Zone X1, California

Per CDFW, Zone X-1 covers a very large geographic area; the terrain can be very steep and rugged and vegetation can be extremely dense. The zone boundary follows Highway 139, the Lookout-Hackamore Road, Highway 299 to the Pit River near Bieber, Highway 89 at Lake Britton, Interstate 5 at Mt. Shasta, and Highway 97 at Weed (Title 14 Section 360(b)(1)). CDFW does not publish a specific elevation range for the zone.

Zone X1 spans roughly 2,900 square miles of northeastern California across Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, and Siskiyou counties, with approximately 78% public land — one of the most accessible large draw zones in the state. The four primary highways that bound and bisect the zone are US-97 (northwest corridor through Macdoel, serving the Goosenest Ranger District of Klamath National Forest), CA-89 (southwest corridor near Mt. Shasta and McCloud, serving the McCloud Ranger District of Shasta-Trinity National Forest), CA-299 (southern boundary through Adin, serving the Big Valley Ranger District of Modoc National Forest), and CA-139 (eastern corridor through Tulelake/Canby, serving the eastern Modoc NF portions). Numerous county roads, USFS roads, and BLM roads branch off these four primary highways to provide dispersed access deep into public land; many of these spurs are unpaved and benefit from high-clearance or 4WD vehicles. The Medicine Lake Highland (Goosenest/Modoc overlap area) is reached via a paved spur road off CA-89, though the majority of roads inside that area are unpaved. Campgrounds and staging areas on the Modoc NF Big Valley Ranger District — including Ash Creek, Willow Creek, Lower Rush Creek, Upper Rush Creek, and Lava Camp campgrounds — provide practical hunting base camps accessed from CA-299 and CA-139. A critical access restriction applies to the Goosenest Ranger District (Klamath NF): Road Closure Management Area rules close certain USFS roads from August 15 through March 31 each year, which overlaps with both the archery (A-3) and general deer seasons; hunters must confirm which roads are open before entering this portion of the zone by contacting the Goosenest Ranger District at (530) 398-4391. BLM lands administered by the Alturas and Redding Field Offices add additional roaded and dispersed access. Private land is interspersed throughout; written permission is required, and additional access may be available through CDFW's Private Lands Management (PLM) program.

CDFW: vegetation is highly varied, ranging from low sage, sagebrush, bitterbrush, mixed and montane chaparral, aspen, hardwood-conifer, and juniper to subalpine habitats. Deer respond favorably to disturbances that enhance brush (wildfire and timber harvesting). Productive cover includes riparian corridors, recently burned areas, re-sprouted clear-cuts, and oaks producing acorns; lower deer densities occur in densely forested areas and older, more decadent brushlands.

CDFW: deer in Zone X-1 are migratory. They generally move to higher elevations in early May and remain until the first heavy fall storms force them down below the snow line; this downward movement often occurs during the hunting season, so hunters should be prepared to move to lower elevations later in the season after stormy weather. Herd status: CDFW describes the population as stable to slightly declining and considerably below levels of the late 1960s and 1970s, part of a long-term decline attributed to land-management practices that have precluded fire and produced more mature, less diverse habitat; short-term swings are attributed to weather affecting forage. (A third-party site, HuntScore, places the rut roughly late October through late December, i.e. after the general season; this is lower-confidence and not from CDFW.)