Weekly intel for the Northern California hunter · 100% free · Every Tuesday
NORCALHUNT
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Weather, season dates, regulations, shoot times, and field-tested gear — one weekly briefing instead of five scattered websites.

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Shoot light today
6:03 AM – 7:30 PM
Gray Lodge wind
NNW 12 mph
Dove — early split
Day 3 of 15 · closes Sep 15
Moon
Waning gibbous · 62%
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Every week, you get

What's inside every issue

We gather the crucial information a NorCal hunter needs — your one-stop shop before every trip.

Weather Conditions
Hunt-day forecast, wind read, shoot light, and moon — organized by zone and refuge.
View conditions →
Season Dates & Regulations
Current CA seasons, zone dates, tag deadlines, and rule changes that matter.
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From Field to Table
Wild-game recipes worth the freezer space — now a standing section, not just a sidebar.
See recipes →
Gear Recommendations
Honest, field-tested gear and value picks. No junk, no hype.
View gear →
Field Stories
Reader hunts, campfire tales, and lessons learned the hard way.
Read stories →
Dog of the Week
A featured NorCal hunting dog and the story behind it, every week.
Meet the dogs →

Latest briefings

Full archive →
Aug 30, 2026 · 7 min read
Dove opens Tuesday: poppers, a vest, and the paperwork you can't skip
Plus a plate of dove poppers in the Showcase, the value vest we trust, a young pointer already holding steady, and a father-son hunt worth reading to the end.
Aug 23, 2026 · 8 min read
The long way out: packing a buck from the backcountry
Plus the value frame pack we trust, the gutless method step by step, a 14-year-old still holding point, and dove opener nine days out.
Aug 16, 2026 · 6 min read
Ice on the marsh: late-season goose, a Chessie named Tule, and leftover tags
A January goose hunt that started with ice, the leftover-tag list you should actually watch, and why we still run a chamber sealer in camp.

Know the ground

All zones →
Deer country
A zone

Northwest timber, early rifle, and the hunt most NorCal kids grow up on. Steep ground, thick canopy, and bucks that vanish if you walk the ridge at noon.

Deer country
B zones

North-state ridges with more glassing than A zone and less forgiveness if you are late. These tags are where a lot of public-land blacktail seasons actually get decided.

Deer country
C zones

Coast range and the interior edges where blacktail live in the brush and the shot, when it comes, is close. C zone rewards the hunter who can sit still.

The year's animals

All species →
Blacktail deer
Big game
Dove
Upland
Waterfowl
Marsh
Wild turkey
Spring and fall

From the field

All stories →
Blacktail
A first buck, two brothers, and one last hunt

Two brothers, one last morning on a ridge they have hunted since they were kids, and a first buck that made the walk out worth every step.

Waterfowl
Teal in the rain, Colusa County

Opening-week teal, a leaky wader, and a Lab that did not care about the weather. The limit almost didn't happen.

Gear we keep

All gear →
Value pick
10x42 value binoculars
Field-tested
Value frame pack
We trust it
Dove & upland vest
From Field to Table

Bacon-wrapped dove poppers

The tailgate recipe that ends the argument about how to cook a dove. Breast your birds, wrap them hot and fast, and get them off the grill with a warm pink center.

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