California Deer · Zone X7A

California Zone X7A covers 451,316 acres and lies 51 miles north of South Lake Tahoe. 59% of it is public land, mostly national forest (49%) and state land (4%). In 2025, hunters took 52 deer here; hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, X7A, put up 229 tags (all residencies) in the 2025 draw for 1,059 first-choice applicants (one pool for residents and nonresidents).

Tags, 2025
299

3 licenses

Applicants
1,193

first choice, NR

Hunter Success
23%

2025, all licenses

Public Land
59%

83% Forest Service

Size
705 mi²

451,316 acres

X7A
23%hunter success 2025

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 X7A

90–100% 50–89% 10–49% 1–9% under 1% fewer than 5 tags: one applicant swings it
A13 11% —
J19 · youth 28% —
X7A 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; 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 52 23%
2024 46 22%
2023 38 18%
2022 35 16%
2021 71 35%

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 222,181 ac 49%
State land 17,871 ac 4%
Other public 14,461 ac 3%
BLM 13,269 ac 3%
County or city land 34 ac <1%
Private or other non-public land 183,498 ac 41%

Source: GreenInfo Network 2026 Protected Areas Database a.

▸ Sources 11
  1. CDFW 2025 Deer Tag Drawing Statistics draw results, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  2. CDFW 2025 Deer Tag Drawing Statistics draw results, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  3. CDFW 2025 Deer Tag Drawing Statistics draw results, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  4. CDFW 2025 Big Game Hunting Digest fees, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  5. CDFW 2025 Deer Harvest Statistics harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  6. CDFW 2024 Deer Harvest Statistics harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  7. CDFW 2023 Deer Harvest Statistics harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  8. CDFW 2022 Deer Harvest Statistics harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  9. CDFW 2021 Deer Harvest Statistics harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  10. CDFW 2014 Deer Hunt Zones boundary, area description, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  11. 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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Every report is checked against the agency source before we change anything.

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