Once in many years CA gets the kind of storm that pushes migratory deer out of the high country before the end of the season, and thousands of hunters race to the hills trying to figure out where these bucks will be as they parade down from loft 10k foot basins to their 3500-4500' wintering grounds.  Oct. 2021 dealt us one such storm, with "the most precipitation ever recorded in a 24 hour period" for most of the state, followed by 2-3 feet of snow in the high elevations!  

So when I headed out to hunt west-slope mule deer (blacktail hybrid deer by some people's standards) I wanted to test some theories as much as I wanted to hunt.  Do the old codger bucks stay up high "until they're pushing snow with their chest", or does the entire herd drop elevation and start munching on acorns in the foothills?  

This episode recaps my 4 day hunt in CA central Sierra, part high country, part middle-elevation forest... and as always I got some adventurous scouting in that will add layers of fun and new terrain to future hunts. Migration trails, predator tracks and some very fresh buck sign was found. 

Check out some of the pics @ www.instagram.com/HuntingAintEasy

The rest of 2021 has more hunting in store though ~ 1 CA bear tag and 1 AZ archery tag in my pocket.  The hunts continue. 

California hunting, deer hunting, bear hunting, black bear, mule deer, blacktail deer, blackbear, backcountry hunting, habitat management, backpack hunting. 

HOWL For Wildlife

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