California in October

[mkelley12]

This might not be the best spot for this but i will be in San Jose area in the early part of October for work. I was wondeirng if there are any good hunting opportunities in the area for Mule Deer or something else. I am game for almost anything that does not take more than 3 days.

Seeing what the area has to offer for the hunting/fishing person.
thanks

 

[willfrye027]

I would do some ocean fishing. Get on a charter or something for rockfish. Deer is really tough, not worth it for a short trip IMO

 

[Middleofnowhere]

3-days isn’t enough time for a “DIY” hunt imo. Plenty of pig or combo pig/blacktail opportunity along central coast for a fairly reasonable cost. A Zone deer season closes in September 22. B Zone can take you to end of October. I’ve seen pig hunts go in the $600 range and up.

Some ranches have land owner tags for deer. Near San Jose is https://www.oakstoneoutfitters.com/dp/

If you want Mule deer, San Gorgonio Wilderness Outfitters is about 6-hour drive from San Jose. They had/have a few land owner tags available. http://outfitters4desertbighorn.com/
San Gorgonio is extremely rugged terrain to about 10,000 ft. They are one of the premier desert bighorn guides in California, but do hunt deer as well.

Available deer tags: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=30896

Zones and seasons: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=168214&inline

 

[MeatBuck]

There are lots of fishing opportunities in the bay and delta. Mule deer are a solid 4hours drive from San Jose and most of the decent hunts are draw. If you don't buy your deer tags soon you likely won't be able to purchase a tag for an open zone in October as they generally sell out by then. Not knowing the areas and going in blind probably won't end in a punched tag but you just might be that lucky guy who kills one from camp or from the truck while driving to or from your hunting location.
My advice is buy a bear tag and go to the b or d3-5 areas. Lots of bears there. Often times more than deer. Good luck on whatever adventure you choose.

 

[generalist]

For the cost of a non-res license and tag you can do some excellent fishing off the coast.

 

[bitbckt]

Pig is a real possibility - the acorn drop around that time helps - but the cost is high for the experience, if you don't already hunt CA.

I wouldn't bother with deer at all under your circumstances.

 

[mkelley12]

Thanks for all the suggestions, i am going to check out some fishing charters and pig. Is coyote hunting any good in the area?

 

[MeatBuck]

Thanks for all the suggestions, i am going to check out some fishing charters and pig. Is coyote hunting any good in the area?

What area are you referring to? Not a lot of public hunting ground around San Jose. But ya there's coyotes to be had in California

 

[Azone]

There are a couple outfitters out of King City which is about an hour and a half south of San Jose that are some of the best in the business at making pigs dead. Look up Nessen Schmidt or Tom Willoughby they both run their own seperate operations. Deer would be tough to say the least that time of year.
As far as fishing goes go get on a cattle boat or a six pack and go fill the freezer with some rock fish.

 

[WKR]

What about D17 ? Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I think the general season opens in October for D17. It's a little bit of a drive from the San Jose area but it's not a bad zone to hunt mulies.

 

[thestrongbow]

From San Jose, D17 is almost a 6-hour drive. That's a heck of a drive, especially if you have only 3 days. But you're right D17 opens for rifle season on Oct 6th until Nov 3rd.

 

[MeatBuck]

Probably better off buying a pig tag and calling a guide out of Monterey area or king city as mentioned above.
Or book a rock fishing trip. That d17 3day mule deer hunt seems kinda low percentage as far as success goes.

 

[calnorthco]

Blacktail in the Santa Cruz mountains. A zone. OnX maps would be a huge help.


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[Mischief209]

California Dawn - 1 of the best charters to go on, has a kitchen and a cook and for a small fee you can get breakfast burritos or hamburgers etc. out of emeryville, 30miles from san jose. just about guaranteed a limit. postpone your trip till nov 2 and youll get a crab/rockfish combo and go home with tons of meat

 

[MeatBuck]

Blacktail in the Santa Cruz mountains. A zone. OnX maps would be a huge help.



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Title reads "in October"

 

[Huntindog45]

if you wanted to pay for a guided hunt on private property you could get into some pigs. I believe all the deer units that have any tags available are already closed by October. There is some outstanding fishing to be had.