CA D-3 Archery Deer

[WBouldin]

Well i picked up the tag today and season will be opening in 7 weeks! Starting to do my homework as ive never stepped foot in the area but its a close as I can get with an OTC tag coming from Reno. Didnt draw the X zones so im making the best of it. Im going up with 2 friends on opening weekend (neither have a tag but are both willing to come along to hopefully help on a pack out). Luckily we wont really be roughing it as one of em has a cabin in Graeagle which happens to be the eastern boundary of the zone - this will be our "basecamp". Google Earth has been a huge help as well as some reports from other articles and websites. Anyone willing to help me out with some pointers on the area would be greatly appreciated.

Will keep you posted and hopefully will have some pics to post soon enough!

 

[2rocky]

Did you get a bear tag too? They are thick in that country.

No Boots on the ground experience there, but good luck.

 

[WBouldin]

Bear tag was an extra $40 which seems like nothing but being a student is putting a strain on hunting expenses. I told my buddies who were eggin for me to get one that if we see a good bear I can always go into town and pick up a tag.

 

[bkondeff]

I lived in that unit for 7 years and my folks have lived in D5 since 1980. My advice is to find some blm pockets down closer to Grass Valley/Nevada City with lots of acorns or maybe some fruit orchards near by. Those deer will not be active much in this heat and once their horns harden won't be out much in the light.

I last hunted there in 2003 and it was so frustrating that I moved to Idaho. Try it out this way next year.

Good luck.

 

[mlbuck84]

The temps in Grass Valley have been ridiculous lately. You're going to have to jump something out of the brush or hope that the temps cool off drastically. You are going to have better luck in the higher elevations, not in GV or NC. I live here in GV and haven't seen anything. Is Sierra City in your unit?

 

[Fisheye1]

D-3-5 tags are not worth the time or money! I lived in Grass valley from-1987-2000. had to move East for better hunting. i went back to hunt with my brother in 2005 in D-3 and D-4. I think we saw one doe. with the heat and all the pochers. there are no deer left in D-3-5 zones.

 

[mlbuck84]

these guys were in my back yard the winter before last. So, there are deer, but you're going to work your ass off to find them. I hope it works out for you

 

[WBouldin]

Thanks guys. It was a last minute thing for sure and if i kill a buck thats icing on the cake. I really want to draw x6 but until then this will have to do.

 

[WBouldin]

The temps in Grass Valley have been ridiculous lately. You're going to have to jump something out of the brush or hope that the temps cool off drastically. You are going to have better luck in the higher elevations, not in GV or NC. I live here in GV and haven't seen anything. Is Sierra City in your unit?

Sierra City is in the unit but southwest of where ill be focussing. Im going to be around deer lake and packer lake on the PCT. Thats where the DFG biologist has pointed me towards. Now I just need a nice cold front to move in and get them up on the hoof

 

[mlbuck84]

Sierra City is in the unit but southwest of where ill be focussing. Im going to be around deer lake and packer lake on the PCT. Thats where the DFG biologist has pointed me towards. Now I just need a nice cold front to move in and get them up on the hoof

It would be worth checking out the area west of lower sardine lake also. 4th of july weekend i took forest rd 93 out toward the lookout tower on the sierra buttes on the south side, which is just a jeep trail and saw a few does. That area would be a good glassiing area. North west of the tower could be promising for a buck. That south canyon is enormous. The PCT in that area was highly used by mtn bikers; by the hundreds. good or bad let us know though. I'm curious. A bear tag would be good to; like was mentioned.

 

[KRasmussen]

I will be hunting during the general season and also out on opening day. But, I will be well south of you in D8. I have spoken to a few of the rangers as well as one biologist who all have said the same thing. They all feel the deer will be high this year due to the mild winter we have had. In fact one ranger sid that he has not seen any deer below 8500' at all. I plan on hunting the higher elevations and well away from any roads, well used trails and as many people as I can. I will also be taking a weekend long scouting trip in a couple of weeks just to see if their info and "hunch" is right. It has been stupid hot here the last 2 weeks and if this continues any water sources may dry up long before the season opens. I will be focusing on water, food etc and not so much of spotting deer but looking more carefully at the available habitat and sign.

 

[WBouldin]

Will consider all of that. KR, the biologist i talked to said the same thing. Need to get up high and then if any cold fronts roll in they will be on the move down towards downieville. I am going up next friday to put the boots on the ground so depending on what comes from that, I can reassess my plans

 

[bkondeff]

A majority of the deer in that unit live year round below the national forest boundary, in the oak's, in areas like Alta Sierra, which looks just like where the pic of that buck above is from. Very few deer up high, very few even migrate. No reason to with the year round feed down low, so the heat has NOTHING to do with it.

Last year I lived in Nevada County, CA, we had a really big snow storm dump the last week of the season there in late Oct. My oldest son at the time even had a rare calif Doe tag. An old timer that grew up hunting the "migration" that came down around, maybe Bowman Lake, told me the exact route where he saw hundreds of deer a few times in a day or two as a kid. I took an 80 mile drive 24 hours after that storm hit just to try and catch fresh tracks in the snow and were even willing to take a doe if we couldn't find a buck.

We saw a total of 1 track. I spent a lot of time trying to get to know that D3 high country from 88-93 and just found there were NO deer of any numbers. As bad as it was, D5 up around Hwy 88 from Bear River up to Iron Mtn, was 10x better, even though it sucked too. I would head that direction. Maybe two extra gallons of gas and an easy drive. Of course that was almost 9 years ago.

 

[WBouldin]

I am still optimistic. The biologist was very optimistic and said as long as im not road hunting I should be able to get into some deer. Sorry but im taking a biologists word on the migration over yours. Maybe youre right but they get paid to find and pattern these critters.

 

[bkondeff]

Sound Logic. Good Luck.