California G38 tag

[DEW0341]

First year putting in California I drew G38 tag in the x10zone late season rifle buck tag oct21-nov5. If anyone has experience with this zone specifically thoughts on terrain, weather, access and pressure. I am not asking for honey holes.

Thank you for your time


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Kopfjager]

I drew an X10 tag myself, on my first time applying. From everything I've read so far, it's a pretty tough go. Might be a bit better this year due to the fire last year, and the quality rainfall this year.

I'm hoping to get up and get a few days of scouting, pre season!

 

[DEW0341]

I drew an X10 tag myself, on my first time applying. From everything I've read so far, it's a pretty tough go. Might be a bit better this year due to the fire last year, and the quality rainfall this year.

I'm hoping to get up and get a few days of scouting, pre season!

That's awesome, I don't even know anything about the unit This may sound irresponsible or dumb but I actually just put G38, g37 and g39 down thinking I wouldn't draw and I did. I need to start researching hard, scouting will be tough for me I'm all way down in southern Orange County I am going to do my best to take a weekend scouting trip in July or August


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jimmy]

Archery season success was 4% last year, of those, 75% were forkys.

X10 reg season success was 16.8% success, 38% were forkys.

and the late season G38 was 17% success, 31% were forkys.

If you want to beat the odds and shoot any buck at all and better than a fork, you'll need to spend some serious time scouting and locating deer. Because there just isn't that many.

 

[SoCalMuley]

Hey Jimmy My Father in Law and I grabbed G38 tags bcuz they were easy to Draw for all the reasons mentioned . I Also picked up an A19 as well. PM me any crowded hot spots to avoid. Thx.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[Paradactal]

That is a pretty tough zone, but doable. Pretty steep country. you would be doing yourself a favor if you could get out there for few days to learn the area. Ive hunted x9a and x9b but never x10. Only been thru there.

 

[Bubblehide]

This zone tends to have a revolving door of new hunters, chewing them up and spitting them out. For the size of the zone, there are few deer, and very few bucks; just do the math on total deer and the buck to doe ratio and you will clearly realize the vast majority of bucks being taken are immature. Granted a few nice bucks get harvested each year. The weather can vary drastically, from days at 85 degrees, down to days never getting above freezing. Nights are generally cold.

The deer do disperse throughout the zone, but they will concentrate toward the western edge of the zone, until migration/pre-migration. You might get some movement during the general season, if a good storm comes in. But the vast majority of that movement is does, with very immature bucks. The late season does get some movement of animals, but is still weather dependent. The real movement of bucks doesn't generally happen until the late season is over.

Being prepared for any type of weather is of vital importance. It is common for the winds to pick up (out of the north) severely. It can take years to learn this zone, and most hunters new to the zone are doing well to find does. It is not uncommon for a hunter new to this zone to never see a buck, actually that is the norm.

So in short, during the general season, generally the bucks are still on a summer mode. The late season, the bucks are in a transition, but don't fully move unless a really really big storm moves in.

I'm going to stress the weather again. The area often gets it's own isolated storms. So you can wake up to nice weather, clear skies, and be getting rained or snowed on by noon. So I strongly suggest that you keep a puffy and rain gear in your pack during every outing. There are plenty of road hunters, those that consistently do well are those that get well away from the crowds.

 

[Bubblehide]

SoCal, I responded to your PM, not sure if you got it. So here it is with my response:

Quote Originally Posted by SoCalMuley
Awesome Breakdown of the Zone. Chose this zone bcuz it's tough should weed most people out. What kind of access Is there. Any particular Highway to approach that's better than others. When the Migrations occurs do they Migrate East, west, South, or North? I figured with an Archery and a Rifle tag I should have good Idea once I get there. Where and When should I start my Scouting. Thx In Advance

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Okay, your looking at the late season, so I will keep what I have to say specific to that time of the year. The deer in the north half of the zone migrate from the west to the east. You normally get some movement during this season, as the temps drop, and their needs can no longer be met on summer range. However, unless you get a good storm, the movement is usually limited to does and immature bucks, with very few if any mature bucks. If you get small storms moving in and out, you will generally get some movement with each. But, the deer can be there one day, and gone the next.

In the north half of the zone, access is limited. I do not know the southern portion of the zone well. I would not approach and hunt from the eastern slope, unless the zone got a huge storm, or several good storms. Thus the main access from the east is 395 to 9 mile canyon, through Kennedy Meadows, to Monache Jeep Trail, or skip past the Jeep trail to the end of the road, toward Jordan Hot Springs. I suggest that you pack in, and the place you head depend on the predicted weather during your hunt. So, what I suggest is if the weather is going to be fair, and no real movement has taken place, I would drive to the north west end of Monache Mnt, and pack in toward the North west. If your going to get any good weather, I would hunt from about Bear Trap (Olancha Mnt) to Dutch John Flats. However, you will have company in that entire area. You can however find isolated places away from people, it's just very difficult to find water away from those people.

As far as starting your scouting, I would start ASAP, specifically to learn the area. The late season is weather dependent, so if your scouting to the east, don't expect much during your scouting, other than learning where they might be in the future. That doesn't mean you wont see any deer, or bucks. But odds are they will be few and far between. You mention archery, but you would need an archery specific tag for this zone. You can not hunt the archery season with the late season tag, and you did not specify if you have an archery tag for this zone.

If you do have an archery tag for this zone, the deer will be on summer mode, and mainly occupying the western end of the zone, in the northern half of it. So you will want to be hunting the plateau just above the river. But you will need to pack into this area.
The issue is that you have a huge area and relatively few deer. So finding them can be exceptionally difficult.

The southern end of the zone is very different, and the deer tend to migrate toward the south of the south east. The access is much better in the south half of the zone, but you can still find remote places. In the south a lot of the bucks utilize the Manzanita, which can be very difficult to hunt, unless you can get across canyon and peer into it.

 

[SoCalMuley]

I want to Publicly thank Bubblehide for his Help with this Unit. Even though I haven't gone as Deep or High as needed for early season success on big boys, I was able to put my first ever stalks on 2 Forkies (106yds & 40yds and 1 Black Bear 80yds. No kills but was able to knock 3 arrows, kick my boots of twice and Flung an Arrow out of My Bow at an animal for the first time. (Missed of course) the experience was enough to make me a Life Long x10 Hunter. Looking forward to discovering new country!! Thanks Agian Bubblehide and Good Luck..

Omar Contreras
"SoCalMuley"

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[Bubblehide]

Omar, thanks for the kudos. It can be an extremely defeating zone to hunt. I'm glad I helped in making this a memorable experience. But don't sell yourself short here. Information is one thing, being able to effectively use it is totally different. I'm a bit laid up right now, but let's talk about that late season when I am up, about, and feeling better.

Haven't we chatted on a different forum in the past?

 

[slvrslngr]

Bubblehide has a good handle on X10/G38, take his advice. I've hunted G38 twice and killed bucks both times, though they were both forkies. That said, there are some good bucks in there. The big ones got big by being smart so you'll have to work to find them. As stated, a shot of bad weather really helps move the deer. I found the majority of deer in old burns. Missed an opportunity at a small 3x4 that was bedded right out in the middle of one and killed both bucks in that same burn on successive years. If you're willing to do some serious work, hunt the eastern face of the Sierras. It's steep, nasty country but there are deer in there, just not a lot of them. And buy a bear tag, plenty of bears in that country.