Unit C4 Zone C4
Home of California's largest migratory blacktail herd, from Lake Almanor to the oak foothills of Tehama
Southern Cascades & Lassen — East Tehama blacktail country · Last reviewed 2026-07-12
Area
3,868
sq mi
Public land
—
approx.
Elevation
400–8,500
feet
Motorized
extensive
access
Overview
Zone C-4 is a huge general deer zone spanning portions of Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama counties, wrapping the south and east flank of Lassen Volcanic National Park and the Lake Almanor basin down to the Sacramento Valley oak foothills. It holds the East Tehama herd — California's largest migratory deer herd — a mix of Columbian black-tailed deer across the western and central zone and Rocky Mountain mule deer in the northeastern corner. Deer summer high in the Lassen and Plumas national forests and migrate west and down into Tehama and Butte counties as fall storms arrive, a movement that, unusually, begins even before and during the early archery season. This is big, varied, well-roaded country where success comes from reading that migration and hunting the brush.
Terrain
Enormous elevational sweep from Sacramento Valley oak foothills below 1,000 feet, up through Cascade and Sierra-transition timber, to the volcanic high country and alpine benches around Lassen Peak and Lake Almanor.
Cover: Oak-woodland, mixed and montane chaparral, sagebrush and bitterbrush, aspen, juniper, hardwood-conifer and dense conifer up to alpine/subalpine; brushfields of buckbrush, deerbrush and bitter cherry in burns, clearcuts and riparian pockets are prime feed.
Landmarks: Lassen Volcanic National Park · Lake Almanor · Stover Mountain · Swain Mountain · Feather River Canyon · Mill Creek · Tehama Wildlife Area · Butte Meadows
Access
A mixture of public and private land, but with extensive tracts of public ground and excellent access. Public lands are administered by the Lassen and Plumas national forests and BLM, plus the 45,000-acre CDFW Tehama Wildlife Area on the west side; much of the balance is Sierra Pacific Industries industrial timber and private ranch — get written permission before hunting private. Interstate 5 and Highway 99E frame the west, with Highways 44, 36, 32, 89, 70, 147 and 162 threading the zone and a dense web of USFS/BLM roads branching off.
Managers: USFS Lassen NF, USFS Plumas NF, BLM Redding Field Office, CDFW Tehama Wildlife Area, Sierra Pacific Industries (private timber), private ranch
Access points: Highway 36 / Highway 89 corridor (Chester, Mineral, Lake Almanor) · Highway 32 through Butte Meadows · Highway 44 north (Old Station, Lassen NP north entrance) · Highway 70 Feather River Canyon (Oroville to Quincy) · Tehama Wildlife Area entrances off Paynes Creek / Hogsback Road (permit hunts)
Species notes
Blacktail Deer
abundant opportunityColumbian black-tailed deer of the East Tehama herd — California's largest migratory deer herd — are the primary quarry across the western and central zone, summering high and streaming west into Tehama and Butte counties with fall weather.
- →Early season hunt the high country: Lake Almanor basin, Stover Mountain, Rock Creek, Bailey Creek and Swain Mountain
- →As storms hit, follow the migration west and down into Tehama and Butte counties; in oak/shrub woodland most deer are killed at or below 4,000 feet
- →Glass burns, clearcuts and riparian brush that have re-sprouted with buckbrush and deerbrush
- →Scout pre-season to locate trails and feed, then get well off the roads — few deer are seen from the truck
Mule Deer
common opportunityRocky Mountain mule deer occupy the northeastern portion of the zone toward Old Station and the Lassen high country, intergrading with blacktail along the transition.
- →Hunt the higher sage-bitterbrush and juniper benches in the northeast early
- →Glass open volcanic country and burn edges at first and last light
- →Work the timber-to-brush transition where mule deer bed and feed
Black Bear
common opportunityBlack bears are common through the Lassen and Plumas timber, working berries, acorns and riparian corridors.
- →Glass berry slopes and open brush morning and evening
- →Hunt oak flats during the acorn drop
- →Check creek bottoms, burns and clearcut edges for feeding bears
Pro tips
- →Play the migration: hunt the Lake Almanor / Stover / Swain high country early, then chase deer down and west into Tehama and Butte after storms.
- →In the oak-shrub foothills, concentrate at or below 4,000 feet where most late-season blacktail are taken.
- →Hunt disturbance — recent burns, clearcuts and brushfields of buckbrush and deerbrush hold the feed and the deer.
- →The 45,000-acre Tehama Wildlife Area offers big public ground on the west side; check its permit/access rules before relying on it.
- →Carry the full set of USFS/BLM maps — one sheet won't cover this zone, and the SPI-vs-national-forest checkerboard matters.
Watch out for
- !Sierra Pacific Industries and other private timber and ranch interlaced with public land — carry an ownership map and get written permission before hunting private
- !Vast area with steep, rugged terrain and extremely dense brush — bring maps for several map quadrangles
- !Early storms turn clay and canyon roads difficult to impassable
- !Fire-season closures and campfire restrictions on USFS/BLM land
- !Statewide non-lead ammunition requirement, and no camping/hunting over 30 minutes within 200 yards of an artificial water source (Title 14 §730)
Logistics
The zone is ringed by service towns: Red Bluff and Chico on the valley side, Chester and Lake Almanor in the high country, Susanville to the east and Quincy to the southeast. Numerous USFS and BLM campgrounds range from primitive to full-service. Because C-4 is so large, plan on several BLM/USFS maps to cover it (Burney, Chico, Lake Almanor, Red Bluff, Susanville, Willows). Carry a shovel, good spare, and extra water — heavy rain makes many roads difficult to travel.
Nearest towns: Chester, Red Bluff, Chico, Susanville, Quincy, Oroville
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official California sources:
Research sources: CDFW Zone C-4 and Area-Specific Archery A-1 General Deer Hunt Information · CDFW Deer Hunting · USFS Lassen National Forest
FAQ
- How big is Unit C4 in California?
- Unit C4 (Zone C4) covers about 3,868 square miles, ranging from roughly 400 to 8,500 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- What species does the catalog list for Unit C4?
- Blacktail Deer, Mule Deer, Black Bear. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official California agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put Unit C4 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.