Hey ya'll from the Midwest living in San Diego County, used to hunting monster whitetails new to Mulies. I shoot trad. bow. and I recently applied for all my tags. Wondering if anyone knew of any good archery shops in the San Diego area? I know there is one in Lakeside near me. Also is it worth hunting in Mt. Laguna in the fall? I've looked into some other areas but I've read that it gets quite crowded around that area....any reports on how people even do out there? Also looking for anyone who'd like to meetup and maybe do some scouting or just talk hunting. Thanks anything is appreciated!
Hunter from the Midwest, New to SoCal Hunting
- Thread starter larnett22
- Start date
Welcome to SCH. I dont hunt that area so I can't be any help, sorry. Where in the Midwest are you from?
Nicholas909 said:
I'm from Central Illinois. I did most of my hunting archery on my family's land, we have a hunting camp we host in the southern part of the state for all family and friends to come down for shotgun season. You can't hunt with rifles in Illinois so its either Archery from October-January with 2 Shotgun/Muzzleloader seasons in November and December lasting 4 days each.
I'm originally from Northern Illinois. Deer hunting here is nothing like the Midwest. I'm not sure there's Mule deer where your at. Could be wrong, but I believe it's mostly Black tail in Southern Cal. & what some call California Hybrid. I hunt mostly in the San Bernardino National Forrest & go up North to Stanislaus National Forest.
Black tailed are a subspecies of Mule Deer. We have several species here in California that are categorized by their environment. I do miss the whitetails though....Where at in Northern Il? I'm from a tiny town in between Champaign and Bloomington called Farmer City. My family owns Property there and outside of Carbondale. We regularly take 140 plus bucks there and my step father has filmed a couple of hunts that were aired on Jim Shockeys show. I'm not so much a trophy hunter like they are, I'm in it for the meat!Nicholas909 said:
Edit: Here is some from over the years taken by my stepfather, family friend, uncle, and grandfather. Also there's some fish for good measure haha.
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L22,
Welcome to SCH......Yes, there's deer (Southern Mule Deer officially) in the Laguna's and it can be busy, but every year there's some nice bucks taken from there (archery only).....Cuyamaca State Park and much private land surrounds it. So the influx of bucks can be at any time, since most of our hunting is done during the ruts......Hunting these local deer is very much like hunting white-tail in many parts of the county.....They are homebodies, work areas, and hunting them many times involves tree stands & ground blinds.
Besides the Bow & Arrow Shop in Lakeside, Jim at Willow Creek Archery is a great place to talk shop.
NWTF has monthly meetings in Poway. And besides turkeys, we talk about all hunting done here in San Diego Co. most every month.
Welcome to SCH......Yes, there's deer (Southern Mule Deer officially) in the Laguna's and it can be busy, but every year there's some nice bucks taken from there (archery only).....Cuyamaca State Park and much private land surrounds it. So the influx of bucks can be at any time, since most of our hunting is done during the ruts......Hunting these local deer is very much like hunting white-tail in many parts of the county.....They are homebodies, work areas, and hunting them many times involves tree stands & ground blinds.
Besides the Bow & Arrow Shop in Lakeside, Jim at Willow Creek Archery is a great place to talk shop.
NWTF has monthly meetings in Poway. And besides turkeys, we talk about all hunting done here in San Diego Co. most every month.
ilovesprig said:
Thanks ilovesprig! I will have to check these places out! I had no idea you could hunt these guys by stand! Do people often do this or is the "spot and stalk" strategy work as well? I will look into those shops and the NWTF! Thank you again!
Just wanted to comment that this is one of the best newbie post I have seen. You didn't come on and as where to hunt. You have obviously been researching SD and need a little help. Great post.
As for tree stands watch out from what I understand Laguna is a war zone. Stuff gets stolen, shot, taken down etc. Happens every year to guys on this site. But that doesn't mean you cant do it because a lot of guys do.
As for tree stands watch out from what I understand Laguna is a war zone. Stuff gets stolen, shot, taken down etc. Happens every year to guys on this site. But that doesn't mean you cant do it because a lot of guys do.
