Hunting West of lake piru

[smokindice]

Been driving all around the southern portion of los padres, in and around the condor sanctuary. Mostly looking for access and any ground that is not so steep I can't walk it. Took the forest road North of Filmore and found a lot of oil gates closed. Ran into some other hunters and they said some of them have a gap and you can hike up. Hope that is true because I hiked up one and saw 6 does, no bucks unfortunately. If anyone has hiked in around these oil fields and has any pointers please let me know.

Been looking west of Lake piru. There is a spot of los padres land with a campground but the road goes through private property. Topography looks a little flatter too. Anyone know if the road in the image below is gated? Thanks!

 

[ilovesprig]

I think Matt (Hatchet1) knows this area pretty well.....

 

[TRICER]

one thing I have learned is that there is always a way in. Problem is sometimes that way in is miserable. I waste a ton of gas, and beat a lot of brush trying to find ways in. In the end some of them just don't work out.

 

[smokindice]

I definitely used a bit of gas this weekend, drove up to doughflats and got my jeep rightfully dirty, been clean far too long.

Does anyone carry a machete with them out here? I know the philosophy is to leave no trace but lets be honest, most of it is dead brush anyway lol.

 

[SteveHazard]

The lake will want $15 before you can even get to that point to check.

I bring hand pruners with me almost everywhere. Hiking, hunting, fishing, mountain biking. Helping do the job the forest service doesn't is the way I look at it. Went down a trail yesterday that somebody needs to hike down with a chainsaw there were so many fallen trees. Machetes are not really the tool I'd reach for first.

 

[smokindice]

The lake will want $15 before you can even get to that point to check.

I bring hand pruners with me almost everywhere. Hiking, hunting, fishing, mountain biking. Helping do the job the forest service doesn't is the way I look at it. Went down a trail yesterday that somebody needs to hike down with a chainsaw there were so many fallen trees. Machetes are not really the tool I'd reach for first.

Pruners are a great idea, small but effective. Thanks for the input on the Piru area. I will call the forest service as well to ask about any ins and outs of the area.

 

[TRICER]

keep in mind if you cant move around in the brush deer wont be able to to either.

 

[TrapLine]

one thing I have learned is that there is always a way in. Problem is sometimes that way in is miserable. I waste a ton of gas, and beat a lot of brush trying to find ways in. In the end some of them just don't work out.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[TheGDog]

Definitely not a Machete.

Fiskars has a very lightweight set of pruners/loppers that have handles like 15". Polymer/Nylon type handles. Very lightweight. Not expensive. Easy to pack in. And they can do some pretty good sized branch diameters.

Especially good to bring when you're scouting pre-season and find a location that would be good to sit in, but like it is an area covered with Poison Oak, etc.

Or... you see a spot that looks like it'd be the perfect spot to setup at... but.. when you go and sit down at that spot to test it out... you notice the dead branches hanging down from that Oak in front of you a ways are blocking your FOV a bit. So you can use 'em to get that dead stuff out of the way.

Also.. they are really great to have when you're building your ground blinds pre-season. You'll find large branches of deadfall, and you can chop off smaller easier to handle pieces so you can better position them into the form of a blind.

Also sometimes you might need to snip a little into a scrub oak so you can move your sit even more into the shade of it as the path of the sun changes throughout the day.

 

[TrapLine]

They work good for cutting branches instead of bending them and slapping the crap out of the guy following you through the brush.

 

[HATCHET1]

Use the info i gave you and you will be fine....post him when you kill him. Rooting for you dude.