Hunting Ain't Easy

EP 23: California hunting regulatory changes you can (and need to) support!!

Listen. Share. Discuss. and Support!!

It's not often the hunting community can get behind hunting regulation changes with enthusiasm, but I bring you this podcast with hope and genuine optimism.  For most of the last few decades it seems as though California has not evolved hunting regulations, seasons, administrative practices, tag allocations or wildlife management in a way that supports hunters or hunting opportunity. Other western states are far more creative, proactive and progressive - and both the hunters and wildlife in those states can benefit. 

This episode we get into 2 specific items on the 12/15/21 Fish & Game Commission meeting agenda. 

Item #13 - is the CDFW proposed regulatory change related to tag returns, point reinstatement and refunds, in response to widespread public lands closures. 

Item #15 - features a HUGE petition for regulatory, administrative, tag allocation and season changes or creation which will spur a ton of debate and hopefully be a new beginning for how CDFW approaches problem solving, hunter opportunity. 

Listen. Learn. Share. Comment - via email or via the public comments opportunities during the 12/15 meeting. 

***Most importantly: we need to support the Item #15 petition being "referred for additional review and consideration" so that CDFW, Dan, biologists and the hunting public can continue working on the ideas presented to craft changes that may go into effect over the next 1-5 years. 

If you want the Petition documents sent via email - drop me a DM at www.instagram.com/huntingainteasy and I'll send them your way.  

HOWL For Wildlife

#Hunting #Conservation #Wildlife #Muledeer #California #Habitat #Blackbear #BearHunting #HSUS #DeerHunting #ElkHunting #Wilderness #Deer #Whitetail #Elk #Blacktail #Advocate #Activist #Howl

EP 22 Public Land Closure Tag Returns - Oct Fish & Game Commission meeting recap

Quick recap on the Oct. meeting of the Calif. Fish & Game Commission discussing a proposed regulatory change to provide Elk, Deer, Sheep and Antelope hunters some recourse when public land closures impact their hunts. This is a big move from CDFW and F&G to both acknowledge an issue impacting thousands of hunters, and then to move forward with long-term regulatory changes which impact affected hunters in a positive way. 

This is a short episode, but there is a lot of material that you should review - become informed and communicate to F&G what you think about these regulatory changes.  Finally - thank Backcountry Hunters, California Deer Association, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Wild Sheep Foundation for their support of these regulatory changes. 

Call to action: read the proposed regulations and let Fish & Game know what you think. If you're in support, they need to know. If you are not in support, they need to know!  EMAIL Fish & Game Commission. 

Calif. Fish & Game Commission

Notice of Proposed Changes (11/2/21)

Proposed Changes to Regulations – Tag returns and point & fee refunds

Hunting Ain’t Easy – Instagram

HOWL For Wildlife

#Hunting #Conservation #Wildlife #Muledeer #California #Habitat #Blackbear #BearHunting #HSUS #DeerHunting #ElkHunting #Wilderness #Deer #Whitetail #Elk #Blacktail #Advocate #Activist #Howl

Ep 21: Chasing migratory bucks after the ”bomb cyclone” - final days of DZone CA General Season

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

#Hunting #Conservation #Wildlife #Muledeer #California #Habitat #Blackbear #BearHunting #HSUS #DeerHunting #ElkHunting #Wilderness #Deer #Whitetail #Elk #Blacktail #Advocate #Activist #Howl

Ep 20: Buck down, hunt breakdown, mea culpa - Trail cams vs. scouting, other post-hunt thoughts

Buck down!! I should be on cloud 9, stoked, yeah? 

I can no longer say I'm 5 seasons in without a buck down.  Many lessons learned this year, especially as I'm finding the difference between "trail cam" scouting and hunt scouting. They're not the same. Trail cams yield good intel and huge amounts of data, fun pictures and a decent idea of what wildlife is in the area. However a number of hunt experiences have shown me that the time it takes to place and retrieve trail cams might be better spent actually scouting for deer with the same techniques you use to hunt. I break some of the intel that went into the successful hunt down, and then I get into some details of the hunt that leave me dissatisfied, even disappointed. 

