Interested in California’s big game draw? Get details from Huntin’ Fool here.
What’s New for 2026?
1. Three new desert bighorn hunt zones are opening in the central Mojave Desert:
- Granite and North Bristol Mountains (Zone 11)
- Providence, Woods, and Hackberry Mountains (Zone 12)
- Castle Mountains and Piute Range (Zone 13).
Desert bighorn sheep hunting has never occurred in these zones before, so this opportunity represents big adventure for those lucky enough to draw a tag.
2. Hunters also have the option to purchase two bear tags at the same time and use them in any order. Take will be limited to one legal bear per day, and there will be no change to the existing harvest threshold of 1,700.
3. The maximum number of points a hunter can have for a species is 24.
Big Game Draw Dates
Applications for the California big game drawing are available each year on April 15 through June 2.
Drawing results are generally available by June 15.
2026 CALIFORNIA DRAW DEADLINES
All Species
Application Season Costs
Hunting license and species costs for tags usually include:
- Application fee (elk, antelope, and bighorn sheep have a non-refundable $8.38 fee).
- Hunting license fee to apply. Resident is $64.54; non-resident is $225.46.
- Species fee. This is what you pay for the animal you want to hunt. Varies by residency status and species.
California Draw Process 101
Point System
- California uses a modified preference point system, which means some tags are awarded by preference point drawings while others are awarded in a random draw (called “draw-by-choice”).
- Preference points are like a place in line, where the more points you have, the closer to the front of the line you are: Applicants with more preference points draw before those with fewer.
- If you apply for and are unsuccessful drawing your first choice, you will receive an additional preference point for future drawings.
- Applicants may apply for preference points only during the primary application window.
- Preference points are considered for your first choice only. If you draw your first choice for a species, your preference points are purged back to zero.
- You lose all accumulated preference points for any species if you do not participate in the drawing for that species for five consecutive years.
Tag Allocation
- For premium deer tags, 90% of available tags will be awarded to the applicants with the most preference points.
- The remaining 10% of tags for any given premium deer hunt code will be issued in the random draw (draw by choice).
- For apprentice (youth) deer hunts, there is a 50/50 split of tags awarded between the point drawing and the random drawing.
- For California deer tags, there are no separate resident and nonresident quotas; all applicants are considered equally regardless of residency.
- For elk, antelope, and sheep, 75% of the tags are awarded in the preference point round and 25% in the random draw if there are four or more tags for a hunt.
- If there are three tags for a hunt: two preference point tags vs. one random tag will be awarded; for two tags: one tag each preference/random; for one tag: random.
- For elk and antelope, non-residents are limited to a maximum of one tag annually. Draw odds are low regardless of your hunt choice if you’re a non-resident.
- For sheep, non-residents are capped at up to 10% of total tags. You have to be the first or second non-resident application pulled in the drawing to have a chance at one of these tags.
