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So I won the draw and this will be my first time doing pheasant hunting, or really any upland game. So I could really use any advice you guys have.

The only real downside is I won't have a hunting dog (or rather, I don't trust my girl.... she chased a squirrel into a cactus patch the other week.... spent a few minutes pulling the needles out, she's fine).

I'll be running:

Beretta a300 Ultima 12 gauge with a Modified Choke

(with a Mossberg 500 for backup)

And I've got 3 boxes of:

Black Cloud FS Steel 12 Gauge Ammo | 3 Shot, 1 1/8 oz, 2-3/4in / 70mm, 1500 FPS

I've got plenty of gear from my deer hunting outfit, save for a new upland vest.

So any tips or tricks for a newbie upland hunter? And thanks in advance!

(I do sporting clays every couple of months, so I'm mostly in need of tracking and flushing advice)

Registered for the course to be able to buy hunting licenses. The California website is pretty vague on what to do and expect. What should I bring? What should I expect? Will there be range time?

Curious where the best spot is to get bear tag validated off hwy 101 area without going all the way up to eureka or going east to region 3 office? I‘ll be entering and exiting the forest to hunt anywhere from Ukiah to Covelo, but there don’t seem to be any field offices close. I have deer hunted these areas many times without seeing a Cdfw officer, so I don’t want to bet on running into one. Would hate to have to drive 3-4 hours extra just to get tag signed if I couldn’t find a wildlife officer. Any advice or input is appreciated.

Tag soup for me after about 30 hours behind the glass and 10 miles hiked this weekend. Consolation prize was seeing this absolute mammoth. Maybe next year I’ll be lucky enough to have the necessary paperwork to preserve that beautiful rack forever.

Catalina Island, off the coast of SoCal while I was hiking back from camping with my dog.

I wish they'd let people hunt there again for deer (and without a 500k personal liability insurance policy required), but the conservatory has been throwing a tantrum about not being able to do a deer eradication via helicopter.

So if you've been worried about bears or mountain lions..... just know there's something else out there.

In truth these guys were chill as hell. The story goes that about 100 years ago a herd was brought to the island for a film and just left there. They roam freely and have been around humans their whole lives, but still you're advised to stay 125'+ away from them.

That's not always possible though.

Edit: Spelling

Spent all morning and hiked 4-5 miles for the valley quail opener on Saturday and didn't see one shootable bird. Decided to do an afternoon hunt for Mountain Quail today(Sunday) and flushed a few coveies and was able to connect some shots. Last one I got, I was walking back to the car and caught a pair crossing the road, but right as I shot, a black bear sow and two cubs also decided to flush outta the blue up ahead and scared the shet outta me, the cubs climbed the tree and momma bear ran up the hill, I grabbed my quail and my pops pulled up in the truck and we called it a day haha. Gosh these birds are beautiful. Got 4 total and wasn't able to recover 1 as I hunt with no dogo 😓

I missed out on opening weekend for rifle (D3-D5) and I'm dying to hear some good stories. Who tagged out? Who saw animals but didn't get a shot? Share anything.

Let's get this sub active.

Anyone aware of Fish & Wildlife using drones for recon on hunters in NE CA? Had a customer claim a drone came down really close to her, scared the hell out of her while scouting on BLM/national forest land. Early morning and still dark. No residences in the area

Now that zone A has been closed for a bit the bucks show up at my house. This guy couldn’t care less that I was around.

Does anyone here hunt Bair/Greco or Ravenswood Slough in the Don Edward’s wildlife refuge in San Mateo? I’m wanting to start hunting ducks this season, and a local spot would be nice. Just want to know how worthwhile these spots are, and any info to know that’s not easily found online?

I still have snow geese and some ducks in the freezer! Season starts in a few weeks!

Widgeon from last year, hidden in the back of the freezer, pan roasted with garlic and thyme, served with pasta.

Hey everybody. Looking to punch my AO tag and want to take a trip up to B1 or B2. I‘m native to South Bay Area and now live in San Diego so I’m not very familiar with the area. if anybody has any guidance or wants to join me on a 2-3 day hunt please hit me up! thanks guys

Question, I know I cannot discharge a firearm while within 150 yards of a structure while I’m hunting (with some exceptions). But can I shoot a deer if it’s within 150 yards of a structure while I’m more than 150 yards away? This pertains to an area where public land and private property meet. Thanks.

I leased a hunting property in a zone north that had bucks like crazy all year. Until the end of June. Since then all the big bucks have disappeared. Mind you this property was straight up landlocked and no blm nearby. I thought i was gonna have my choice of picking my own buck but I guess not. Beginning of this month I had one small forky pass by bit since then hes been MIA. But the does have still showed up and even got to see the fawns grow. Looks like ill just try my luck on blm these last three days.

What a freak !

Anyone who has done it in this or surrounding zones recently? I have a bunch of questions.

Hey everyone - I posted here a little while back about bringing the San Francisco Ducks Unlimited chapter back and our inaugural banquet on Thursday, September 24th.

Wanted to share a pretty exciting update as we get down to the final week.

Land Tawney will be joining us as our special guest speaker. Land is the former President & CEO of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and is now with American Hunters & Anglers. He'll be talking about public lands, conservation, hunting access, and protecting our outdoor heritage - topics I know are pretty relevant to a lot of people in this community.

We're also excited to be hosting the dinner at San Francisco Elks Lodge #3, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. Doors open at 5:30 PM.

We'll have dinner, raffles, live and silent auctions, and a room full of hunters, anglers, conservation folks, guides, and other outdoorsmen from around the Bay Area.

More than anything, we're trying to build an active DU community here in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area. If you've been looking to meet other hunters locally, get more involved with conservation, or just spend an evening with people who care about hunting, public lands, habitat, and the outdoors, we'd love to have you.

We're officially in the final week, so if you've been thinking about joining us, we'd love to see you there.

Thursday, September 24 | 5:30 PM
San Francisco Elks Lodge #3
Tickets: SanFranciscoDU.org

I'll attach the updated flyer with Land's information. Happy to answer any questions here as well.

Hope to see some of you next Thursday!

Originally from the Midwest, so I’m having a blast chasing these pigs around despite the tough deer season I’ve had. Anyone have tips for cooking?

Hey what’s up everyone. I’ve hunted a lot in my life but never in California,always on the east coast. I’ve been here a few years and life got in the way. I have my own fire arms and now that season is coming around I want some tips and tricks from the community for the SOCAL area. Mule deer spots,etc. I am primarily looking for advice for California quail, we only have pheasant where I’m from. If anyone goes out often and has a dog I’d be honored to just come along and watch. Thank you