D13/ Los Padres Assistance

SINSKI

FNG
Joined
Oct 21, 2020
Messages
3
Hey Guys!

First time poster here but have been devouring the info on this forum for a very long time now.

It's my first hunting season and I am obsessed to say the least. I live in D13 and wanted to see if there was any advice for this zone specifically.

I've been hunting hard since the season opened but all of my tactics/strategies seem to be working out not so well. I put in a tremendous about of pre-season scouting, E- scouting and just exploring the area in general. All the beds I found and areas with activity that I observed, are an absolute ghost town now.

It seems like a general consensus that spot and stalk is the go to method for mule deer hunting but my area is so thick that glassing is not really practical as the view points offer only limited visibility or the good spots are so high that spotting a deer would entail a day's worth of climbing just to put a stalk on a deer.

My questions are:

Should I focus on still hunting?

Are the bucks generally in the much higher altitudes at this time?

Should I deviate from the pine forest and put more focus on the dense chaparral?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I have scoured this forum and the web and cannot find any advice specific to this region.

Thanks in advance!
 
Joined
Dec 14, 2019
Messages
3
Hey man welcome to hunting Cal-unicornia. You may want to try the east side of Frazier mountain in the washes and draws. That’s the only time I ever saw deer out there. Lots of quail too.
Depends on the pressure, hungry valley in the sage thickets will hold a few.
Good luck. It’s tough hunting. Went out on the last weekend of hunting season a few years ago and had thousands of hunters up there. My buddy missed one but we set ourselves up on the backside of a ridge so when the hunters came in from the roads they would run over the ridge. Oh and LOTS of road hunters out there. If you can hike 5 to 6 miles in you may have a chance.


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John Kimble

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Apr 10, 2017
Messages
195
I would still hunt if you are in the timber.

Yes hunt high elevation.

Dont quit. You can get it done.

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Joined
May 13, 2015
Messages
3,711
Where in D-13 do you live?

Currently, there are a ton of acorns, from both oak trees and scrub oak; so that will be their primary food source. Currently there is rutting activity, so many bucks are following does/staying on their butts. I would be hunting remote open areas that have scrub oaks, i.e., chaparral with scrub oaks and or oak trees at this time. I would be concentrating on north and east facing slopes.

Best of luck!
 

John Kimble

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Apr 10, 2017
Messages
195
Helped a friend out this weekend. Saw 8 does 1 spike. No rutting action where we were but a lot of acorns and buck tracks.

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OP
SINSKI

SINSKI

FNG
Joined
Oct 21, 2020
Messages
3
Hey man welcome to hunting Cal-unicornia. You may want to try the east side of Frazier mountain in the washes and draws. That’s the only time I ever saw deer out there. Lots of quail too.
Depends on the pressure, hungry valley in the sage thickets will hold a few.
Good luck. It’s tough hunting. Went out on the last weekend of hunting season a few years ago and had thousands of hunters up there. My buddy missed one but we set ourselves up on the backside of a ridge so when the hunters came in from the roads they would run over the ridge. Oh and LOTS of road hunters out there. If you can hike 5 to 6 miles in you may have a chance.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quail everywhere! I actually got an air rifle for that reason and have been making some delicious meals with them. Yea the one thing I got ready for is to be able to go to desolate places alone, and away from the road hunters. Haven't seen one hunter where I've been going and it's some of the hardest hiking I've ever done but I figured I can beat my lack of experience with some balls to the wall effort.
I would still hunt if you are in the timber.

Yes hunt high elevation.

Dont quit. You can get it done.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
Roger that! After 6 days (not consecutive) I finally spotted a legal buck that was completely unaware of my presence which was a huge win for me. My heart almost exploded, coudn't even breathe for a second. I used compete in Muay Thai/ Boxing and even those fights didn't get me this jacked up. I blew my stalk (it was midday and the wind was all over the place) but damn was it not an incredible feeling.
Where in D-13 do you live?

Currently, there are a ton of acorns, from both oak trees and scrub oak; so that will be their primary food source. Currently there is rutting activity, so many bucks are following does/staying on their butts. I would be hunting remote open areas that have scrub oaks, i.e., chaparral with scrub oaks and or oak trees at this time. I would be concentrating on north and east facing slopes.

Best of luck!
Got it. Will give that a shot. I'm right in the middle by Mt Pinos. I'm even going to experiment with some calls in the thick chaparral. But getting better at finding spots to glass from even if they're not ideal, my OnX looks like madhouse of markers.
 
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