California Deer — Zone X3B

California Zone X3B covers 987,590 acres and lies 196 miles north of Roseville. 63% of it is public land, mostly national forest (35%) and BLM (26%). In 2025, hunters took 161 deer here. The 2025 draw put up 499 tags here for 1,266 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2025):569 Applicants:1,348 Hunter success (2025):35% Public land:63% Size:987,590 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every deer license type on offer in Zone X3B, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

2 licenses on offer · 569 tags · 1,348 applicants in the 2025 draw

Chances are from the 2025 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.

Simple view Odds at every point level
  • A6 Archery Hunt In Zone X3B - Buck 70 tags · 82 applicants
    70% Real chance
  • X3B Zone X3B General Season - Buck 499 tags · 1,266 applicants
    6% Point builder
What these columns mean
Your odds
the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2025 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
The badge
plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
Points needed
the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2025 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
Tags / applicants
tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.

What it costs to apply (2025 nonresident fees)

License Up front Gone if you miss If you draw
Per application $588.01 $588.01 $588.01

Application window: opens Apr 15, closes Jun 2, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

The country

Roseville Stockton Clovis Bakersfield Palmdale
Zone X3B within California
C2 C3 X1 X2 X3A X4 X5A X5B
Zone X3B and its neighbours
Zoomable USGS topo, aerial imagery and shaded relief, with the neighboring areas drawn on.

Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.

Who owns the ground

  • National Forest 344,938 ac · 35%
  • BLM 253,779 ac · 26%
  • State land 12,038 ac · 1%
  • National Wildlife Refuge 9,372 ac · 1%
  • Other public 434 ac · 0%
  • County or city land 172 ac · 0%
  • Private or other non-public land 366,853 ac · 37%

Source: California Protected Areas Database (CPAD) 2026a -- Holdings by Agency Classification

How the hunting has gone

What California Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast.

Season Harvest Success
2025 161 35%
2024 143 31%
2023 116 25%
2022 118 26%
2021 158 32%

Boundary: Deer Hunt Zones - Title 14, Section 360 [ds342]

Harvest: 2025 California Deer Harvest Statistics

Harvest: 2024 California Deer Harvest Statistics

Harvest: 2023 California Deer Harvest Statistics

How we compute draw odds · All California deer hunts