California Deer Association

FOUNDER - Alex Ramoz

PRESIDENT

Donn Walgamuth

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Doug BrownRennie Cleland

Ron LaraPete ReedMatt RogersLarry SmithAndy Wood

FIELD DIRECTORS

Chapter DevelopmentNorthern California

Pat Fitzmorris - (530) 632-2091 [email protected]

Central-Southern CaliforniaKevin Tedder - (916) 952-1352

[email protected]

MERCHANDISE MANAGER

Shelby Caskey - [email protected]

PROJECTS & GRANTS MANAGER

Kaliela Ikelman - [email protected]

CALIFORNIA DEER MAGAZINE

MuleyCrazy Inc.

Ryan Hatch - [email protected]

Steve Monk - [email protected]

CDA WEBSITE — www.CalDeer.org

[email protected]

California Deer Association

1431 N. Market Blvd., Ste. 1

Sacramento, CA 95834 • 1 844 CAL-DEER

CALIFORNIA DEER MAGAZINE is published four times a year

by California Deer Association. California Deer, copyright 2016

by California Deer Association. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Re-

production of information appearing inthis magazine is prohib-

ited unless permission has been granted from the publisher.

We all look forward to the early summer months when the draw results are being

posted online, or we’re constantly checking our credit cards, hoping for a charge

from one of the various states we applied in. Like many of you, I apply in multiple

states, but I’m always hopeful for that slight chance of drawing one of the coveted

tags here in my home state of California. By now, the draw results are out and I’m

sure many of you have some great tags in your pockets!

The past few months have been exciting for CDA, with many banquets having

taken place throughout the state, allowing us to show our collective support for

the deer we love. I assure you that the level of support and generosity never goes

unnoticed by all of us here at CDA. I know there are many choices when it comes

to attending fundraisers, but when we receive email after email that yet another

CDA banquet has sold out, it really pushes us to do everything in our power make

sure we are putting on the best banquets possible. If you haven’t made it to a CDA

banquet yet this year, don’t miss out – there are only a few left. Check page 21 for

the dates and locations of the remaining banquets. Throughout the year, we are

busy making sure that your hard-earned donations go as far as they can toward

the preservation of habitat and the deer herds throughout California.

CDA has been off to a very busy start this year, and as you can see, we are mak-

ing some great changes. We’ve partnered with Ryan Hatch and the MuleyCrazy

crew to help bring our members an entirely redesigned magazine. With major up-

grades to the publication, and some fresh, new content, we hope to showcase

just how dedicated and committed we are to conserving the habitat and the deer

herds in California. With new guzzlers going in the ground and new habitat being

planted, our project department has been very busy, and in the following pages

you will find what CDA has been up to this year and the great things that are

happening because of your contributions.

The political season never seems to take a rest, and there’s always something

going on that we need to pay attention to. To help keep our readers informed,

we’ve partnered with Bill Gaines of Gaines & Associates and his new column

will help keep you up-to-date with what’s happening in the legislative world.

You’ve seen some great columns from Luke Grif-

fiths in the past, and we’re excited that he’ll be reg-

ular writer for our magazine. Additionally, Ryan

and his staff at MuleyCrazy will offer us some valu-

able insights into what equipment will best help us

maximize our pursuit of the animals we all love. So

sit back and enjoy your NEW CDA magazine, and

let us know what you think.

DONN [email protected]

CDA PRESIDENTS MESSAGE

CDAPRESIDENTS MESSAGE

California Deer Summer 2016 Volume 16 Issue 2

COPYRIGHT © 2016 CALIFORNIA DEER ASSOCIATION

5

139

5Gun Bill Takes Center Stage

By Bill Gaines

9Carrizo Plains

CDA Water ProjectsBy John Jensen

13Defining Success

As A HunterBy Luke Griffiths

17Power Tools

By Ryan Hatch

23The California Dream

By Kirk Gilbert

THE CALIFORNIA DEER ASSOCIATION is a non-profit, tax-exempt wildlife conservation organiza-

tion whose principal goal is to improve our California deer herds and other wildlife through direct finan-

cial support for habitat improvement and research projects. Seventy-five percent of the net profit from

fundraising events goes to projects benefiting deer and other wildlife within California.

Summer 2016 Cover Photo ~ Donn Walgumuth

CDATABLE OF CONTENTS

23

IT’S EARLY SUMMER AND IT’S GETTING WARM.The does are dropping and caring for their fawns,the bucks are growing velvet antlers for the com-ing fall, the kids are starting their summer vaca-tions, and things are busy at CDA! The status ofCDA is stronger than ever and the momentum isbuilding. We just had a number of banquets blowthe doors off of last year’s revenue; Chico, Red-ding, Central Coast, Santa Rosa, Gridley, Wood-land, Redwood Coast, and San Jose all hadphenomenal fundraising events and a few of thosechapters had record setting events… and I mean,like, big time! Our local chapters are makingthings happen, are the lifeblood of CDA, and theyneed to be congratulated for their efforts. Thankyou to all our volunteers that put so much into thesuccess of the organization!

This is CDA’s 20th year anniversary and wethank our founding benefactors and key volun-

teers that had the vision of creating a founda-tion just for California’s deer. They believedthat we could make a difference in Californiaby raising money that stayed within the con-fines of our state. Money spent on the groundthat was generated here and spent here. Wehave had fantastic growth over the years and itcould not have happened without the strongsupport of our volunteers, members, sponsors,and donors that believe in helping wildlife inour great state. THANK YOU!

I was talking to an older gentleman the other daythat has been hunting in California for 75 years!He is 82 and has bought a hunting license in ourgreat Golden State since he was 7. He has huntedon private and public land and still gets out forturkeys, deer, and upland game. He asked meabout the CDA and what we do and I explained

to him that we work on habitat projects on publicland to increase wildlife health so hunting is bet-ter, and we sponsor youth hunts and hunter edu-cation. He was impressed but also was pessimistic

that things can get turned around. I see his pointbecause he lived through the “Glory Days” ofhunting in California and things have surechanged. But, we can’t pack up and go home!We are in this fight together and we have toomuch skin in the game to throw in the towel!

