Sacramento, CA -(AmmoLand.com)- The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is offering a number of special hunt opportunities for young hunters, women, families and mobility-impaired hunters this fall and winter.
All hunt opportunities are now listed on CDFW’s website. Below are the December hunts – and one workshop – with application due dates in the latter half of November:
Due by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18:
- Merced County: A total of eight pen-raised pheasant hunts will be held over the weekends of Dec. 5-6 and Dec. 12-13. Each day will have a morning and an afternoon hunt that can accommodate 25 hunters each; all afternoon hunts are junior-required.
- Fresno County: Two junior-only pen-raised pheasant hunts will be held on Saturday, Dec. 5 at the Mendota Wildlife Area. Each hunt (morning and afternoon) can accommodate 25 hunters.
- Kern County: Two wild quail and chukar hunts will be held the weekend of Dec. 5-6 at the Canebrake Ecological Reserve. The Saturday hunt is a junior-required hunt, while the Sunday hunt is a general apprentice hunt. Each can accommodate 10 hunters.
- Ventura County: An upland game workshop for apprentice hunters will be held on Saturday, Dec. 12 at the Boy Scouts of America Camp Three Falls in Frazier Park. Participants will learn about shotgun safety and range, shotgun cleaning, proper game care cleaning and transportation methods and how to hunt with dogs. This workshop will accommodate 12 hunters.
- Los Angeles County: Two family pen-raised pheasant hunts will be held at Peace Valley on Saturday, Dec. 5 (early morning and late morning), and one junior-only hunt will be held on Sunday, Dec. 6. The Saturday family hunts can accommodate 18 hunters each and the Sunday junior hunt can accommodate 12 hunters.
- Riverside County: One junior-required pen-raised pheasant hunt will be held over the weekend of Dec. 5-6 at Robinson Farms. This hunt allows junior hunters to hunt on consecutive days (alone on the first day and with up to three guests on the second day). Applications will be drawn to fill the hunt quota of 100 totals for Sunday; junior hunters who are drawn will also be allowed to participate in the Saturday hunt.
- Riverside County: One pen-raised pheasant hunt will be held on Sunday, Dec. 13 at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area. This hunt can accommodate 65 hunters.
- Imperial County: One family pen-raised pheasant hunt will be held on Saturday, Dec. 12 at the Imperial Wildlife Area. This hunt can accommodate 35 hunters.
Please note that many of these opportunities will be held on state wildlife areas or ecological reserves. As of July 1, 2015, nonlead ammunition is required when hunting on these properties. For more information please see CDFW’s nonlead ammunition page.
CDFW’s Upland Game Bird Special Hunts are intended for beginning hunters or those with limited experience. Apprentice applicants must have successfully completed a hunter education course and possess a valid 2015-2016 California junior hunting license. Adult hunters (18 or older) must also have an upland game bird validation. A non-hunting adult 18 years of age or older is required to accompany all junior hunt participants.
Proper clothing and safety gear, including blaze orange, is required for department-sponsored hunts. All hunts include gun safety review, easy-to-hunt topography, a high ratio of volunteers to hunters, experienced dog handlers and clay shooting for practice.
Hunters can find more information and apply for any of these hunts online at https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/DFGSpecialHunts/Default.aspx. There is no charge to apply. Please note that additional hunts in January and February are listed on the website and are also open for registration.
New hunters can use their Hunter Education Certificate number for priority registration for apprentice hunts. Applicants with priority will be automatically placed in a hunt before the random drawing takes place.
The full upland game bird hunting regulations and a summary for 2015-2016 can be found on CDFW’s website.
About the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW):
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) manages California’s diverse fish, wildlife and plant resources, and the habitats upon which they depend.
For more information, visit: www.wildlife.ca.gov.