F***ing California. Should have known. No problem with deer on BLM land in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho....
Proximity to parking means lots of dog walkers in nearby public land.I know of a doe that hangs on the far side of a dune, right next to where people park. I swear she knows how many people and dogs are there at a given time. One guy was throwing a ball for his lab when I stepped out with a rifle. He said he’d walked dogs there for 20 years and never seen a deer. Lots of tracks, but no deer. I did a quick scan a spotted a doe about 150 yards away. I trotted to a tree to steady the rifle, but she bolted. Would love to have rolled her down the dune in front of him.