Although you won’t receive the CDA magazinein your mailbox until well after Memorial Day,please join me now in honoring our veteranswho paid the ultimate sacrifice for our free-dom. Let’s pay our respect to the men andwomen who gave their lives for our country sowe can live in peace and freedom. I hope youhad time to attend a local Memorial Day Pa-rade or to visit your local cemetery to honorthese fine people. If not, please do it now,have a personal moment of silence and remem-brance to honor our veterans that died in battlefor all of us. Thank you.

Please take a look at our banquet schedule andmake sure you don’t miss out! We have a few leftin 2016. Also, think about joining the local com-mittee, you would be stepping up even more to

We have had fantastic growth over the yearsand it could not have happened without thestrong support of our volunteers, members,

sponsors, and donors that believe in helping wildlife in our great state.

CDANORTHERN FIELD DIRECTOR

A BIG THANK YOU!

help our cause. The members and volunteers ofCDA are the lifeblood of this organization. Since1996, CDA has accomplished great things for ourdeer herds BUT there is much more to do!

FUTURE MEMBERSHIP IN THE CALIFORNIADEER ASSOCIATION, and the future of wildlifeconservation, depends on getting kids involved ina variety of outdoor activities that teach them thefoundation of conservation – hunting and shoot-ing. This exposure needs to be in a fun and safeatmosphere. The Santa Rosa Chapter stepped upagain for the 2016 Youth Shoot and Family FunDay on the Cold Creek/Guntley Ranch in PotterValley, and what a GREAT day it was!

It was beautiful weather on Sunday, May 22 afterA LOT of rain the day before! The small borerange was set up with many targets – gongs, cowbells, spinning targets, etc., and the trap rangewas loaded with cases of clay pigeons and eageryouth trap shooters and knowledgeable volun-teers. This event could not have been possiblewithout gracious landowners – Jim and PeggyGuntley. The Guntley family has been offeringtheir ranch for this shoot for 18 years and what agreat facility they have for a youth shoot.

After a morning shoot, a wonderful BBQ wasprepared for the kids and their families. BBQchicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad,green salad, and fresh homemade brownieswere devoured by the hungry guests and thenthere was a great raffle that included pellet andBB guns! All of the kids won great prizes. This issuch a great event every year and could nothave taken place without the committee believ-ing in passing on our outdoor traditions. A huge

thank you goes to Mike Deas andfamily, Dave Beach, Gus Kouni-nos, Rick Stewart and family, J.B.Ricard (always manages a fantas-tic raffle!), Brian Sheridan, Rayand Daniel Richtik (Love thatBBQ chicken!), and Doug Timmer. Rich Kronacouldn’t make this year and was surely missed.Rich has been there every year from the begin-ning and it wasn’t the same without him.

Again, this event is a GREAT time and is opento anyone that wants to attend. If you missedit, make sure to put inon your calendar fornext year in late May.Passing the torch to ournext generation ofhunters and conserva-tionists is critical!

C A L I F O R N I A D E E R 2

PAT [email protected]

SANTA ROSA CHAPTER YOUTH

SHOOT & FAMILY FUN DAY!

One of the

goals of the CDA

is to instill into our

youth the under-

standing of safe

and ethical hunt-

ing. Below, some

great smiles from

the Santa Rosa

youth shoot.

>

CDANORTHERN FIELD DIRECTOR

IN THE CENTRAL – SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RE-GION, the Ventura County, San Jose, Merced, Ante-lope Valley, Kern River Valley, South County, CentralCoast, and Southern California chapters have all heldtheir fundraising events for the year.

Merced held their event in March with new Turlockarea committee members joining the existingMerced group of volunteers to put on a great ban-quet, thus fusing the two regional chapters together.I am considering holding this event every other yearin each of the two towns so that it makes it easierfor area supporters to attend an event locally.

The Antelope Valley chapter held their event in Aprilin Palmdale again this year. Silent auction and gen-

eral raffles highlighted the evening. This chapter hasa limited number of volunteers which we hope toadd to next year. So, if you are interested in helpingout in that area, please contact me.

The Kern River Valley chapter in Lake Isabella heldtheir event in April as well. The house was packedand with the help of new chapter volunteers, every-one had a great time. After a year off, previous chap-ter chairs, Bill and Carla Stonebarger, have agreed totake the helm again so look forward to their eventagain next year!

South County held their event in Hollister at the LealVineyards facility in their “barrel room”. The facilityis exceptional and chapter chair Joey Vallejo and hiswife, Kym, put together a really nice banquet. Next

year they will be moving to the Bolado Park EventCenter facility and making it bigger and better thanever. They can use more help, so if you are in thearea and want to help out, give Joey and Kym a call!As always, the Central Coast chapter put on a stellarevent. Their team of over 30 chapter committeemembers and volunteers make a 500-person eventlook easy! This is what it is really all about, volun-teers getting together to support something that theyall believe in – our California deer and the CDA!

The Central Valley chapter in Fresno will hold theirevent on June 11 and the Western Sierra chapter inSonora will hold their event on July 30. I will bechairing two events in July, which I could sure usesome help with. They are the Salinas Valley chapterevent on July 9, and the Bakersfield chapter eventscheduled for July 23. If you want to attend either ofthese two events, you can find flyers on our websiteat caldeer.org, or contact me for tickets.

As I noted in the last newsletter, I attended an ad-vanced hunter’s education class in San Diego inApril and spoke with the 30 attendees about CDAand about forming a chapter there. 9 volunteerscame forward to show interest in forming a commit-tee, so look forward to that development in the off-season and a banquet in San Diego next spring. Ifyou are in the SD area, contact me if you want tojoin the committee.

I want to again encourage all of the Central-SouthernCalifornia chapters to continue throughout the fall bysponsoring youth events and/or working with localregulatory agencies in developing local habitat proj-ects. On that note, we are also looking for help onthe Habitat Committee, so if you have interest injoining the committee that helps decide which proj-ects get funded through our habitat program, pleasecontact me as soon as possible.

