California Hunting

Overview

Known For

California is known for having the earliest deer seasons in the nation, along with opportunities to harvest Pronghorn antelope; Nelson Bighorn sheep; Tule, Roosevelt, and Rocky Mountain elk; black bear, wild pigs, and many other furbearers, upland birds, and waterfowl. Of the three elk species in California, the Tule elk are the smallest of all the elk species in North America and are endemic to the state.

Terrain

California has varied topography, from its 11 distinct mountain ranges like the Sierra Nevada to its famous agricultural valleys like Napa Valley and Central Valley. The state also features many deserts, basins, plateaus, and has almost 200,000 acres of coastal wetlands. Its land area covers 163,696 square miles, making California the third largest state in the nation.

California Hunting Seasons

The most accurate draw odds, harvest data, and application trends for hunters.

Toprut is designed to help hunters research, plan, and apply for hunts and tags every year.

• View draw odds for 11 western states.
• Explore comprehensive information on elk, deer, antelope, moose, sheep, mountain goat, and bison.
• Research using advanced filtering based on residency, species, weapon, and preference points.
• View success rates, harvest data, and applicant numbers to monitor trends.

California Draw Specifics

CALIFORNIA – All Species

Point System

• California uses a Preference Point system
• Preference Points are like a place in line – 1st in 1st out. The applicants with the most Preference Points draw before those with less
• If you apply for and are unsuccessful drawing your 1st 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 1st choice only – if you draw your 1st choice for a species your Preference Points are purged back to 0
• Preference Points expire if you do not apply for 5 consecutive years

Tag Allocation

• For premium deer, 90% of 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 deer, there are no seperate 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 4 or more tags for a hunt
• If there are 3 tags for a hunt: 2 preference point tags vs 1 random tag will be awarded; for 2 tags: one tag each preference/random; for 1 tag: random
• For elk and antelope, a maximum of 1 tag will be awarded annually to nonresidents.
• For sheep, a maximum of up to 10% of total tags will be issued to nonresidents. This 10% is not guaranteed however

Understanding the Draw Odds

• In California, we include 2 draw odds columns in our List View: Preference Point Draw Odds and Random Odds
• Preference Point Draw Odds: This is the value that indicates how many Preference Points were required to successfully draw a tag in the Preference Point draw for everyone’s 1st Choice. So 33% @ 5 pts means that 33% of the applicants with 5 Preference Points were successful. In this example there are more applicants at 17 points than tags left to issue, so they randomly select from the pool of 5 point applicants until the quota is reached. It also means that 100% of applications with more than 5 Preference Points were successful, and that 0% of applications with less than 5 Preference Points drew a tag in the Preference Point draw. Use these columns to evaluate if you have any shot to draw a particular hunt using Preference Points given your total. It’s also a key indicator of demand for the hunt, and it’s implied quality.
• Random Draw Odds (Draw By Choice): In California, the Random drawing (Draw By Choice) is conducted without regard Preference Points. Every applicant has the same odds in the Random Drawing for each particular hunt code (with consideration of an applicants residency status). Unless you are hoping to draw a tag in the Preference Point draw for a given hunt, this is the important number to consider.
• For elk and antelope, remember that nonresidents are limited to a maximum of 1 tag annually. Draw odds are very low regardless of your hunt choice
• For sheep, nonresidents are capped at up to 10% of total tags. In short, you have to be the first or second nonresident application pulled in the drawing to have a chance at one of these tags. Because of this cap, nonresident draw odds are worse than what is listed for residents.

California Licenses, Permits, and Regulations

California hunting licenses, permits, and regulations for resident and non-resident hunters can be purchased on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife official website. Click below to view the website.

Hunting GPS Maps

Every hunter in California should have hunting GPS maps on hand. California hunting maps are available from onX Hunt. With a paid membership you can access Satellite, Topo, or Hybrid Basemaps, over which you can view hunt zone maps, along with BLM, Forest Service, and other public and private property boundaries. You can view trails and roads, and even download maps to the Hunt App for use offline. Click below to get onX Hunt for California.

Hunt Zones

California is divided into five primary deer hunt zones, organized by region and denoted alphabetically (ie. Deer A Zone, B Zone, etc.). Within each of the hunting zone boundaries there are specific regulations for each game animal and hunting season. A California hunter must be aware of the governing quotas and regulations in place for each zone, as well as where the boundaries are.

Hunting Layers

CA Private Lands

Over 10,000,000 parcels mapped by the onX team, this layer helps you know who the property owners are in California. Tap any parcel to learn more info about the owner and acreage.

CA Gov Lands

onX has the most accurate public lands maps with over 55,000,000 acres in California to help you plan your next adventure. Tap any public land parcel to learn more.

SUBLAYERS (15)

CA Hunt Zones

California Bear, Bighorn Sheep, Deer, Elk, Pigeon, Pronghorn, Quail, Grouse, Squirrel and Ptarmigan Zones. Please hunt responsibly, obey all signage and have a safe legal hunt.

Includes 15 Sublayers

• Additional Deer Hunt Zone
• Bear Hunt Zone
• Bighorn Sheep Hunt Zone
• Deer Hunt Zone
• Elk Hunt Zone
• Pigeon Hunt Zone
• Pronghorn Hunt Zone
• Quail Hunt Zone
• Ruffed Grouse Hunt Zone
• Tree Squirrel Hunt Zone
• Whitetailed Ptarmigan Hunt Zone
• Pendleton Hunt Area
• Pendleton Duck Hunt Areas
• Pendleton Fishing Areas
• Waterfowl Hunt Zones

CA Possible Access

onX has mapped 3,100,000 acres of possible access lands in California including timber and land conservation groups. Research rules on these private lands before recreating.

CA State Game Refuges

California State Game Refuges from onXmaps.

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