this year.Originally Posted by JohnCo
Try the Mineretts area and get way back off the roads. Look for lots of big granet and tree line. Get up high and spend your time spotting and glassing the bowls and drainages. When you see a buck put it to bed and then plan your route keeping the wind right. If the wind isn't right dont blow him out, he will be there until someone pushes him out. Wind usually changes mid to late morning so plan your stalk accordingly and make sure you have several hours to slip in on him. If you can take a spotter it will help. Just my 2 cents. Good luck!!
A lot of once great zones have gotten hammered by road shooters over the last 20 years, making it harder to find quality bucks. But they are there if you spend a lot of time looking.
IMHO, hike back into areas that border the National Parks away from roads or trails, use the 7/8s rule, use good glass and spend ALL day looking, concentrate on the big three: food, water and cover. That being said, older bucks do not use the same areas that the dinks and does do, look for out of the way places up high that have absolutely no easy way in without being spotted, places that have food and shade near a small water source. Bucks can hide in the smallest cover and since they are mostly nocturnal it is hard catching them out in the open.
Both D6 and D7 are great places with incredible scenery, enjoy the country...
Last edited by easymoney; 04-23-2012 at 05:53 PM.
Stop Global Whining...
DFG has harvest stats for all the zones. You might try looking at the annual trend. I seriously doubt that hunter numbers are increasing dramatically, and nobody is building anything, so predation can be accurately measured.
I've looked at the success ratios. D6 and D7 are practically the same at 9% and 10%.
Totally photoshopped. I have that same deer on my Christmas cards for last year.
So glad you were able to prove that no worthwhile deer are in D6, D7.
Very glad you were able to verify that THERE ARE NO DEER IN D7 Rob P. At least now the non D7 residential deer hunters will no longer be fooled into wasting their tags and precious gas money to come over here. If SoCal folks want to travel north, then D8 has trophy deer and beautiful camping areas. For the northern sojourners coming south, you get the best bang for your money getting a tag good for zones D3-D5. But of course D6 is essentially Yosemite National Park monsters, right!! Go there and get a monster!!
Meanwhile, we D7 guys will just keep going up locally in our shorts and flip-flops to just enjoy the scenery, with a cold one in hand, in our folding chairs, and enjoyably watch the road hunter parade pass by day after day. Oh, what a blissful and relaxing way to hunt!
Vintage 1946
10% of the hunters get 90% of the deer
Went on a trans-sierra trip last year with three buddies. Three of us huntd and one was just along for the hike. For one guy it was his frst Backpack trip ever. Started out of Mosquito flat on the eastern sierra( Rock Creek Resort) came up and over Mono Pass 12,000 + in elevation. once we hit the Fresno County Line (D7 Border) I loaded up. Snowed on us the first day on the pass. One memeber got a touch of altitude sickness. Planned for a total of three nights, Glassed the canyon and Meadows every morning and evening without luck. made or way the the Edison Lake Ferry on the third day. In 21 miles of hiking saw 1 doe, and it was within a mile of lake edison. got hammered with a 3 hour rain on the second afternoon, which was the deciding factor to come out a day early. when we got to Vermillion Resort to pay for our ferry ride the store manager said that few people hunted that area anymore due to the deer herd being thinned out by Lions and bears. had a great time anyway. Ended up getting a 2x2 by Balsom Forebay later that day. Didn't see as many hunters in the area as i have in the past few years. Going to try the woodchuck country this year.
hurt my stupid knee moving of all things..a gunsafe.
i am gonna take it easy..no sierra wilderness for me. if the pain doesnt subside. i will call my doc. i will miss my annual D6 run. probablty for the best..no deer up there anyways.
i need my knees for idaho. i am not taking chances.
good luck friends!!
I've thought of that route firefishtrout. But my old body can't handle it I think. Last year the lion tracks were more numerous than deer tracks in my favorite areas. The roadhunting areas were totally overpopulated with roadhunters -- like a slow parade.
I have seen decent deer tracks within a couple hundred yards of dirt roads however, so I could get lucky in those areas I suppose. At any rate, I always pack fishing gear and enjoy the scenery. Hunting is fun.
Vintage 1946
Speaking of woodchuck...our neighboring campers started up the woodchuck trail from Wishon and went up/back 5 miles. They saw 4 does on their entire trip. I saw that many setting in camp. Anyway, every year is different, especially if the weather cooperates (which is seldom). Good luck and welcome to the site!
PS...There are NO DEER IN D7!!
"Democracy ends when the government takes from those willing to work and gives to those who aren't" Thomas Jefferson.
“There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.” John Adams 1826
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin
Back a few years ago I used to bow hunt a lot up above Hooper/Bear Diversion (I used to hunt in the woodchuck as well ) into the high country around the recesses. Saw lots of nice bucks but bow hunting ain't the same thing as rifle hunting. My average was a buck every other year and most were just meat bucks, and I was hunting by myself for a week at a time.
That being said all of the state of CA deer herds are suffering, lion, poachers, etc... The Ds have a terrible average, but IMHO that is because they sell so many tags each year and many people mainly road hunt and sit in camp. I have seen some huge bucks in velvet right along the highway when I was taking the family camping, had to stop and take photos...
My best successes were mainly when I skirted the NPs and hunted in the wilderness back country, focusing on areas that were along the migration routes and were the hardest places I found to hunt. The bucks are there, they just do not hang out where most folks think " it looks good to them", they do not hang with the dinks and does until the rut or in the winter areas.They can and will hide in spots as small as the size of a VW bug and out in plain sight. They do not eat or drink in the same places the dinks and does do.
The western side of the Sierras, the Ds have some very nice bucks in the book, one as late as 2008. THe deer are migratory and move down with the weather, and the huge Jordan buck was taken out side Yosemite in the foothills after a big storm. But of course everyone already knows this...
Good luck...
Last edited by easymoney; 07-31-2012 at 03:50 PM.
Stop Global Whining...
Had to add my 2 cents to this old thread. More lions= less Deer. More Poachers= less Deer. Solution; allow Deer hunters to use "Deer" tag to hunt and Kill Lions. Manditory 5 yr prison sentence for poachers. Yes this is a pipe dream, and in reality the DFG dos`nt give a shit about the pitiful state of the D zone Deer heards! All they care about is collecting our tag and license fee`s. I`ll keep hunting D-7 and X-12 when drawn untill the day I can say c-ya to old Ca!
Get out there and start walking! The deer are where you find em."The spirit of Big Dan point`s the way."
Quote; "You can take a million pictures of the mountains, and you`ll never capture the feeling of being there".
Rich Robbins. Great Fisherman.
What about the 255 people that new where to get a buck in D7 last year ?
Last edited by slanttop357; 08-24-2012 at 06:43 PM.
I rest my case. Pitiful!
Get out there and start walking! The deer are where you find em."The spirit of Big Dan point`s the way."
Quote; "You can take a million pictures of the mountains, and you`ll never capture the feeling of being there".
Rich Robbins. Great Fisherman.
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