I want to thank all of you who have come forward tovolunteer. Volunteerism and sponsor support are whatmake our organization work. They are the corner-stones of our fundraising efforts to further the greatwork that CDA has done for the last 20 years and Ihope that we continue on for another 20 and more!

CDASOUTHERN FIELD DIRECTOR

VOLUNTEERS ARE WHAT MAKE IT HAPPEN!

ANTELOPE VALLEY CHAPTER

“TAKE A KID HUNTING OR FISHING”. This is oneof the things that is most important to me as a fatherand conservationist. Growing up, I did not havePlaystation, X-Box, or any of the other computervideo games that are out there these days, and wedid not have cell phones either. There is a lot ofcompetition for our kids’ time and attention thesedays - friends, sports, homework, chores all take apart of their time.

In order to teach the next generation the importanceof wildlife conservation, we need to continue to con-stantly get them involved in our passion or our her-itage will be lost. My father raised me to enjoy theoutdoors and to be passionate about hunting and theoutdoor lifestyle. I have raised my children to also careabout the outdoors and to lend a hand in supportingconservation organizations. In fact, my youngest sonstarted coming to banquet committee meetings whenhe was around 8. I feel totally confident that I couldsend him anywhere in the state to help on a banquetcommittee and he would fit right in.

In return for his efforts, I have kept him in-volved by putting hunting opportunities on hisschedule. When he was old enough to hunt biggame, he attended the KOSC (Kids OutdoorSports Camp) at Red Bank Ale and Quail in RedBluff, CA where he harvested his first big gameanimal, a feral hog. Last year he was luckyenough to draw three junior hunting opportuni-ties. A deer hunt on the Chimineas Ranch in the

California Valley sponsored in part by CDA, apig hunt at Canada de Los Osos in Gilroy spon-sored in part by CDA, and a Junior Pronghornhunt in the Likely Tables unit. Each of thesehunts provided an opportunity to get outdoors,experience the highs and lows of hunting, andin the case of his pronghorn hunt, success.

Start by researching the junior hunting opportunitieson the Department of Fish and Wildlife website andapply your juniors for these hunts. Be sure to lookup the “special hunts” which can be found at:(https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/DFGSpecialHunts/Default.aspx).

and the “Share” hunts which can be found at:https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Hunting/SHARE).

These kids are the future of hunting in California.They are our future conservationists. They arealso our future voters. Keep them involved. Shareyour passion with them. Provide opportunities. Ifyou travel out of state to hunt, take them along(they can do homework on the way there and onthe way back). If you have a ranch and your son

or daughter has a friend that wants to experiencehunting or fishing, invite them to join you. Invitethe parents too. You might be surprised who youcan convert just by sharing the adventure. If youhave property that you can make available tojunior hunters, contact me to see what we canarrange. We are always looking for junior huntingopportunities.

As always, I am available totalk to anytime. Reach meby phone at: 916-952-1352or email.

These kids are the future of hunting in California.They are our future conservationists. They arealso our future voters. Keep them involved.Share your passion with them.


KEVIN [email protected]

HUNTING HERITAGE!

CDASOUTHERN FIELD DIRECTOR

CDAL E G I S L AT I V E N E W S

CALIFORNIA ALREADY HAS THE STRICTEST GUN LAWS in the na-tion. Many of those who live, hunt and/or shoot in our state are regrettablyhardened to our Second Amendment rights being kicked around at our StateCapitol. But never has the hunting and shooting community been under siegelike we are today. Using last year’s San Bernardino shooting as their spring-board, California’s urban lawmakers have launched an unprecedented salvo ofbills targeting our arms and munitions. But, it doesn’t stop there.

With countless gun bills already brewing at our State Capitol, Lt. GovernorGavin Newsom has now placed his highly aggressive "Safety for All Act" gun

control initiative on the November 2016 statewide ballot. Makingmatters even worse, Newsom’s efforts outside the Capitol

have ignited a duel with lawmakers inside the Capitolon who can pass the most gun control first.

5 C A L D E E R . O R G

Below is a glance at just some of the serious challengescurrently confronting California’s hunting community:

“Safety for All Act” Initiative – November 2016 State BallotCalifornia Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom’s "Safety for AllAct" is easily the most aggressive single gun controlpackage ever brought forward anywhere in our nation.Among many other things, this ballot initiative would:

• Ban all on-line and mail order sales of ammunition; •�Require those who purchase ammo to undergo a background check; •�Require tracking of what type/how much ammunition you buy; •�Ban possession of magazines which hold more than 10 rounds; •�Ban all private transfer of ammunition; •�Prohibit ammunition purchased out of state from being broughtback into California; •�Prohibit ammunition purchased at a range from leaving the range.

To view the entire text of the “Safety for All Act”,visit http://safetyforall.com/fulltext.htm

While the “Safety for All Act” awaits its Novemberfate, California lawmakers are racing to beat New-som to the gun control punch. Below are just someof the record number of gun bills currently pendingat our State Capitol:

AB 156 – Ammunition RegulationAB 156 would require those who purchase ammuni-tion to provide their name; date of birth; address; dri-ver’s license number; and brand, type, amount anddate of sale of ammunition purchased, and undergoan electronic background check. The bill would re-quire ammunition vendors to obtain a vendor licenseand that Department of Justice (DOJ) establish a data-base on both vendors and buyers. AB 156 would alsoprohibit most internet and mail order purchase, andlimit the sale or transfer of ammunition between hunt-ing or shooting partners, and even family.

A “two-year” bill introduced in 2015 to deal withglobal warming, AB 156 passed through the Assem-bly last year. In early May 2016, the bill was guttedand amended to attack ammunition purchases. As

CDAL E G I S L AT I V E N E W S

With countless gun bills already brewing at our

State Capitol, Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom has

now placed his highly aggressive "Safety for

All Act" gun control initiative on the

November 2016 statewide ballot.


newly amended, AB 156 quickly passed through theSenate and is now back in the Assembly for concur-rence on the amendments in the Senate.

