I had a great day scouting for deer today one week before the archery opener.

Saw 24+ doe's, half of them with fawns, and 6 bucks, 3 of which had broad beamed racks in velvet.

Life Is Good.

WAY-WAY-too HOT here in Central Kentucky to scout for Deer or anything else, with temps in the 100 degree range and dry as a bone! Deer aren't moving much in this type weather.

ShooBee, I'm glad you saw some good deer numbers for this year's archery hunt. I've been there and know how tough it is to tag a deer with a bow and arrow, in CA. The archery success rate runs right around 2%, so if you get a decent buck, get it dressed and cooled as quickly as you can...then go buy a lottery ticket!

I think it's a cryin' shame they run the hunts so early, in CA. The older I got and the more I understood deer biology, the more obvious it became that the CA DF&G is more than happy to take your money for license and tags, but they do everything in their power to keep you from actually being successful (or comfortable) in your hunt. I've got a small bag full of very thin, mesh-style pants and shirts that I used for those ridiculous July hunting seasons in CA. Heck, even their "fall" seasons start way too early and can see days over 80 degrees, up in the mountains. Getting game cooled before it spoiled was always a huge concern.

So, here's hoping you get one, but I can't say I envy you the heat and difficulty of buck-only archery hunting in the Republik of Kalifornia.

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Glad you were able to see some deer. I can't believe CA deer season starts in July. Like Davers, it is way to hot here in LA in July to be in the woods. If you don't pass out from heat stoke, you would from blood loss due to the Mosquitos. I worked on my deer stand the other morning. At 7 am it was 85 which was not to bad. By 10 am it was 97 and time to go. Hope you have a successful hunt this season.

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A truely successful life is mostly based on how well you handle PLAN B.

I have no idea why the Calif DFG has chosen such early seasons either. We live with it though.

After hunting California, we can then go to Colorado and hunt some more during the later seasons there.

i live in missouri and have the exact opposite problem. rifle season starts mid november. i would love for it to start late october. thats when i see the most bucks when scouting. when it comes time to actually shoot them, i have little luck.

That's what archery equipment is for!

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