Ten Commandments of Shooting Safety

 1. Always control the direction of your firearm’s muzzle. Carry your firearm safely, keeping the safety on until you’re ready to shoot. Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot.
 2. Identify your target and what is beyond it (for instance, don’t shoot at a deer on top of a ridge with nothing to stop the bullet’s flight if you miss). Know the identifying features of the game you hunt.
 3. Always treat every firearm as if it is loaded.
 4. Always be sure the barrel and action are clear of obstructions before you hunt. This is also true during the hunt if the barrel accidentally comes into contact with the ground, snow, mud, etc. Use the proper ammunition for the firearm you are carrying.
 5. Unload firearms when not in use. Firearms should be carried empty in transit to and from shooting areas.
 6. Never point a firearm at anything you do not want to shoot. Do not use a rifle scope as a binocular to identify an object that you are not sure of. You may be pointing your rifle at another human. Avoid all horseplay with firearms.
 7. Never climb a fence or tree, jump a ditch or log, or traverse otherwise difficult terrain with a loaded firearm. Never pull a firearm toward you by the muzzle.
 8. During practice make sure your backstop is adequate. Never shoot a bullet at water or a flat, hard surface.
 9. Store firearms and ammunition separately beyond the reach of children or careless adults.
 10. Avoid alcoholic beverages or other mood-altering drugs before hunting or while shooting.

 Hunters are constantly faced with ethical questions in the field, and usually they’re alone and have no audience to approve or disapprove of their actions. It is difficult to regulate ethics by law so it is largely up to the individual to decide what is and what is not proper in his or her interaction with other hunters and the game being pursued. The concept of fair chase obviously applies to the hunter's relationship with the game and is a primary ingredient in any honest hunting exercise. Simply put, fair chase means that the hunter respects his or her quarry and will not take unfair advantage of it during the act of hunting, even if such a situation presents itself. That said, here are some rules that should be an integral part of every hunter’s code of ethics.

Migratory or Resident Deer?

One of the first things a hunter has to do is determine if the deer in a particular area are migratory or resident animals. Resident deer remain in the same general area all year while migratory deer move from summer to winter range and back each year—meaning that they won’t be everywhere at once. For obvious reasons, then, making the distinction between migratory and resident deer is important to hunters. For example, if you choose to hunt on winter range on opening day before the annual migration begins, chances are good that you won’t find even a track. You have to adapt and go to where the deer are at a particular time. Generally speaking, the deer of the southern California mountains, the southern deserts and the coast ranges are resident animals. There are also some resident deer living around foothill reservoirs, in the riparian habitat along rivers, and in some agricultural areas. Many resident deer inhabit areas that are on private land while most migratory deer spend some of their time high in the mountains on public land. Most of the deer of the Sierra Nevada Range, the Cascade Range, and the other northern mountains as far west as the Trinity and Marble mountains, are migratory and move up and down with the seasons. That goes for both mule and black-tailed deer, depending on the region. If you hunt the A, B-1 or B-4 zones, you’ll be hunting mostly resident deer. The same is true if you hunt practically anywhere south of Bakersfield. The biggest difference in the behavior of resident and migratory deer is that resident deer spend their entire lives within a few square miles of habitat, while migratory deer inhabit separate ranges at different altitudes that are sometimes many miles apart. Resident deer stay put, which means that the deer you see today will be somewhere close-by tomorrow. Whether or not you can find them is, of course, another matter. Actually, it’s possible to pattern resident deer somewhat, especially if they aren’t under a lot of hunting pressure. The deer will bed down in the same general areas, get their water and feed in certain places, and generally use the same trails to and from current food sources and bedding areas. Once you know their habits you will be well on your way toward tagging a resident buck, or a doe if that’s what your tag calls for. While migratory deer may shift areas completely because of weather changes, resident deer just change their normal routine while remaining within a certain area. If you bump a resident buck one day but can’t harvest the animal, it may be a good idea to back off and leave him alone for awhile. If the buck wasn’t too scared he’ll probably bed down in the same general area again, giving you a chance to find him on another day. At that time, it would be best to plan your approach carefully and try to avoid another accidental, and usually fruitless, meeting. The key to finding migratory deer during the first part of the open season is to go high, if possible, and hunt the deer in the areas where they spend the summer. Where there is road access into the mountains this is not a problem. However, in many cases you’ll have to hike or ride horseback into a productive area. Regardless, you should think about, and take into account, the natural movement of the deer in a particular location. Some long-time deer hunters in northern California will tell you that the deer begin to migrate during the first full moon in September. Whether or not that’s true, there are obvious changes in the deer density on some parts of their summer range shortly after the opening weekend of hunting season in September. It’s not unusual for migratory deer to completely vacate certain areas during the first half of the season while they remain in at least fair numbers, for whatever reason, in others. When a deer hunter learns to recognize the changes that take place as the season progresses, he or she can adjust accordingly by switching locations as needed. For instance, some hunters know certain areas well enough to predict where the deer will be on opening day, two weeks later, during stormy weather and on the final weekend of the hunt. Even though the deer may move many miles, they are tied somewhat to a basic routine.
There are several factors involved in the 31 Migratory or Resident Deer? annual migration of deer throughout the state. It is widely believed that the first fall storms are what really trigger the movement, but many deer herds do start downhill at around the same time each fall, storms or no storms. The movement, however, may not be as sudden or complete if there is no inclement weather to hurry it along. In the fall, deer may respond to food availability as well as to changing weather. Rainfall immediately starts the fall green-up and thus creates a new food source for the deer at lower elevations. Migratory deer that summer in the mountains above foothills dotted with oak trees (generally not the situation with deer in the Eastern Sierra or the Northeast Region) seem to know instinctively when acorns are abundant and they may start to vacate their summer range early to take advantage of a substantial acorn crop. Some years they stop in the acorn producing oaks and stay there as long as the weather cooperates and the food is available. Hunters who key on food sources, such as acorns, learn to identify which oaks are producing and which are not. For instance, some years black oaks will produce acorns in abundance; other years it may be live or blue oaks. Obviously, hunters in the know can save time by going directly to the most likely areas once they realize that the migration is, indeed, under way.
, indeed, under way. What all of this means is that the deer have several options open to them within the annual An established deer trail like this will show the effects of heavy use during migration. John Higley photo. Tracks in fresh snow tell this hunter that numerous deer are moving through the area. John Higley photo. migration cycle. Certainly, they will move out of the high country in the fall, but they may not move all at once, and they may not wind up on the lower end of their range while the hunting season is open. Then again, they may ... It’s a fair bet that any downslope movement will be slight during the opening days of any deer season in the state. The situation can change rapidly, however, and the hunter who does not recognize the signs may very well miss out on the best opportunity to harvest a buck.

