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Units / California / Zone X9b

Unit research · California · Zone X9b

Zone X9b — California

98% public hunting land across 474,521 ac. Real backcountry here — 32% of the public land sits more than a mile from any road. Almost none of the public land is landlocked.

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Zone X9bFull map — ownership, roads, wind →
3,620–14,470 ft

elevation range

98%

public hunting land

32%

of public >1 mi from a road

160 ac

landlocked public

1.64

road miles per mi²

434 mi

trails on public land

Computed from primary government data by the AGPL pipeline. See the code →

Tags & season

Draw hunts on this ground.

One limited-entry deer hunt is drawn on Zone X9b: apply in the California draw, by the agency's deadline below.

Deer tag · 1 draw hunt (2026-27)$42.38 resident · $377.35 nonresident
Plus: California annual hunting license (2026-27)$64.54 resident · $225.46 nonresident

Season dates: see California Department of Fish and Wildlife's regulations

2026 California Big Game Digest (rev. 2026-04-17) ↗

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

■ Forest Service 65%■ BLM 22%■ City 12%□ Private 1%
Unit area474,521 ac
Public hunting land466,480 ac (98%)
Parks & other public1,241 ac · National Park Service
Landlocked public160 ac (0.0%)
Walk-in access93 ac
Motorized routes (MVUM + roads)1,217 mi
Mapped trails on public land434 mi

Backcountry

Public land >1 mi from a road149,420 ac (32% of public)
Road density1.64 mi/mi²
Managed byForest Service 310k ac · BLM 103k ac · City 55k ac
Elevation3,620–14,470 ft
Median elevation6,990 ft
Median slope15°

Where the ground sits

3,620 ft14,470 ft

Tap or hover the bars for each elevation band

Slope mix

Which way the slopes face

N 30%
E 46%
S 15%
W 9%

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 · Pro, $5 a month or $49 a year

83,327 ac of this zone has burned — 18% of the unit. The full report assembles it into one printable document and keeps it current as the facts change.

Open the report →

Season conditions — measured, not vibes

Historical temperatures · 2000–2025

Monthly normal highs and lows, °F53° high24° lowJFMAMJJASOND

Normals for 2000–2025 — tap or hover for a month

Measured at BISHOP AIRPORT, 51 km from the unit’s center and ~2,900 ft below its median elevation — expect the unit to run colder. NOAA ISD-Lite hourly observations.

How these numbers are made

public_land_pct = public_area / unit_area
landlocked = public ∖ reachable(roads, corners)
remote = public ∖ buffer(roads, 1 mi)

Computed, not curated: no paid research team, no opinions dressed as data. If a number looks wrong, tell us at support@openhuntmaps.com — the fix ships for everyone.

Nearby zones

Zone X9c36% public · 23% remoteZone D827% public · 27% remoteZone X1096% public · 55% remoteZone D751% public · 42% remoteZone X9a92% public · 17% remoteSouth Unit (110) · Zone A-South13% public · 31% remote

Ready to scout it?

Everything on this page, live on the map — ownership, boundaries, roads, and your own waypoints.

Take Zone X9b 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.

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Open Zone X9b in the map
What happens nextApr 15 — Deer applications open · details →Jun 2 — Deer application deadline · details →
Watch this unit — freeReturned and leftover tags, fire near the unit and weather warnings — by email. One unit free, no card.