Moving to Santa Clarita, CA

[OKhunter]

Hey everyone I am in the process of moving from Denver, CO to Santa Clarita, CA. I have done some quick research online and it seems that there is not much hunting around my area in southern California. Is this true? Are there any California locals that can point me in the right direction to look? This state is huge and am still trying to get my bearings straight. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[flyinsquirel]

For starters; what the hell is wrong with you? Why would anyone move here?

Secondly, welcome. We need all
the help we can get. I dont know anything about SoCal, but the Sierra's aren't to far of a drive for you. Everything south of the grapevine is dead to me

Im sure Bruce will be along shortly to help you out.

 

[tri2hunt]

I used to live there, then moved to Big Bear Lake and now I am in Idaho. I sure hope you have a really good paying job cause Santa Clarita is expensive for SoCal. Anyway, Sespe Wilderness North of Fillmore has a lot of area and not a lot of hunters since most hunters go to the North side through Gorman. That is Condor area so make sure you are No-lead with your ammo. Also animals are few and far between with very low success. Lots of Mountain Lions in there also so keep an eye out.
Good luck.

 

[FreeRange]

I'm sure you're aware of all the negatives, so I'll focus on the positives. If you bow hunt you can be hunting within an hour or two of home from early July through December and get two deer tags and a bear tag (and there is some good bear hunting in that part of the state once you figure it out). There's better hunting than a lot of people let on and some massive wilderness areas you wouldn't expect to encounter so close to Los Angeles. Rifle seasons down south get really out of hand, you can still avoid the crowds but it is incredibly crowded relative to the poor quality of the hunting.

The Sierra is not too far away for better big game hunting and again, lots of tags available. There's good upland hunting within 2 hours of Santa Clarita, phenomenal upland hunting in good rain years actually.

Big question is how long will you be here and do you want to establish yourself as a CA citizen and get resident tags? Almost 100% I'd say if you're staying non-res don't bother paying out of state for a deer hunt here and make a trip back to CO instead. If you're in it for the long haul then go all in and figure it out.

Lastly if you're bringing in guns from out of state go by the website CalGuns and make sure you understand what's legal and the process. The gun laws here are very confusing but there are some clauses that allow you to bring in guns (handguns mostly) when moving from out of state that you wouldn't be allowed to purchase here legally. A lot is potentially changing with AR's on Jan 1st so be aware of that too.

 

[Violent Hippie]

There is a lot of public land from Lake Isabella North up the Kern River drainage which is nice rough country . Ive only fished the river and not hunted there but its probably under 2 hours from you. I would expect that region to hold some deer and a lot of lions.

 

[the big Mao]

Man oh man...Bill Gates doesn't have enough money to tempt me to move back! But, that being said, it's a lot quicker drive for pig hunting in Cali than going to say, Texas. For archery deer I hunted quite a bit South of HWY 108, following HWY 395 South of the junction. Look for Little Walker Road-a dirt track that heads West; used to be some great mule deer in that area. it's been a long time since I've been there, so it's also likely that it's changed completely. Forest Service used to have a campground up there called Obsidian Campground: basically a flat spot under some trees. It's a beautiful area and there used to be lots of deer. Good luck and good hunting. And bring plenty of ammo-after the first of the year, you'll be required to do a background check when you purchase ammunition in that state! I have NO idea who will carry out the check, since the NICS system isn't set up to accomodate that; maybe there's a waiting period to buy ammo, who knows?

 

[Cant hit em]

Man oh man...Bill Gates doesn't have enough money to tempt me to move back! But, that being said, it's a lot quicker drive for pig hunting in Cali than going to say, Texas. For archery deer I hunted quite a bit South of HWY 108, following HWY 395 South of the junction. Look for Little Walker Road-a dirt track that heads West; used to be some great mule deer in that area. it's been a long time since I've been there, so it's also likely that it's changed completely. Forest Service used to have a campground up there called Obsidian Campground: basically a flat spot under some trees. It's a beautiful area and there used to be lots of deer. Good luck and good hunting. And bring plenty of ammo-after the first of the year, you'll be required to do a background check when you purchase ammunition in that state! I have NO idea who will carry out the check, since the NICS system isn't set up to accomodate that; maybe there's a waiting period to buy ammo, who knows?

Thats a draw zone now


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[BrettB342]

Why'd you end up there? Im from santa clarita. Castaic to be exact and couldn't wait to get out of there. I knew of a few people who hunted up the grapevine a little bit back behind lake pyramid but I've never really heard of anyone killing anything. I lived there for 18 years and had saw 1 good buck a young buck and a few does.

 

[BrettB342]

If you really want to hunt deer go up north to the sierras its like a 4 hour drive away. try to get tags for a few of the northern d zones or even if your lucky the x zones but down in so cal the hunting pretty much sucks

 

[the big Mao]

Thats a draw zone now


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That Sucks!! Used to be just walk on, nock an arrow, and go to it. Never had a time when I didn't see deer, and it's in one of the darker parts of the continent. One time, my buddies and managed to actually read a newspaper by starlight! No moon out, but the glow from the Milky way was sufficient.

 

[OKhunter]

Thanks everyone for the information I am moving for work. I have committed to be here for a minimum of 1 year though the project I am on will last 4 to 5 years so there is the possibility to stay long term. It was a tough decision to move out but the job opportunity was too good to pass up. I am glad to hear that if I go up north there is some good units. I was also thinking of going into Nevada and Arizona, both seem to be fairly close.

If anyone wants to get together and talk about hunting let me know.

 

[SDHNTR]

2 words. Tejon Ranch. But be prepared to open your wallet. If you can find the money, it will be your best option and is just 30-40 min away.

 

[StevenPewPew]

It's not the easiest place to hunt, but we do have a lot of Forestry Service owned land around. Pick up an OnXMaps chip and take a look around. Do you hunt with a bow, or rifle? If you're an archer, I'll see you out on the range when you get here.

 

[AdamW]

2 words. Tejon Ranch. But be prepared to open your wallet. If you can find the money, it will be your best option and is just 30-40 min away.

Heck yeah, what's $12k-25k for an elk hunt? By the time you figure...

 

[Englishjc]

Hey,
Did you every hunt anywhere good by Santa Clarita?

 

[accuracy]

I know people that do hunt in CNF. but also OnX is pretty priceless

 

[timmymac24]

this thread is 5 years old but hey hopefully the OP got a good deal on a moving van/truck going to CA not from CA I left this past summer

 

[1woolie89]

I’m from southern ca and want to move to CO! Haha! Anyway I have hunted near there. Frazier Park, cherry creek. Get a bear tag. Watch our for lions.

 

[Opah]

Santa Clarita ? Murder capital of the world ? and what about all those vampires ?
I heard if all the Body that where buried were to stand up all at once there would be a serious population problem.
Beware the Lost boys ! OOOOOOOOO

 

[homers]

Santa Clarita Valley Quail and Wildlife Federation. Join, goto meetings, meet like people. Good quail hunting nearby, Deer but you probably need to travel a bit. Pigs in the central valley, not too bad for a guided hunt on private.