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California hunting unit

Deer Zone C3: public land and hunting map

Deer Zone C3 is one of California Department of Fish and Wildlife, BIOS’s 45 deer hunting zones in California. It covers about 1,311 square miles (839,070 acres), and roughly 19% of it is public land: Forest Service 16%, state land 1.3%, BLM 1.2%.

Measured Oct 12, 2026 from agency boundaries and USGS PAD-US 4.1 · sources and method

Who manages the land

  • Bureau of Land Management1.2%
  • U.S. Forest Service16%
  • State land (wildlife, trust and natural-resource agencies)1.3%

Share of the unit’s area. Federal agencies plus state wildlife, trust and natural-resource land, as the WikiHunt map classifies it. The rest is private, tribal, local or other land.

Outline of Deer Zone C3 and the units around itDeer Zone B2 · 75% publicDeer Zone B5 · 25% publicDeer Zone C2 · 50% publicDeer Zone C4 · 36% publicDeer Zone X4 · 62% public
Deer Zone C3 in orange; neighbours shaded by public land share (darker = more public). Tap a neighbour to open it.

Units next to Deer Zone C3

California season dates, 2026

Statewide general seasons. Many units have their own dates, quotas or draw-only hunts, so check the unit in the regulations before you go.

SpeciesSeason2026 dates
Deer Archery Deer Jul 11 – Aug 2
Deer General Rifle Deer Aug 8 – Sep 20
Black bear General Bear Aug 8 – Dec 27
Turkey Fall Turkey Nov 14 – Dec 13

Full notes on the California page · California regulations.

Questions

How much of Deer Zone C3 is public land?

About 19% of Deer Zone C3 (155,228 of 839,070 acres) is federal or state public land in USGS PAD-US 4.1, mostly U.S. Forest Service, State land (wildlife, trust and natural-resource agencies) and Bureau of Land Management. Public land is not always open land: check access and closures before you go.

Who manages the land in Deer Zone C3?

U.S. Forest Service: 16%; State land (wildlife, trust and natural-resource agencies): 1.3%; Bureau of Land Management: 1.2%. The rest is private, tribal, local government or other land.

Which units border Deer Zone C3?

Deer Zone B2, Deer Zone B5, Deer Zone C2, Deer Zone C4 and Deer Zone X4.

Where are the season dates and rules for Deer Zone C3?

California Department of Fish and Wildlife, BIOS sets them. Start at the California hunting regulations. WikiHunt shows the statewide general seasons on the California page and in the app.

Sources and method

  • Boundary: California Department of Fish and Wildlife, BIOS (owner BIOS_Admin), the same layer the WikiHunt map draws.
  • Public land: USGS Protected Areas Database (PAD-US) 4.1, Fee Managers layer (public domain).
  • Method: the unit and PAD-US polygons are simplified to about 100 m and measured on a grid of about 250 cells across the unit, so overlapping records are counted once. Expect about ±1 percentage point.
  • Season dates: WikiHunt’s season table, updated Sep 2, 2026, checked against each state’s published regulations. Dates change; the regulations win.
  • Last updated: Oct 12, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.