California Deer — Zone X9B

California Zone X9B covers 474,521 acres and lies 69 miles north-east of Visalia and 82 miles east of Fresno. 98% of it is public land, mostly national forest (65%) and BLM (22%). In 2025, hunters took 65 deer here. The 2025 draw put up 230 tags here for 463 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2025):440 Applicants:489 Hunter success (2025):29% Public land:98% Size:474,521 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every deer license type on offer in Zone X9B, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

2 licenses on offer · 440 tags · 489 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
  • A17 Archery Hunt In Zone X9B - Buck 210 tags · 26 applicants
    100% Undersubscribed
  • X9B Zone X9B General Season - Buck 230 tags · 463 applicants
    9% 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

Visalia Bakersfield Modesto Palmdale Elk Grove
Zone X9B within California
D6 X10 X9A X9C Visalia Clovis
Zone X9B 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 308,437 ac · 65%
  • BLM 102,632 ac · 22%
  • County or city land 51,478 ac · 11%
  • National Park Service 1,274 ac · 0%
  • State land 38 ac · 0%
  • Private or other non-public land 10,659 ac · 2%

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 65 29%
2024 63 29%
2023 28 13%
2022 31 14%
2021 53 27%

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