Sunday, August 23, 2026
Welcome back. A-zone rifle is into its third week, B-4 became the first B zone to open its general season yesterday, and dove is now nine days out. So this week we go deep, into the country most hunters glass but never walk into, because that is where the mature bucks live and where a filled tag turns into real work. We put the value-benchmark meat-hauling frame pack on your back, walk through the gutless method to turn a downed buck into pack-ready loads without ever opening the gut, and meet a 14-year-old pointer who still locks up like a statue. The poll is in too, and it confirms what we already suspected about how most of us got here. Let's get into it.
The Board: Crucial Dates and Deadlines
A-zone general is in week three. The rifle season runs August 8 to September 20, one buck per tag, one of the longest general seasons in the state. Deer are locked into a late-summer pattern, so hunt water, feed, and shade at first and last light. Confirm your exact subzone lines and legal-buck rules in the 2026 Big Game Digest before you climb an unfamiliar ridge.
Yesterday, August 22: B-4 general opened. B-4 is the first B zone to open its rifle season, running August 22 to September 27. The rest of the B zones (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6) do not open general until September 19. Remember that a B tag is valid in any B zone during either the archery or the general season, so you can be in B-4 with a rifle right now, or stay in the bow woods elsewhere. Confirm your exact subzone dates either way.
B-zone archery is still open. B1, B2, B3, B5, and B6 run archery August 15 to September 6. That is two more weekends of bow season before those close.
Archery bear runs through September 6. It is open across the entire bear hunt area, on the same first and last light you are already hunting for deer, so a bear tag in your pocket is a second animal for free. It is non-lead, no bait, no dogs, with tag validation, premolar submission, and reporting all mandatory. General bear is already in for A-zone and runs to December 27, or closes early if the statewide harvest hits 1,700 bears (last year's take was around 1,180, so an early close is unlikely).
Nine days out, September 1: dove opener. The first split runs September 1 to 15. The daily limit is 15 mourning and white-winged doves combined (no more than 10 white-winged), with the possession limit triple that. There is no limit on Eurasian collared-doves. Do the boring paperwork this week: you need your HIP validation (free) and your Upland Game Bird Validation on your license before opening morning. HIP is the single most-missed step on opener day, so get it now, not in the dark at 5 a.m. on the 1st.
Non-lead, every hunt, no exceptions. Certified non-lead ammunition is required for all firearm hunting anywhere in California, doves included. The useful loads thin out on the shelf as each opener lands, so buy your rifle boxes and your dove shells now while you can still pick what you want.
From Field to Table: The Gutless Method (Quarter a Buck Where He Falls)
A frame pack (see the Gear Check below) is only worth carrying if you can turn a whole deer into loads you can strap to it. The gutless method does exactly that. It takes every major cut of meat off the animal without ever opening the body cavity, which means no gut pile to work around, less mess, and meat that stays cleaner. It is the move for any buck that falls a long way from the truck, and it sets up the kitchen-table breakdown we covered in Issue #10.
You will need: a sharp knife (the replaceable-blade knife from Issue #4 is ideal, so you are swapping blades instead of field-sharpening), your game bags (Issue #3), a short length of paracord to hold a leg back, and a clean surface or the inside of a game bag to lay meat on. Keep the meat out of the dirt.
The method:
Skin the up side only. Roll the deer onto its side. Cut down the spine from the base of the neck to the tail, and peel the hide down the side facing up to expose the shoulder, the backstrap, and the hindquarter. You are only skinning half the deer for now.
Take the front shoulder. There is no ball joint here. The front leg is held on by muscle alone. Lift the leg, cut between the shoulder blade and the ribs, and it lifts free. Into a game bag.
Lift the backstrap. Run the knife along one side of the spine from neck to hip, then along the tops of the ribs, and peel the whole loin off in one long piece. This is your best meat, so take your time and stay tight to the bone.
Free the hindquarter. Cut around the ball joint at the hip and work the entire hindquarter off the pelvis. Bag it as one bone-in quarter, or bone it out right there to shave weight off your pack.
Get the neck and the tenderloins. Trim the neck meat and any rib and flank trim you want (grind and braise gold). Then reach up inside along the lower spine, behind the last rib, for the tenderloins on the underside. They sit inside the cavity, but you can pull them without ever gutting the animal.
Roll and repeat. Flip the deer and do the same on the other side. When you are finished, all the meat is in bags and the carcass is intact.
Doneness and safety note: this is field care, not cooking, but the rule that runs this whole newsletter still applies: get the meat cold and clean. Keep each bag off the hide and out of the dirt, get air moving around the quarters, and in this late-August heat get everything into the shade and headed downhill fast, because the spoilage clock starts the second the animal is down. Once it is home, break it down at the table (Issue #10) and match each cut to its plan: tender cuts hot and pink (Issue #8), workhorse cuts low and slow (Issue #11).
Gear Check: Carry the Whole Deer on Your Back
ALPS OutdoorZ Commander + Pack Bag
Once the buck is quartered and bagged, the hunt becomes a hauling job, and that is where deep country humbles a cheap pack. A true meat-hauling frame rides the load low and tight against your hips instead of dragging it off your shoulders, so you can walk heavy, awkward quarters out of a canyon without wrecking your back on the first trip.
The value benchmark is the ALPS OutdoorZ Commander. You get a 5,250 cubic inch pack bag to haul gear and camp in, and when the bag comes off, an aluminum freighter frame with a load shelf and a lashing system built to strap quarters down tight. The torso adjusts from 17 to 23 inches, there is a rifle holder and a spotting scope pocket, and it ships with three extension straps for when the load gets ugly. Hunters routinely pack whole deer, and even elk quarters, out with it.