AB 1135 – Assault WeaponsAB 1135 would reclassify some common semi-auto-matic hunting rifles as “assault weapons” by amend-ing the definition to refer to a firearm that has one ofseveral specified features, and “does not have a fixedmagazine". AB 1135 would expand the definition of“detachable magazine” to mean an ammunitionfeeding device that can be easily removed from thefirearm without disassembly or use of a tool. The billwould exempt firearms legally possessed from 2001through 2016, but require them to be registered.

A “two-year” bill introduced in February 2015 to dealwith agricultural products, AB 1135 passed throughthe Assembly last year. In early May 2016, the billwas gutted and amended to deal with assaultweapons and quickly passed through the Senate.The bill is now back in the Assembly for concur-rence of the amendments taken in the Senate.

AB 1511 – Firearms: LendingAB 1511 would require the loan of a firearm toanyone except a spouse, registered domestic part-ner, or immediate family be conducted through alicensed dealer. AB 1511 was introduced in May2015 to deal with energy. In May 2016, with thebill already through the Senate, AB 1511 was gut-ted and amended to deal with the loaning of afirearm and quickly passed through the Senate.The bill is now back in the Assembly for concur-rence of the Senate amendments, where it isscheduled to be heard on June 21st in AssemblyPublic Safety Committee.

AB 1664 – Assault Weapons AB 1664 would reclassify some common semi-au-tomatic hunting rifles that can accept a detachablemagazine as an “assault weapon”. The bill wouldexpand the definition of “detachable magazine” tomean an ammunition feeding device that can beeasily removed from the firearm without disas-sembly or use of a tool. AB 1664 would exemptfirearms lawfully possessed from 2001 through2016, but would require them to be registered.

AB 1664 passed off the Assembly Floor and over tothe Senate on June 1st. The bill will next be heardin the Senate Public Safety Committee in mid-June.

AB 1674 – Firearm TransfersAB 1674 would prohibit an individual from acquiringmore than one shotgun or rifle within any 30-day pe-riod. AB 1674 passed off the Assembly Floor and overto the Senate in early June. The bill was heard on June14th in Senate Public Safety Committee, passing out ona 5 to 2 party line vote. The bill will next be heard inSenate Appropriations Committee later this summer.

SB 880 – Assault WeaponsSB 880 would redefine an “assault weapon” to in-clude a semi-automatic centerfire rifle, or pistol thathas one of several specified features and “does nothave a fixed magazine”. The bill would also redefine“fixed magazine” as “an ammunition feeding devicecontained in, or permanently attached to, the firearmin such a manner that the device cannot be removedwithout disassembly of the firearm action”. SB 880would exempt those firearms lawfully possessedfrom 2001 through 2016, but require them to be reg-istered. SB 880 passed off of the Senate Floor in mid-May and over to the Assembly, where it was first

Attacks against

our second ama-

mendment rights

have escalated to lev-

els where every per-

son who owns a gun

will be affected with

these proposed bills!

>


heard on June 14th in Assembly Public Safety Com-mittee, passing out on a 5 to 1 party line vote. Thebill will next be heard in Assembly AppropriationsCommittee later this summer.

SB 1235 – Ammunition RegulationSimilar to AB 156, SB 1235 would require thosewho purchase ammunition to provide extensivepersonal data prior to purchasing ammunition, un-dergo an electronic background check, and thatthe type and quantity of ammo they purchase berecorded. The bill would also require ammunitionvendors to obtain a vendor license, and DOJ to es-tablish databases on both vendors and purchasers.SB 1235 would also require ammunition to be pur-chased “face-to-face” with few exceptions, andlimit the private sale or transfer of ammunition.

SB 1235 was originally introduced in February 2016to deal with public employees’ retirements. In earlyMay, SB 1235 was gutted and amended to deal withammunition regulations and swiftly passed off theSenate Floor and over to the Assembly. The bill washeard on June 14th in Assembly Public Safety Com-mittee, passing out on a 5 to 2 party line vote. The

bill will next be heard in Assembly AppropriationsCommittee later this summer. The California DeerAssociation strongly urges it members to contacttheir Senator and Assembly Members to ask them tooppose these threats to our hunting and shootingtraditions. Don’t know who your Senate and Assem-bly representatives are? You should! Find out byvisiting http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/

For more information onany of the above bills orany other legislation of con-cern, please contact Gaines& Associates.

Gun rights of

every American are

in jepordy from our

current admistration.

Contact your Senate

and Assembly repre-

sentatives and ask

them to oppose

these threats to our

hunting traditions.

>

BILL GAINESinfo@gainesandassociates


THESE LAST FOUR YEARS OF DROUGHT in Cal-ifornia have not only been very hard on our deerherds but all wildlife throughout the entire state.As a result, the California Deer Association hasbeen focusing on funding wildlife projects thatnot only provide a year-round source of water,but sources that are also wildlife-dedicated. Wefeel that these types of projects can and do makea difference for the state deer herds and otherwildlife. As you are reading this article, thesetypes of projects are being worked on right now.We are installing water drinkers in Northern Cali-fornia, wildlife friendly water troughs in the Car-rizo Plain Ecological reserve, and performingrestoration work on guzzlers and springs in theMojave National Preserve. We are working hardthroughout the state with several agencies andorganizations to put your hard-earned money to

work for the deer and all wildlife. Several ofthese projects I would like to share with you arejust being completed and are located in the Car-rizo Plain Ecological Reserve. These projects arethe 3-Gates and the Rattlesnake Canyon Year-Round Deer Water Projects. What makes theseprojects worth talking about is the use of a spe-cially designed water trough that is wildlife-friendly (ground level), has very little water evap-oration, and is bear and pig proof.

