Units / California / Zone X8
Unit research · California Zone X8
Zone X8 — California
91% public across 332,827 ac. Real backcountry here — 36% of the public land sits more than a mile from any road. Almost none of the public land is landlocked.
Computed from primary government data by the open pipeline. See the code →
Tags & season
Draw hunts on this ground.
One limited-entry deer hunt is drawn on Zone X8: apply in the California draw, by the agency's deadline below.
Season dates: see California Department of Fish and Wildlife's regulations
California deer draw calendar
- Apr 15, 2027 — applications open
- Jun 2, 2027 — application deadline
Fees and draw dates from California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2026-27, verified 2026-08-05. Tag type from the agency's published draw statistics: a zone that appears in none of them has no limited-entry hunt we know of. Source: CDFW license items and fees (2026-27) · 2026 California Big Game Digest (rev. 2026-04-17) · CDFW big game hunting tags.
Land & access
Backcountry
Where the ground sits
Tap or hover the bars for each elevation band
Slope mix
Which way the slopes face
Share of ground steeper than 5° — flat ground has no facing
North slopes hold shade, cover and snow; south slopes open first.
USGS 3DEP 1 arc-second (30 m), slope at native resolution in a local metric projection, sampled on a 200 m grid. See the code →
Unit intelligence report
95,317 ac of this zone has burned — 29% of the unit. USGS migration corridors cover 70%. The full report assembles it into one printable document and keeps it current as the facts change.
Season conditions — measured, not vibes
Historical temperatures · 2000–2025
Normals for 2000–2025 — tap or hover for a month
Measured at LAKE TAHOE AIRPORT, 30 km from the unit’s center and ~1,500 ft below its median elevation — expect the unit to run colder. NOAA ISD-Lite hourly observations.
Harvest — agency survey estimates
Deer · 2024
20.7% success
no district-level hunter estimate published
41 bucks (bucks only)
Deer hunter success · 2021–2024 · 36% → 21%
CDFW estimates from hunter license reports, scaled by the published non-reporting rate; PLM and Section 554 landowner harvest excluded. Hunter success is estimated kill ÷ tags issued — for B, C and D3-5 group tags CDFW publishes quota and success per zone GROUP, so no zone-specific rate exists and none is shown. No hunter-effort estimates are published. Deer only. CDFW also publishes elk hunt statistics; that series is not carried here yet. Source: CDFW Statewide Deer Harvest Statistics (per year, by zone/hunt).
How these numbers are made
Computed, not curated: no paid research team, no opinions dressed as data. If a number looks wrong, file an issue — the fix ships for everyone.
Ready to scout it?
Everything on this page, live on the map — ownership, boundaries, roads, and your own waypoints.
Take Zone X8 into the field
Download California’s pack and this unit works with no signal — boundaries, ownership, roads, elevation. Record your hunt with the screen off. Check what’s visible from any ridge.
Scan to install OpenHunt for Android. Open this page on the phone afterwards and it lands in the app.
