California Deer — Zone X5B

California Zone X5B covers 597,339 acres and lies 148 miles north-east of Roseville. 74% of it is public land, mostly BLM (73%) and state land (1%). In 2025, hunters took 30 deer here. The 2025 draw put up 50 tags here for 2,590 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2025):55 Applicants:2,664 Hunter success (2025):68% Public land:74% Size:597,339 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every deer license type on offer in Zone X5B, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

2 licenses on offer · 55 tags · 2,664 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
  • A9 Archery Hunt In Zone X5B - Buck 5 tags · 74 applicants
    1% Point builder
  • X5B Zone X5B General Season - Buck 50 tags · 2,590 applicants
    <1% 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 X5B within California
C3 C4 X1 X3A X3B X4 X5A X6A X6B
Zone X5B 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

  • BLM 434,430 ac · 73%
  • State land 6,253 ac · 1%
  • Other public 481 ac · 0%
  • Private or other non-public land 156,174 ac · 26%

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 30 68%
2024 28 62%
2023 29 64%
2022 23 49%
2021 43 69%

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