It’s important to have a draw strategy in any state, but I think particularly in California you really have to acknowledge the reality of the playing field and decide what you want to do. For deer; do you want to hunt more? Or do you want to hunt the very best unit? Your points are meaningless until you hit the threshold of the minimum points to draw any given unit. If you are one point behind max points, and you are applying for a max point unit, you are in the random draw with everyone else hoping for one of the few random tags that are offered. You are in the same boat with the guy with 0 points and everyone else in between.
Of course, there is always the chance to draw one of the few random tags. A former SCH’er drew a coveted Tule bull tag this year…. So it can happen. All Elk (bull), pronghorn and sheep tags in California should be considered a once in a lifetime tag and you should assume you won’t draw them for a very long time (decades) or maybe ever.
For deer I recommend choosing a timeframe you are willing to wait for a tag and finding a corresponding unit for that amount of points. Most of the “good” units are taking 8+ these days. You can hunt one of these units 2 or 3 times in the amount of time it would take to draw the “best” unit in the state. Or, apply for the best and then dedicate yourself to hunting a unit you can hunt every year on a second choice tag. There are “big” bucks in “OTC” units but they aren’t going to be easy to find and you are going to be sharing the unit with many others.