3-Gates ProjectThe 3-Gates year round deer water project is lo-cated on the Carrizo Plain Ecological Reserve,Chimineas Ranch Units. The Chimineas RanchFoundation along with the CDFW are working to-gether to provide a reliable year-round water sourcethat has not existed for years in this area. This proj-

CARRIZOPLAINECOLOGICAL RESERVE WILDLIFE PROJECTSPaso Robles Chapter and the Chimineas Ranch Foundation complete water projects.

By CDA Project Committee Chairman ~ Larry Smith

PHOTO ~ DONN WALGAMUTH


CDAH A B I TAT P R O J E C T S

ect was funded by the CDA Project Committee in2014 and consists of the placement of two 5,000-gal-lon water tanks, over 4,000 feet of pipeline, and twowildlife friendly water troughs which will be in-stalled for wildlife use only. Not only will the deerand other wildlife on the Chimineas be directly im-pacted by the installation of these water sources,they will greatly benefit deer on the adjacent lands(USFS). Volunteers from the Paso Robles CDA Chap-ter, the RMEF, the Santa Maria Valley Sportsmen’sAssociation, and the Chimineas Ranch FoundationBoard members have put in hundreds of hours forsite preparation and installation. In addition, match-ing funds include 100 hours of paid CDFW stafftime. This project is 90 percent completed and willbe up and running in July of 2016.

Rattlesnake CanyonThe Rattlesnake Canyon year-round water project isalso located on the Carrizo Plain Ecological Reserve,which consists of over 30,000 acres. This project con-sisted of one 5,000-gallon water tank, over 1,000 feetof pipeline, and one wildlife-friendly water troughwhich is dedicated for wildlife use only. This projectis located on the North Chimineas part of the reserve,which has not had a steady year-round source ofwater for a long period of time. Deer, Tule Elk, Pigs,

and Antelope will be using this watersource now that it is up and running. Thisproject was approved in 2015 and com-pleted in May of this year.

The local CDA Chapter (Paso Robles) and theChimineas Ranch Foundation will monitor theprojects through regular site visits and the useof trail cameras to assure that the projects aremaintained and working throughout theyears. Additionally, we will evaluate the useof these wildlife-friendly water troughs by allwildlife. This information will be collected and madeavailable to other agencies and organization interestedin improving wildlife in their areas.

In July, 2016 the CDA Project Committee will meetand go over this year’s project proposals which havebeen submitted to us for evaluation and approval.We have some very good projects submitted and areeager to continue putting money on the ground forour deer herds of California. In our next CDA publi-cation, we will have a recap of all projects approvedat this July meeting and will recap the status of allprojects which were approved in 2015.

For those of you interested in checking out recre-ational use, other wildlife projects on the reserve, orwishing to visit the Chimineas Ranch, you may do soby logging onto: www.chimineasranchfoundation.org.


Members of the

Paso Robles CDA

chapter joined ef-

forts to finish sev-

eral year-around

water sources for

California Wildlife.

>

CDAH A B I TAT P R O J E C T S

Jim Jarvis has been smiling since the night he found out he won a an awesomehunt on the Soper Ranch. He won the hunt while supporting his local Lodi Chap-ter at their annual banquet. Pictured above is Jim and his nephew, Hayden, afterthey had a great hunt and harvested this nice buck seen above.

As CDA members, you are encouraged to send in your successful hunting photos and stories.

Photo submissions are not limited to California deer only, we want to see all the amazing muledeer and blacktail deer taken by CDA members from across the West!Send submissions to: [email protected]

Above: Melissa Walgamuth took her first buck, a greatblacktail just out side of Redding. Only two days prior, shetook the unique bull elk, pictured below, on a public landhunt in Oregon.

Dennis Brown of CDA’s Eastern Sierra Chapter beat theodds and drew a PIW (Partnership in Wildlife) tag in Ne-vada. With the ability to hunt every open hunt in thestate, he spent a total of 20 days hunting muzzleloader,early rifle and late rifle seasons before he took this ma-ture northern Nevada buck, stretching the tape to 29.5”wide and scoring 186”.

Pictured below is Brian Hornberger with an awe-some Charles Mountain Ranch buck, taken with his300 Lazzaroni around 350 yards. Awesome buck!

CDAF I E L D E D I T O R

I WAS FORTUNATE TO GROW UP as the sonof a hunter and from a very young age, huntinghas been my passion. Throughout the years, mydefinition of a successful hunt has changeddrastically. What started as a quest to fill a taghas evolved into something much more com-plex. Webster defines success as “the correct ordesired result of an attempt.” This may seemsimple on the surface, but in order to definesuccess accurately, one must first ask, “What isthe desired result?”

Punching your TagFor most hunters, especially in the beginning,the main object of hunting is to find and harvestan animal, after all, that is why you bought atag. Most hunters returning home from a triphaving harvested an animal would consider theirhunt a success. The sense of accomplishing thetask at hand, and bringing home meat for the

freezer is quite satisfying. Early on in my hunt-ing career, the success of my hunt seemed tohinge on whether or not I returned home with atag in my pocket. However, if I filled my tag,and came home with meat and a pair of antlers,no matter the size, it was a successful hunt.

What’s The ScoreIf you’re anything like me, your social mediafeeds are littered with trophy photos. It seemsthat 200” bucks and 380” bulls are a dime adozen in social media land. There’s nothingwrong with looking over these photos anddreaming. Seeing the magnificent animals thatare harvested each year is fun, and it can be amotivational tool. However, it can also create askewed concept of reality. After a few years ofhunting and taking the first opportunity to fillmy tag, my view of success changed. Shootingthe first legal buck that presented an opportunity



was no longer enough. I began setting goalseach hunting season to harvest only mature ani-mals. At first, it was difficult for me to pass onopportunities to punch my tag. Often I wouldhold out for weeks hoping for a chance at a big-ger buck, only to take a “lesser” deer late in theseason, or sometimes nothing at all. There isnothing wrong with pursuing a trophy, but hold-ing out means passing on the opportunity to filla tag, and worse, it devalues hunts where you

“settle” for something less. “Trophy” animals areconsidered such because they are rare. It takes alot of work and a dose of luck to harvest arecord book animal, and, if the success of yourhunt is measured in inches, you must be pre-pared to experience failure often. That is not tosay that pursuing a trophy is wrong. Some of myfondest memories of hunting are those where Ichose not to take an animal because I didn’t find“the one.” You must decide for yourself what ismore important. Whether it is taking an animalof a certain caliber, or simply putting meat in thefreezer, stick to your goal.