Just goes to show, that even when a great buck walks right in front of you, there's luck, skill and patience that need to come into play - otherwise Hunting Ain't Easy. 

More stories and pics online @ www.instagram.com/HuntingAintEasy

Hit me up with your thoughts, questions, comments.  

HOWL For Wildlife

#Hunting #Conservation #Wildlife #Muledeer #California #Habitat #Blackbear #BearHunting #HSUS #DeerHunting #ElkHunting #Wilderness #Deer #Whitetail #Elk #Blacktail #Advocate #Activist #Howl

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

 

Ep 19 Mountain musings - live daily recaps from a short California D-Zone backcountry buck hunt

Leading into the California D-zone general season opener I ventured into the backcountry for a day of scouting and then what could have been up to 3 days hunting.  Thursday night hike in, a day of scouting, glassing and checking cameras on Friday and then a solid hunt day on Saturday - with several "first time ever" events that made it a uniquely special day. 

I'll say this... Hunting (still) Ain't Easy, no matter how much success you're having, public land "OTC" hunts take work, dedication, time and some luck to bring it all together. 

Did this hunt go the way it did because of luck, because of accumulated knowledge, skills learned through hard (losses) lessons in the mountains?  Probably all of the above. 

Check out the pics at IG: www.instagram.com/huntingainteasy 

HOWL For Wildlife

#Hunting #Conservation #Wildlife #Muledeer #California #Habitat #Blackbear #BearHunting #HSUS #DeerHunting #ElkHunting #Wilderness #Deer #Whitetail #Elk #Blacktail #Advocate #Activist #Howl

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

Ep 18 CA Wildlife Resource Committee meeting ”Prep call - Zoom recording”

Ok so I'm hijacking the podcast platform to get a Zoom recording out so that more hunters can get a sense of what the upcoming Wildlife Resource Committee meeting (9/16/21) is all about.  I'm hosting these pre-meeting calls to help hunters learn about the rule making process, and how to get involved and informed so that hunters can have a stronger voice, and become the leaders of wildlife mgmt dialogue in CA. 

Drop me a DM at Instagram ( www.instagram.com/HuntingAintEasy ) if you want me to send you some of the resources for this 9/16 meeting and to learn about future opportunities to learn and get involved. 

The hunting community can become a powerful voice and leader for improved wildlife management, and to protect and enhance our hunting opportunities - but it'll requires each of us being informed, and participating.  

9/16 WRC Meeting Agenda

9/16 WRC Meeting Documents 

HOWL For Wildlife

#Hunting #Conservation #Wildlife #Muledeer #California #Habitat #Blackbear #BearHunting #HSUS #DeerHunting #ElkHunting #Wilderness #Deer #Whitetail #Elk #Blacktail #Advocate #Activist #Howl

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

Ep 17 Mark Sasser ”california_tradbow_hunter” Traditional Bowhunting

After I broke my bow sight on a recent backcountry hunt, one of my first thoughts was "Mark is gonna tell me that this wouldn't happen if my bow didn't have a sight on it"! Ughh... and he did say that! Mark Sasser and I get to chat about trad-bow (aka t-rad-bow, or traditional bow hunting) life and hunting - how these simple bows create a more complex shooting and hunting experience. Mark has taken nearly a dozen bucks in CA with a traditional bow, 7 of them at less than 15 yards! So not only does trad-bow hunting require more time slinging arrows to become one with the tool in hand, but it requires a hunter to get really close.  

Is trad bow life for you? Give this a listen and maybe you'll be inspired to check it out! 

Mark Sasser www.instagram.com/california_tradbow_hunter

https://www.bwanabows.com

www.instagram.com/cbh.saa.big.game.club 

HOWL For Wildlife

#Hunting #Conservation #Wildlife #Muledeer #California #Habitat #Blackbear #BearHunting #HSUS #DeerHunting #ElkHunting #Wilderness #Deer #Whitetail #Elk #Blacktail #Advocate #Activist #Howl

California hunting, deer hunting, bear hunting, black bear, mule deer, blacktail deer, blackbear, backcountry hunting, habitat management, backpack hunting, bow hunting, traditional archery, trad bow. 

