making the most out of a bad hunt

[PistolPackin'Papa]

Hunted CA. D-8 Yesterday. Forest service decided to do a number of controled burns the same day Fancy that. Hunting was lousy What could I have done to take advantage of their obvious intentional act to give hunters a bad time, and still get a buck? ( they have done it before, this isn't the first year.)

 

[Harve Curry]

Check and see if California has laws against hunter harrasment, NM does.
National Forests have agreements with each states Game & Fish Dept.
I believe USDA/USNF's are even compensated in some way by each states G&F Dept through our hunting license and fees. Likewise with BLM and state lands. Each N.F. district personel has discretion over how they manage their forest district, all are not the same. Staffs are a mixed bag of different peoples politics, left or right wing, hunt/anti hunt, forest/lumber, the whole shebang.

 

[PistolPackin'Papa]

A bad hunt

The D-8 Section is administrated out of Porterville, Ca. Notorious for their Pinkos, Clear back to the Carter era. That is the Sequoia National Forrest. The Sierra National Forrest, ( hunting section D-7, is a different story.) I was wondering, How could I have, ?? or could I have??? turned that controled burn into meat on the table??? Do deer head a certain way during a fire, or just helter skelter???

 

[Bwana John]

Go high, all the way to above treeline if possible.

Does D-8 include the west side of Sonora Pass? If so I would hunt the headwaters of the Stanaslaus River, all the way to the top. (St Mary Pass, Sonora Peak, Stanaslaus Peak)

California has early hunts with low sucess levals to let more people hunt. The big deer are still all the way at the top of the mountains.

My biggest Sierra Nevada Buck came out of D-7 right after the Rainbow fire, in mid September, at 10,500 feet of elevation.

 

[dakotasin]

fire isn't all bad to hunting... a fire burning while you are hunting is not a good thing.

this time of year, fire or no, i concur - go higher.

deer behavior: when i am hunting hilly, forested areas, i notice the deer tend to run up to escape a threat. so, w/ a fire burning, i'd try extra hard to get up and find a high stream, creek, pond, etc...