ExperienceAs I continued to grow as a hunter, my pursuitof mature animals brought me to more andmore remote places. What started as drivingbackroads in the woods with a rifle and a fullice chest evolved into hiking miles into thewilderness with a bow and a heavy pack. Myfirst few wilderness hunts were nothing short ofmiserable. I had the wrong gear, was out ofshape, and I came home early with a broken

Gaining the

knowledge, ability

and gear to tackle

remote country

has improved the

quality of each

hunting expierence.

>


spirit and sore legs. I do not know why, but Ikept coming back, each time a little more pre-pared. Before long, even trips that ended with-out a buck came with a great sense ofaccomplishment. When I started finding deer ina remote high country basin, I swelled withpride, and even though I still returned to thetruck with a tag in my pocket, I could not waitto get back. I quickly reverted from a “trophyhunter” to an opportunist, and when I was fi-nally presented with an opportunity at a buck,though it was not a trophy by Boone andCrocket standards, I took it. I had never felt sosuccessful as a hunter when I finally arrived atthe truck with that deer on my back. The thingthat I crave the most in the off-season is simplybeing in the woods; I hunt not just to kill, but to

experience all that comes with the pursuit.Success DefinedIn order to truly to define success as a hunter,you must first ask yourself, “Why do I hunt?”While some may hunt simply to put meat on thetable, and others seek bragging rights and ahead on the wall, I have found that the thingsthat keep me coming back are extraordinary ex-periences. My bow and my rifle, and the thrill ofthe pursuit have carried me to awesome placesin remote wilderness. In these places, I have ex-perienced nature as a participant, rather than anobserver. My desire to hunt has pushed me totest my limits both mentally and physically; Ihave learned more about myself in the back-country than anywhere else. I live for this pur-suit and will never stop chasing. For me, successas a hunter is not measured in tags filled orinches of antler, but in experience gained andobstacles overcome. Sure, I still dream of takinga record book animal, and strive to fill my tagand bring home meat, but any hunt that yieldsextraordinary experience and knowledge gainedis a success in my book.

About the Author:Luke Griffiths has grown up hunting blacktails near hishome in Redding, CA. In 2013, he and some friendsformed Out West Outdoors, an outdoor media groupthat produces hunting films. Luke and his wife Ameliahave two daughters, Ruby and Winnie. An avid out-doorsman, Luke enjoys spending as much time as hecan in the field, especially with his family.

The experience

is defined by the

satisfaction one

gets on from hunt.

The author is pic-

tured packing out

his high country

California deer.

>


FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS MY DAY TO DAYJOB HAS BEEN, and still is, working withthe most successful hunters in across theWest. Successful hunters will all admitluck is important, but I always saythat to some degree, the most con-sistent, successful hunters create theirluck. Success is most often created bymore days in the field both scouting and hunt-ing. As important as days in the field may be,they will never exceed the importance of being in posi-tion at first light, and having the proper equipment to ef-fectively cover all the country effectively.

If you see your quarry before he spots you, the advantagebelongs to the hunter. As the bulk of CDA members arefrom California, you guys will get a kick out of why Iachieved such great success in killing trophy mule deer at ayoung age. My passion for hunting mule deer was strong asa kid, as my daily travels were to the Kaibab Plateau, Ari-zona Strip, and Paunsaugunt units, all within 20 minutes ofmy home. These high profile units attracted serious hunters,and many of them were accomplished hunters who hadhigh quality equipment, and most of them were from Cali-fornia. What a lucky kid I was to be introduced to Zeiss andLeica, in the 1980's, and then Swarovski later on. It wasn'tjust the quality of optics that these Californians brought thatchanged my life, but how they utilized their optics correctly;a life-changing event for me to say the least.


Many hunters who stop at MuleyCrazy to gawkat our incredible collection of bucks always askthe big question; "How do you guys do it?” Thetruth is, a large part of our success is derivedfrom looking at more real estate. The more ter-rain you can effectively cover in the hours be-fore deer make their morning bed, the morelikely you are to find what you’re looking for.

While I stress the importance of covering morecountry, a guy can be pretty effective with aquality pair of 10-power binoculars. With a goodpair of 10’s, a guy can easily expect to be spot-ting deer at distances of a mile. Attached thatsame pair of binoculars to a tripod and you justincreased your effective distance to a mile and ahalf. I always say that I would rather have a$100 pair of Bushnell binoculars attached to atripod than a $2,000 pair of Swarovski’s hand-held. My biggest frustration is when hunters tellme they don't need to tripod 10-power binocu-lars. Hunters failing to stabilize the best tool theyhave is a big mistake. Supporting your elbowson your knees is good, leaning against a rock ortree will help as well, but nothing, and I willstress – nothing - is more stable than when youtake your own body movement out of the equa-tion. Placing your binoculars on a tripod allowsyou to see the little things, which are parts ofthe big thing you’re looking for. Anyone canspot a deer’s butt in the open, but what aboutan antler tip sticking out of the sagebrush?

No matter what optics you choose, remember themost important component of successful glassingis to be steady. Sometimes even finding a suit-able place or position can make all the differ-ance. Another critical mistake often made whenrushing to your glassing destination is position-ing. Where I can, I always plan to have the sunat my back to elivate hard sun hampering anyglassing efforts. Before choosing a spot to sit, Iwill assess the landscape for my best vantagepoint. If the sun is quartering, I find a rock, tree,

or anything to shade the sun. When most huntersreach a good vantage point, they quickly throwup thier binoculars for a quick scan, something Ionly do if I’m not quite happy with the spot. Iwould rather drop my pack, find a suitable andcomfortable position. If the terrain is rocky, I willfind a good flat rockto sit on. On softer land-scapes, I will commonly kick away some soil fora great sitting spot. Once there I will adjust mytripod so I can naturaly lean into the glass usingmy hand as a turning mechanizism only. Whilesome hunters think lighter is better in a tripod, Idisagree, I utilize a 4-5 pound Manfrottotripod/head combination. Light enough to strapto my pack, yet solid enough to allow stability inwinds commonly found atop high ridges.

