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.
Sign up for a 7-day free trial of onX Hunt and unlock, explore, and master all the map tools and features we offer.
California Hunting Seasons
Zone 3, 4, 5, 6
Zone: A (South Unit 110 and North Unit 160)
Zone: X1, X2, X3a, X3B, X4, X5a, X5b, X6a, X6b, X7a, X7b, X8, X9a, X9b, X9c, X10, X12
Zone: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6
Zone: D3, D4, D5, D6, D7, D8, D9, D10
Zone: D11, D13, D14, D15, D16, D17, D18, D19
Zone: D12
Zone: D11, D13, D14, D15
Fort Hunter Liggett only either-sex
Owens Valley Multiple Zone bull (Early)
Grizzly Island Period 1 antlerless
Grizzly Island Period 1 antlerless
Grizzly Island Period 2 spike bull
Grizzly Island Period 2 spike bull
Northeastern either-sex
Tehachapi antlerless
Tehachapi Bull
East Park Reservoir antlerless
East Park Reservoir bull
Marble Mountains either-sex
Marble Mountains antlerless
Marble Mountains bull
Northwestern antlerless
Northwestern bull
Northwestern either-sex
Siskiyou antlerless
Lake Pillsbury Period 1 antlerless
Grizzly Island Period 8 spike bull
Lone Pine Period 1 antlerless
Independence Period 1 bull
Goodale period 1 bull
West Tinemaha Period 1 bull
Grizzly Island Period 9 antlerless
Northeastern either-sex
Northeastern bull
Grizzly Island Period 10 bull
Grizzly Island Period 11 antlerless
Mendocino bull
Grizzly Island Period 12 bull
Lake Pillsbury Period 2 bull
Grizzly Island Period 13 antlerless
Owens Valley Multiple Zone bull (late)
Central Coast antlerless
Central Coast Bull
Goodale Period 2 antlerless
Independence Period 2 antlerless
Independence Period 2 bull
Lone Pine Period 2 bull
San Luis Reservoir either-sex
Whitney Period 2 bull
Siskiyou bull
Cache Creek Period 1 bull
La Panza antlerless
Bear Valley Antlerless
Bear Valley Bull
Cache Creek Period 1 bull
La Panza Period 1 antlerless
La Panza Period 1 bull
Cache Creek Period 2 antlerless
Goodale Period 3 antlerless
Independence Period 3 antlerless
Independence Period 3 bull
Whitney Period 3 antlerless
Marble Mountains either-sex
Fort Hunter Liggett only antlerless
Northeastern antlerless
Gabilan antlerless
Gabilan bull
La Panza Period 2 antlerless
La Panza Period 2 bull
Fort Hunter Liggett Period 2 antlerless
Research. Draw. Hunt.
Hunt Research Tools is designed to help hunters research, plan, and apply for hunts and tags every year.
- Build a successful strategy with easy-to-understand, accurate data
- Covers all 12 Western states and all major big game species
- Simple and powerful filtering sorts answers quickly
- Compare across states, species, weapons, dates, and hunt types
- Free with onX Hunt
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 maps of Gov Lands, covering over 55,000,000 acres in California. Not all Gov Lands offer access opportunities, check regulations before recreating.
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.
The #1 GPS Hunting App
- 975 million acres of public land
- 10,668 unique hunting units
- 421 map overlays and counting
- 5,000 game wardens approve