California Deer · Zone X3A
California Zone X3A covers 981,279 acres and lies 31 miles east of McArthur. 53% of it is public land, mostly national forest (32%) and BLM (19%). In 2025, hunters took 209 deer here; hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, X3A, put up 354 tags (all residencies) in the 2025 draw for 1,714 first-choice applicants (one pool for residents and nonresidents).
2 licenses
first choice, NR
2025, all licenses
60% Forest Service
981,279 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, 2025 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
Every License in Zone X3A
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A5 | Archery Hunt In Zone X3A - Buck | 5% | — | |
| X3A | Zone X3A General Season - Buck | 3% | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2025 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file.
Draw results: CDFW 2025 Deer Tag Drawing Statistics; CDFW 2025 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 | 209 | 63% |
| 2024 | 174 | 52% |
| 2023 | 132 | 39% |
| 2022 | 150 | 43% |
| 2021 | 191 | 48% |
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
| National Forest | 309,842 ac | 32% |
| BLM | 189,740 ac | 19% |
| State land | 18,268 ac | 2% |
| National Wildlife Refuge | 678 ac | <1% |
| Other public | 122 ac | <1% |
| County or city land | 75 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 462,550 ac | 47% |
▸ Sources 10
- CDFW 2025 Deer Tag Drawing Statistics draw results, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2025 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 2025 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