For years, I’ve been encouraging people to buy thebest binoculars they can afford. I always say Iwould rather take to the hills with an old out-of-the-box Remington rifle, and place my extramoney in quality optics for glassing. The pricewhere 10-power binoculars get good is at the $500dollar range, and above. A now-common name inthe industry is Vortex, and one major reason fortheir success is a “No-Fault Warranty” attached toall Vortex products. A popular choice for beginnersis the Viper HD 10x42 model priced at $599. Jumping up a bit in price to $1000 is where theconsumer will start to see some amazing quality.Zeiss offers a great pair of 10x42 Conquest HD that

Anyone can spot a mule deer’s white rump or

obivious dark forms in the open, but the author

believes quality optics allow a hunter to see the lit-

tle things that increase success, like parts of an

antler, or an animal hidden in the shadows.

>


THE FUTURE OF CALIFORNIA DEER. I appreciate a man who has vision; the vision to understand that without con-servation, we could not enjoy our passion. What is it about those brown-eyed deer that drives us crazy? Every CDA membershares the same passion for California’s deer as the founder and visionary Alex Ramos did when he felt compelled to startthe group many years ago. Now 20 successful years later, CDA, directed by your conservation efforts, is responsible forfunding millions of dollars in projects to aid California deer. As you look at this issue of the CDA magazine, I’m sue youhave noticed an exciting changes in the pages... and the best is yet to come!

I would like to thank Jerry Springer for his efforts in the past with the CDA publication; a dauntingand thankless task sometimes. Many of you reading this may know the name MuleyCrazy. Like you,we have a burning passion for deer, and fully understand without conservation efforts our huntinglegacy will not continue. My staff and I are excited to make our resources available to CDA mem-bers, and to use our talents to showcase the efforts of CDA in enhancing the health and populationof California’s deer. In addition to designing the publication for CDA, we are also offering CDAmembers big discounts on quality optics through MuleyCrazy Optics. Please feel free to contact meat the address below, as your input is critical to the publication and CDA pro-gram. I look forward to working with the CDA staff and each of the members.

RYAN [email protected]

FROM THE AUTHOR

are awesome at $999. Comparative in quality andprice are the new Leica Trinovid HD 10x42's, alsopriced at $999. When you discuss the $1000 pricepoint for 10-power optics, you have to includeVortex with their flagship Razor HD line. The highglass that is rivaling some of the European manu-facturers, and at $1199, the Razors are worthy of alook. I would give the edge to Zeiss and Vortex, asquality customer service is very important.

At the top of the 10-power binocular list are Leica,Zeiss, and Swarovski. If a hunter is looking for the

best and money is not the issue, the quality of op-tics made by the Germans (Zeiss & Leica) and Aus-trians (Swarovski) simply are the best. It may behard to justify spending over $2000 for a pair ofbinoculars, but I remind most hunters that this islikely to be the last pair of binoculars you ever pur-chase. Zeiss makes an incredible pair of 10-powerbinos in their top-of-the-line the Victory HT's.These binoculars boast the highest light transmis-sion rate of any binocular at 95%. Leica's competingmodel in the top end is the 10x42 Ultravids HDPlus. The Zeiss Victory HT retails at $2,399 andLeica Ultravids retail for $2,499. The other giant atthe top of the game is Swarovski. The EL 10x42’sare incredible and at $2,349 they’re priced compar-atively with Leica and Zeiss’ best optics.

To me, comparing the top end stuff is like com-paring Ford, Chevy, and Dodge. At the top endall three manufactures make awesome optics,and most folks like what they’ve grown accus-tomed to, but they are all very comparable inquality and performance.

The hunting world will agree to disagree abouthow much money you need to spend on binocu-lars. If the bulk of your hunting is not trophy-re-lated, you can get by with spending less. Iftaking trophy animals is a priority for you, thentop-end glass is worth the money, as nothing willhelp you achieve your goals more effectively.


Glassing success

is increased by a

great advantage

point. Find a com-

fortable place to sit

with the sun in a fa-

vorable position, and

most importantly,

stablize your optics.

>

IT WAS EARLY SATURDAY MORNING INLATE JUNE. Like many previous years, I decided tocheck the California DFG website for the big gamedraw results. I first checked our party application thatincluded my eldest son Kameron, my dad Tom, mybrother Kyle and myself. No luck. I then checked re-sults of my youngest son Karson’s application. Thiswas the last year he could apply for a youth hunt ashe turned 17 in January of 2015. Once I had his IDnumber in the system, I was shocked at what I wasreading. Under the column that read, “Did I win?” thebox read, “Yes.” With only 10 tags issued for the De-cember Eastern Sierra hunt, it is the most covetedyouth tag in the state. I double-checked before sharingthe findings with Karson and the rest of the family.Once I was convinced it was actually true, I jumpedout of my chair and yelped like a kid. I had readmany articles and saw photos from previous hunts inthe same unit, which made me feel Karson wouldhave the opportunity to harvest a trophy mule deer.

After a half hour explaining to Karson, Kameron andmy wife Lisa the magnitude of what I had just con-

firmed, I called Karson’s grandpa Tom to share the ex-citing news. Due to the lack of knowledge of this par-ticular portion of the Sierras, my next phone callwould be to longtime family friend and Kika World-wide Outfitter guide, Josh Schulgen. Josh has hadgreat success throughout all portions of the EasternSierra range and knows the country extremely well. Iwas relieved to hear Josh would be happy to share in-formation to give Karson the best opportunity possibleduring his hunt. Additionally, Josh offered to accom-pany us on the hunt to help glass and film the hunt.

