Moving to Paso Robles, CA— Looking to Connect with Local Hunters & Learn the Area

MattShults_11

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Oct 21, 2025
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Hey everyone,

I’m moving to Paso Robles early next spring and would love to hear about your experiences — both with relocating and with hunting in the area. I grew up in Southern California but moved out to Arkansas a few years ago. Now my wife and I are heading back to her hometown in Paso around March 2026.

I’ve been a lifelong shooter and have hunted everything from waterfowl to whitetail, but once we’re settled in, my main goal is to focus on deer and (hopefully) elk hunting on the Central Coast. I’ve done some research on outfitters east of Paso Robles, but I’d really like to learn more about other options and nearby opportunities that don’t require a full guided hunt (primarily, for cost-saving purposes).

I’m continually learning a lot more about ballistics, and I love talking about caliber choices. For whitetail in Arkansas, I’ve hunted with a .270 Win out of a Tikka T3x lite (using 145 gr Hornady ELD-X), and a .44 Mag from a Henry Big Boy X (using 225 gr Hornady FTX). I also own an AR chambered in .556 — and yes, it’s California-compliant.

I’ve never gone hog hunting before, but I would love to give it a try once I’m out there. I’m open to hearing what calibers you all prefer for hogs, deer, and elk on the Central Coast, and how those choices perform in the kind of terrain and conditions you’ve experienced.

Any insight, stories, or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Looking forward to getting involved in the local hunting community once I’m there!
 
Last edited:
Hello Matt,
Welcome to HuntTalk. I'm sorry not to have seen your post in October.
I left Cali 30 years ago, but my wife and I still have family in SLO county. Most of them in Paso and Atascadero.

I used to hunt Fort Hunter Liggett a lot for hogs. There are elk and Columbia Blacktail there are well.

I hunted Los Padres often for Blacktails.

Don't rule out looking east of town. Good hunting in Pozo and up toward New Idria.
 

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