X6a California tag?
norcalhunter
7/16/10 6:47pm
Any Californians hunt X6A lately? I drew this year and was hoping to get some info on this unit? I hunted X3B before and was not impressed at all. I hope this unit is a little better. Any words of wisdom other than apply out of state, which I do.
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Springville Shooter
7/16/10 8:40pm
Don't get discouraged! There are HUGE bucks in NE Cali and some of them reside in your zone. I have hunted x3b,x3a, and x5b and killed some very respectable bucks. I have never hunted x6a but I know folks who have and I have seen some whoppers come out of there. Believe it or not, I reside in Utah now and still put in for the X zones every year as a nonresident. I will try to drum up some advise, but in the mean time, get excited because you have a pretty darned-good tag in your hands. I don't think that a 160+ buck is not totally achievable with enough scouting and some patience. Just curious; where did you go in x3b, that zone has huge bucks. -----------SS
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norcalhunter
7/17/10 12:05am
I believe I was near the South Warners in X3B. Unfortunately I won't have a whole lot of time to scout, maybe a couple of days the weekend before. I know there are some toads up there but my luck seems to run out in my home state. I will be in Utah in Aug hunting mulies with a bow in the Book Cliffs, I can't wait for that hunt!
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Springville Shooter
7/17/10 5:38pm
Fortunately for you, I have an at home scouting method that has worked very well for me in the X zones. If you can't spend alot of time on the ground, buy the most detailed topo maps you can find that show public/private land. Many times in NE Cali there are large agricultural areas with ridges or fingers of sage/juniper covered public land adjacent to them. I would study the maps carefully and circle the areas that you think are best. Then go to those areas when you do get a chance to scout. Spend the mornings and evenings looking/drooling at the deer that are in the fields near your ridges and try to figure out if they are bedding on public land. I did this when I drew my first X3a tag and found a spot that has produced over 10 respectable bucks for me and my friends over the years. Pressure will be light and concentrated in the 4-5 'hotspots' in the zone which you should avoid. Good luck, and don't forget google earth! This is my very first mulie killed on an un-named public land ridge in x3a that I found while scouring a topo map 100 miles away from my zone with no gas money!----------SS
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norcalhunter
7/17/10 6:26pm
That sounds like a good method. I'll give it a try. Thank you!
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