Ep 16 (reposted) Backcountry solo archery mule deer - California DZone Hunt

10 days of backcountry, DIY, OTC, solo, public land, archery, mule deer hunting - turned into 6 days of adventure! Ok what can we add in to make it more difficult: wildfire smoke, haze & a drought year? In this episode I piece together 7 segments recorded while on the hunt in the central Sierra Nevada, chasing mule deer bucks. The mountains dished up all the expected mental and physical challenges, plus a few surprises - a badger, a peregrine falcon in full dive, and a honey-blonde bear at sunset! Listen in as I share some of the ups and downs of this hunt.  Seriously I was lucky to get this hunt in as 9 of California's National Forests were closed during the first week of archery, and within days of getting back from this hunt ALL of the NF land in CA was closed down. 

Images from this hunt and more @ www.instagram.com/HuntingAintEasy 

HOWL For Wildlife

#Hunting #Conservation #Wildlife #Muledeer #California #Habitat #Blackbear #BearHunting #HSUS #DeerHunting #ElkHunting #Wilderness #Deer #Whitetail #Elk #Blacktail #Advocate #Activist #Howl

 

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

Ep 15: Calif. August Fish & Game Commission Mtg Recap + prep for Sept. Wildlife Resources Committee

In this short episode I give a quick recap of the August California Fish & Game Commission meeting, where a small group of citizen hunters without any official affiliation spoke during Public Comments. It is unusual for the hunting community to join these meetings to speak of their personal interests and priorities related to hunting. The Commission expressed appreciation and welcomed our presence, and our contribution. 

Looking ahead the F&G Commission's Wildlife Resource Committee will meet on 9/16. This is an important committee and meeting for big game hunters to be familiar with, and to engage on a regular basis.  The WRC is where mammal hunting regs, habitat priorities and fire/drought resilience plans are created. 

I will host 2 pre-WRC meetings to help hunters new to the F&G Commission process, where we will discuss how public comments work and how new regulations can be supported, opposed or created by citizen input. 

The Hunting Ain't Easy meeting-prep sessions will be shared on my instagram @ www.instagram.com/huntingainteasy

- Message me there if you'd like to join the calls and learn more about hunter advocacy, engagement and dialogue with the F&G Commission. 

https://fgc.ca.gov/Meetings/2021 

https://fgc.ca.gov/Regulations/Submit-Comments

https://fgc.ca.gov/Regulations 

 

HOWL For Wildlife

#Hunting #Conservation #Wildlife #Muledeer #California #Habitat #Blackbear #BearHunting #HSUS #DeerHunting #ElkHunting #Wilderness #Deer #Whitetail #Elk #Blacktail #Advocate #Activist #Howl

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

 

Bear Series Part 6 (finale!) - Bear down, 2020 Archery Bear Success

Putting a cap on the Bear Series I go solo on the podcast, the same way I hunt! In this episode I touch on how I approach purchasing new equipment and gear, get into the ups and downs of self-learned lessons of archery and bow hunting and I share a handful of bear and deer encounters that took place over a 3 weekends of the 2020 archery season.  

Check out some of pics of the skull, and a quick video of the bear before I nocked an arrow, at www.instagram.com/huntingainteasy 

Are you ready to hunt bears?? They're plentiful in CA, and the meat is fantastic if you take care of it after harvest - go for it!! 

Learn more about bear zones & seasons in CA online @ https://wildlife.ca.gov/Hunting/Bear 

Archery bear season in all bear zones opens August 21, 2021, and runs through September 12, 2021.

General bear season opens concurrently with general deer season in the A, B, C, D, X8, X9A, X9B, X10 and X12 deer hunting zones and extends through December 26, 2021. For zones X1 through X7b, the general bear season begins October 9, 2021, and extends through December 26, 2021.

General bear season closes on December 26, 2021, or earlier, if the Department determines that 1,700 bears have been reported taken. This includes bears harvested during the archery season.

 

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