Hunting Deer

We hope this guide will help deer hunters by encouraging a greater understanding of the various subspecies of mule deer found in California and explaining effective hunting techniques for various situations and conditions encountered throughout the state during general and special deer seasons.

When most hunters discuss the deer they hunt they normally talk about mule deer or blacktails without any elaboration except, perhaps, for noting the size of the last buck they killed or failed to get. That’s not surprising. Most of us simply do not have the expertise of a big game biologist nor do we need to know the most minute details about the deer we encounter. On the other hand, it’s a good idea for hunters to have a basic understanding of the deer in California. While you may not be able to identify each and every subspecies (there is some overlap in several areas), at least you’ll know that there are recognizable differences in the deer that reside in the various geographical regions. According to the DFG, six subspecies of mule deer are found in California: Columbian blacktailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), Rocky Mountain mule deer (O.h. hemionus), California mule deer (O.h. californicus), Inyo mule deer (O.h. inyoensis), burro mule deer (O.h. eremicus), and southern mule deer (O.h. fuliginatus). Deer of one sort or another occupy roughly 88,000 square miles of habitat or 56 percent of the land in California. Some of the state’s deer herds are resident animals that spend their entire lives in a particular area where everything they need in the way of food, cover, and water is available all year. Other herds are migratory. That is, they range high into the mountains during the summer and migrate down to winter range in the fall. Summer range for migratory deer is usually high in elevation (from 5,000 to 10,000 feet), under public ownership, and is typically vast. By contrast, lower-elevation winter range, some public and some private, is more limited in scope and more susceptible to the type of alterations chapter 1: The Deer of California (particularly human development) that may make it unsuitable for deer. Simply put, the amount and quality of winter range generally determines the size, health, and future of many of the state’s deer herds. It is interesting how much the basic habits of deer in California differ from region to region from the type of preferred habitat to the general The most numerous deer in California are Columbian black-tailed deer which range throughout the coastal mountains and along the west slope of the Cascade-Sierra Nevada Range.