Truduct said:
I almost feel a little ashamed for claiming that I'm a newbie, but I really am when it comes to hunting in the western states or even public land for that matter. I started hunting when I was 14 and it has been a passion of mine since but I haven't been able to hunt for several years due to my geographical location and occupation. I am excited to finally be settled down somewhere and I honestly didn't know there were hunters around here till I talked with a local hunter myself. This was several months ago and now that I'm licensed and legal and have the gear necessary I'm in full "rut" haha! I look forward to learning from others on this site and hopefully meeting a few of y'all.
Quick questions:
You say stands get stolen, do people leave them there? Is that legal? Where I'm from on public land I KNOW you can only use climbers.
Also for maps, Ive read up on and have recently tried onX HUNT maps....how is everyone's experience with them?
Welcome to the site... there was a recent similar thread about Laguna: http://southerncaliforniahunting.com/huntersforum/index.php/topic,9149.msg74079.html#msg74079
People do leave stands and cams up, and they do get stolen. One guy on here even had his shot at I think. OnXMaps are great, recommend it.
People do leave stands and cams up, and they do get stolen. One guy on here even had his shot at I think. OnXMaps are great, recommend it.
SurfNHuntSD said:
Thanks, I just posted. Trying to get a good feel for it, I think I know more what i'm working with. Unfortunately i've been studying the wrong things. I was expecting more of a spot and stalk scenario. I am an accomplished hiker so I was pretty excited about humping around for days looks like I'll be investing in a ground blind now haha! Again thank you all for being so helpful. I plan on checking out an area over by Jacumba as well. Going to look for posts!
Welcome to drought (even though the Donald says that's a lie), and a legislature hell-bent on making you hunt with a sharp rock. Your new governor has the ASPCA walk his dog (sure that doesn't effect his voting) Let me also mention an overpopulation of mountain lions (protected by the voters) and some over-eager game wardens who think their next raise depends on writing you a B.S. ticket.
And you left why?
And you left why?
HAHAHAHA Idk if you know about Illinois but its a million times worse....we also have protected lions.....yes thats right we have mountain lions as well. Really I left because I was in the Marines and spent time over seas, got out here in sunny SoCal and love the atmosphere. It was a bonus I could hunt here. Also jobs are better here!TonyS said:
Don't let these guys scare you.......Lots of hunting opps here.....And not everyone is a thief or bad guy....
I would invest in a rifle & shotgun, if you don't have them.....Many more places to hunt with these tools.
ps.....Thank you for your service.
I would invest in a rifle & shotgun, if you don't have them.....Many more places to hunt with these tools.
ps.....Thank you for your service.
L22, thank you for your service and welcome to SCH. OnX maps is outstanding and worth every penny. I have had no complaints; use it on my iPhone and also have their maps on my backup GPS that I use for large areas with little service. Caching takes a lot of memory and time for downloads, so it's not as useful when you're covering ground by vehicle.
Blinds are great for bow as long as you have time to scout. Game cameras are great for that purpose and I'm sure you have one or two.
There are some public lands where you can spot and stalk but the terrain here is too open (and dry/noisy) for you to get close enough to use traditional bow unless you are an awesome stalker and really know your area. There are a couple of guys on this site who take huge bucks every year spotting and stalking with trad bow, so I know it can be done but I don't know how.
Anyway, I agree with Drew (Truduct) that yours was a terrific first post and thread. Welcome aboard.
Blinds are great for bow as long as you have time to scout. Game cameras are great for that purpose and I'm sure you have one or two.
There are some public lands where you can spot and stalk but the terrain here is too open (and dry/noisy) for you to get close enough to use traditional bow unless you are an awesome stalker and really know your area. There are a couple of guys on this site who take huge bucks every year spotting and stalking with trad bow, so I know it can be done but I don't know how.
Anyway, I agree with Drew (Truduct) that yours was a terrific first post and thread. Welcome aboard.
Larnett22, small world, I'm from Bloomington! Also moved out here because of the Marines(At CPen right now).