Now past the initial shock of drawing such an awe-some tag and preliminary plans in place, the hard partcame - 6 months until opening day. Over the next sev-eral months, Karson and I researched the area onlineand talked with Josh about the patterns of deer duringNovember and December, as they begin the migrationtoward the winter range. The timing of the migrationdepends largely on weather. Early snow in the higherelevations would have the deer showing up in early –mid November. With the anticipation and hype of ElNino, we were crossing our fingers for early weather.

STORY BY KIRK GILBERT

Like most

hunts, scouting

proved critical

as the author’s

son would later

harvest the

buck shown left.


PHOTO ~ JOSH SCHULGEN

>

Our first scouting trip was the second week of No-vember. Karson, his grandpa and myself reachedthe hunting grounds around 7:00am, and after a 4-hour drive and were excited to cover as much terri-tory as possible during the day. Being the first tripto this area, we weren’t sure what to expect. Therehad been an early storm and fairly heavy snow fallin the high country so we were hopeful to seeplenty of deer in the area. Throughout the day weglassed several bucks. No shooters, but we saw sev-eral mature bucks so we were very optimistic as theday came to an end and we headed for home.

The next scouting trip came during Thanksgivingweek. Josh was able to make this trip, so I was excitedto have him share some of the areas he’d had successwith in the past. Kameron was also able to make thistrip, which made for better coverage throughout theday as we scoured the hillsides, looking for the type ofbuck that would confirm things were improving. An-other storm had come through that left several inchesof fresh snow in the lower country, and that addedeven more optimism for a successful trophy hunt. Westill didn’t see the buck that was a no doubt “shooter”but we had seen better bucks than the initial trip. Thehope remained, with a week and half before theopener, that a few big boys would venture down into

the area. The following week was filled with final tripplanning, and two trips to the range to make sure Kar-son’s gun was dialed in. There were nerves, anticipa-tion and stress for me that I was trying to contain andkeep to myself. I wanted Karson to feel confident andremain calm heading into the hunt so he would havethe ability make good choices and perform well underpressure. Karson and Kameron had both harvestedtheir first mule deer the previous year (2014) on a Col-orado hunt. With this experience the prior year, I feltconfident that Karson would be able to keep it to-gether when it counted the most.

Thursday December 3rd, we made the trek north tosettle in and get ready for Friday’s scouting and Sat-urday’s opener. Josh had gone up earlier in the dayon Thursday and spotted a quality 29” typical. Thisseemed to confirm our hopes that some biggerbucks had dropped into the area. Friday producedplenty of bucks, but still not “the one”. As we turnedin Friday night, anticipating the Saturday opener, Iran many scenarios through my mind. My hope wasfor Karson to fulfill the dream of a successful, once-in-a-lifetime trophy California mule deer hunt, and toexperience it with family and friends. After glassingseveral 150”-160” bucks throughout the Saturdayopener, it came to a close with the 29” typical Josh

Nothing makes

hunting more

memorable than to

enjoy success with

your family and

friends by your side.

>


had seen prior to the season. With it only being daytwo, Karson decided to pass. I wasn’t sure this wasthe wisest choice, as this was one of the nicest bucksI’d put glasses on. The buck was a little light onmass, so Karson felt he could find one better if hewas patient. The following day ended without seeinganything to get excited about which led to morequestions in my mind whether he had made a mis-take the day before. We headed for home hoping thefollowing weekend would produce better results.

The following Saturday, December 12th, Josh hadhis dad Dave drive up with him and met us atdaylight. Within the first half hour of glassing, wehad the 29” typical spotted! While coming up witha stalk, Josh had put glass on another deer andwanted Karson to take a look at him. After hikingan hour or so to try to catch up to the buck, wefinally were able to get a good look. Karson de-cided this was a better buck and he wanted to tryto make the stalk. By this time Karson’s brotherand grandpa had made their way to us and wouldbe able to enjoy the experience as well. After an-other hour or so of trying to get in the best posi-tion, Karson put the 270 caliber 130 grain BarnesVor-tx bullet right in the sweet spot at 160 yards.The buck went 30 yards and piled up.

As Karson put his hands on this beautiful, 29-inch-wide 170” B&C buck and we tried to keep camerasrolling, all the emotions came together. The pride Ifelt as a father, excitement, gratitude and relief, as itsank in that the plans had all come together. Karsonexecuted the plan perfectly, staying calm through theentire hunt, earning him the nickname “Cool HandKarson”. The memories of this hunt will forever beetched in my mind. Thanks to all that helped!

>

AS PROJECTS AND GRANTS MANAGER, KALIELALEEMAN makes sure that all the projects funded by CDAto outside organizations and agencies, as well as grantsgiven to CDA, hit the ground efficiently and effectively tobest benefit wildlife. These projects include the fire reha-bilitations, guzzler replacements, and deer populationstudies throughout the state thatare reported regularly in this publi-cation. Before coming to CDA, sheearned a degree in wildlife conser-vation biology at UC Davis and ishappy to apply her knowledge inthe field to help improve Califor-nia’s deer herds!

SHELBY CASKEY HAS BEEN WITH THE CALI-FORNIA DEER ASSOCIATION since August 2014.Originally hired as the office manager for the headquarteroffice in Sacramento, she quickly and willingly took onother responsibilities including supporting the field directorsand assisting the CEO. In August of 2015, Shelby was pro-moted to our Inside Chapter Sup-port/Merchandise Manager, assistingthe field directors with their chaptersand maintain the inventory for ourchapter banquets throughout Cali-fornia. You may have the opportu-nity to meet Shelby as she attendsthe banquets throughout the year.

KALIELA [email protected]

SHELBY [email protected]

KALIELA LEEMAN SHELBY CASKEY

Hard At Work For California Deer

With one the

best youth tags in

the West, Karson

Gilbert has a lot to

smile about. His

buck is 29 inches

wide and scores

170 B&C.


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