It runs around $180 to $220 for the frame-plus-bag system, and you can buy the freighter frame on its own for less if you already have a day pack you like, so check current pricing and stock. Know the tradeoff going in: it is an external frame, so it is a little bulky in tight timber and it has no load-lifter straps. That is the price you pay for the price you pay. Step up to an internal-frame hauler like the Mystery Ranch Metcalf for a sleeker carry if you have the budget (expect two to three times the money). Floor option: strip the bag off and run just the frame.
Pair it with your game bags (Issue #3) and the replaceable-blade knife (Issue #4): quarter with the gutless method above, bag the meat, lash it to the shelf, and walk it out. This is the piece of gear that makes hunting the deep stuff possible instead of just a good idea.
The Showcase
This week's feature: a dove hunter's dream on video. A NorCalHunt subscriber out of Glenn County sent us a clip of doves working a freshly cut safflower field, dropping in to feed by the dozen. It is a heck of a scouting lesson too: find the fresh-cut fields as the opener nears and you find the birds.
(Full clip on our YouTube channel and Showcase page, links below.)
The Showcase page is exclusive to subscribers, so the people on this list are the only ones who see it first. It runs on you, and this week's clip is exactly the kind of thing we love to get.
To get in: hit reply with your photo or clip and a sentence about it, and tell us how you want to be credited (we run first name, last initial, and town, or keep it anonymous if you would rather). The best one each week runs up top, and at the end of every month subscribers vote for a Showcase winner. Every pick earns a permanent spot on our subscribers-only Showcase page at norcalhunt.com/showcase. Send us one to keep it rolling.
Dog of the Week
Meet "Hayden" Owner: Allen C., Forest Ranch
Hayden is 14 years old and still doing the one thing she was born to do. In this week's photo she is locked up on a pheasant, tail high and nose full, as steady on point as she was a decade ago. A German shorthaired pointer's drive does not retire on a schedule, and Hayden is proof that the best old dogs never lose a step where it counts. Fourteen seasons in, she has earned every soft bed and every slow walk back to the truck.
Want your dog featured? Hit reply, send us a clean photo of your hunting partner, and give us a quick 2 to 3 sentence blurb on what they hunt and where they earn their kibble. Pointers, flushers, retrievers, and the occasional very good mutt all qualify.
Missed a week? Catch up on every dog we have featured on our past Dogs of the Week page at norcalhunt.com/dogoftheweek.
From the Field
Some of the best hunts of the year are happening right now, and this spot is wide open for yours.
Everybody on this list has at least one. The buck that stepped out with two minutes of light left. The pack-out that had you questioning your life choices somewhere around midnight. The morning your kid, or your dad, or your buddy who never shuts up about it finally got it done. You do not have to be a writer. Send it the way you would tell it standing at the truck, and we will clean it up.
Hit reply with the story and how you want your name to run (first name, last initial, town). We will feature the best one right here and put the full version on norcalhunt.com.
So go dig one up and send it over. Next week this spot could have your name on it.
Community: Help Us Build the Pack
This briefing gets sharper when we hear from you. Drop us a quick reply and tell us:
What zones are you hunting right now?
What is next on your fall calendar: blacktail, bear, doves, ducks, pigs?
What would make the weekly briefing more useful to you?
Last week's poll is in. We asked who introduced you to hunting, and a parent took the top spot, with a grandparent or older relative right behind, and a friend or mentor rounding out the top three. That says everything about who we are: this is a tradition handed down, mostly across a kitchen table or a tailgate, from one generation to the next. It is exactly why this community is as strong and as dedicated as it is. If someone put a gun or a bow in your hands and taught you to do it right, this is your reminder to pass the same thing along.
This week's poll ties right to today's issue. When the buck falls a long way from the truck, how do you get the meat out?
How do you get the meat out?
Got a hunting partner who lives in the foothills, the rice, or along the riverbanks? Forward this briefing and point them to norcalhunt.com. Word of mouth from real hunters is how we grow.
Local Services: Find It Close to Home
With the season on and dove nine days out, somebody within a short drive of you has non-lead on the shelf, sharp knives and fresh game bags, or a processor with room on the schedule for your first buck. We keep a running list of NorCal businesses that take care of hunters, all in one place. Check out our local services page on norcalhunt.com/services, and if you run a business that belongs on it, hit reply and let us know.
Conditions: Heat and Fire, Read This Before You Head Out
Still hot and dry, with active fire on the map in our deer country. Two NorCal incidents to know right now: the Bug Fire in Lassen County has grown near 94,000 acres and is around three-quarters contained, and the MP18 Fire near Hoopa in Humboldt County is still building with low containment. CAL FIRE's Northern California outlook calls for warmer-than-normal inland temperatures and occasional thunderstorms into September, and that thunder is the real risk: dry lightning on cured grass is how new starts happen fast. Before you load the truck:
Confirm restrictions for your unit. Closures and burn bans change fast and vary by district. Check fire.ca.gov and with your local forest, and route around the Bug and MP18 fires if your zone runs near them.
Watch the sky, not just the ground. If you hear thunder or see build-ups, rethink a long push into dry timber. Lightning is the ignition you cannot control.
Do not be the ignition you can. No sparks near dry grass, and mind your exhaust and your drag chains.
Beat the heat. Hunt first and last light, carry more water than you think you need, and get any downed deer cooled and quartered fast (the gutless method above) before the meat sours.
Stay safe out there, get your gear cleaned, and we'll see you in the field.
The NorCal Hunt Team
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