California Deer · Zone D16
California Zone D16 spans 2,867,781 acres, centered 34 miles east of Escondido. 51% of it is public land, mostly BLM (18%) and state land (14%). In 2025, hunters took 322 deer here; hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, D16, put up 3,000 tags (all residencies) in the 2023 draw for 820 first-choice applicants (one pool for residents and nonresidents).
No more draws here. The last one was 2023.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife held its 2025 deer draw without Zone D16. No current hunt code lists this unit; the California deer hunts on offer are drawn elsewhere. The odds, costs and harvest below are that history, kept for the record.
1 license
first choice, NR
2025, all licenses
37% BLM
2,867,781 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Best Bets at 0 Points
Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2025. Nonresident, first choice, 2023 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
Every License in Zone D16
The last draw held in Zone D16 was 2023. These are that draw's chances for a first-choice nonresident applicant, kept for the record.
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D16 | Zone D16 Archery and General Seasons - Buck | 100% | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2023 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file.
Draw results: CDFW 2023 Deer Tag Drawing Statistics, retrieved Sep 1, 2026.
If you draw (2025 nonresident fees): $588.01 ($588.01 to apply). Open Apr 15 – Jun 2, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
| Year | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 322 | 11% |
| 2024 | 307 | 10% |
| 2023 | 235 | 8% |
| 2022 | 228 | 8% |
| 2021 | 256 | 9% |
What California Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. Hunter counts not published for 2025. Source: CDFW 2025 Deer Harvest Statistics; CDFW 2024 Deer Harvest Statistics; CDFW 2023 Deer Harvest Statistics.
The Ground
| BLM | 528,130 ac | 18% |
| State land | 401,717 ac | 14% |
| National Forest | 289,272 ac | 10% |
| County or city land | 194,551 ac | 7% |
| Other public | 20,649 ac | <1% |
| National Wildlife Refuge | 13,437 ac | <1% |
| Department of Defense | 596 ac | <1% |
| National Park Service | 152 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 1,419,274 ac | 49% |
▸ Sources 9
- CDFW 2023 Deer Tag Drawing Statistics draw results, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2025 Big Game Hunting Digest fees, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2025 Deer Harvest Statistics harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2024 Deer Harvest Statistics harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2023 Deer Harvest Statistics harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2022 Deer Harvest Statistics harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2021 Deer Harvest Statistics harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2014 Deer Hunt Zones boundary, area description, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- GreenInfo Network 2026 Protected Areas Database a land ownership, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2023 draw, the latest on file, computed from California Department of Fish and Wildlife's published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.
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We don't take applications: check California Department of Fish and Wildlife's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from California Department of Fish and Wildlife's results, not a forecast · Methodology · All California deer hunts