herd movements within that habitat. Additionally, the breeding season, or rut, occurs at slightly different times from north to south. Depending on the geographical area involved, the rut may take place anywhere from October (coastal mountains) through January (southern deserts). These factors are all taken into consideration, along with several other factors, when seasons and quotas are set by the Fish and Game Commission. The most numerous deer in California are columbian black-tailed deer. They range throughout the coastal mountains from Oregon roughly to Santa Barbara, and along the west slope of the Cascade-Sierra Nevada range to Calaveras County, and south along the foothills of the Sierra Nevada to Mariposa County. The second most abundant subspecies of deer in the state is the california mule deer. They are Rocky Mountain mule deer are the biggest deer in California and the third most abundant subspecies. found along the west slope of the Sierra Nevada from Sierra County south into Kern County and from northern Orange County to San Benito and Monterey counties. California mule deer also are found in the Tehachapi, San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains. rocky mountain mule deer are the largest deer in California and the third most abundant subspecies. Rocky Mountain mule deer range throughout the West and spill over into the Golden State in Modoc, Lassen, Shasta and Siskiyou counties.

they are also found along the east slope of the CascadeSierra Nevada chain to southern Mono County. Some Rocky Mountain mule deer were transplanted from Modoc County to parts of the desert mountains in San Bernardino County in 1948, where they still eke out an existence today. southern mule deer occupy portions of San Diego, Orange and western Riverside counties while the inyo mule deer (which may soon be classified differently based on new information) reside in Inyo, southern Mono and northeastern Kern counties. burro mule deer (which have been combined with the desert mule deer, O.h. crooki) inhabit the southeastern deserts in San Bernardino, Riverside and Imperial counties, especially along the California and Arizona sides of the Colorado River. From a hunter’s perspective, the easiest way to identify the subspecies of deer that’s harvested is to match the hunt location with the known general range of each subspecies (see range and tail pattern illustrations on pages 6 and 8 respectively). At the risk of confusion, it should be noted that the deer themselves have trouble recognizing one another, or perhaps they don’t care. Except for the desert areas, ranges often overlap and where they do it is inevitable that the various subspecies will interbreed. Thus, the buck of your dreams may very well be a hybrid. As a general rule, adult Rocky Mountain mule deer have the largest antlers and weigh the most of the six subspecies. There are exceptions, but characteristically pure strain black-tailed deer are the smallest of the various subspecies in California. While the die is cast genetically as to an individual animal’s features, ultimately its body and antler size, and growth rate (within the framework of a particular subspecies) are determined by the quality of the habitat in which it lives. Studies (including a recent study of captive deer) have shown that deer that do not have a nutritious food supply will not develop on par with deer that have access to optimum high quality forage.
other deer? You may have heard some hunters talk of hunting blue deer or red deer as if they’re unique subspecies but that is not the case. What these hunters are seeing are deer before and after they shed their summer and winter coats (or pelage). In the summer, mule deer are reddish-brown and black-tailed deer are even a bit redder. By contrast, a mule deer’s winter coat is grayish-brown while a black-tailed deer’s coat varies from warm brown to gray-brown. It’s reasonable to assume that a graybrown deer could appear to have a hint of blue (to some folks) given the right conditions—thus the term blue deer comes into play. One more thing. Contrary to what you might have read or heard, there are no free-roaming whitetailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in California, which isn’t to say that there never have been. DFG records show that in the past there have been occasional sightings of whitetails in the northeast portion of the state. They have never become established here, however, and the last confirmed sighting was more than 50 years ago. So, while there are some white-tailed deer in portions of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and several other western states, you won’t find them in the Golden State. california's deer population: In the 2000 Environmental Document on Deer Hunting, the DFG estimates that the total population of deer in California is more than 511,000 animals. That is fewer deer than were estimated to be present in the 1950s, perhaps, but probably more than there were prior to the mid-1800s. The California Gold Rush of 1849 marked the beginning of a dramatic change in California. According to one study, the greatest initial effect on deer was from market hunting to supply venison for mining camps. In 1852, it was said that there were human occupants on every gravel bar of the Trinity River from Salyer to Carville. Similar congregations were present in the Mother Lode region and even on the east slope of the Sierra Nevada. Miners shot deer for meat year-round and deer range was altered by logging, grazing, burning and clearing. Some of the changes ultimately benefited the deer but the initial impacts caused a decline in overall numbers. Historic game laws, hunting license requirements, and restrictions on hunting contributed to the increase of deer first noted between 1910 and 1920. In effect, legislation and enforcement allowed the deer to benefit from the improved habitat created by the intrusions of man, including the large-scale burning and logging mentioned above. More recently, however, improved fire suppression techniques have reduced the amount of deer habitat that had previously been open. At the same time, human activity has usurped prime deer habitat for agricultural uses, subdivisions, freeways, reservoirs and shopping centers.