Sutter Buttes Hunting Reserve - California

[tawdry parrot]

Welcome Hunters to Sutter Buttes!

The Central Valley of California sees millions of waterfowl migrate through every year including Snow Geese, Greater White-fronted Geese, Northern Shoveler, and the deep-diving Ringbill! Grab your dekes and dog and head out to find them!

If you don't feel like getting wet, then check out Sutter Buttes' riparian forests for American Black Bear, Black-tailed Deer, Coyote, Gray Fox, and of course, the dangerous Feral Hog - rumor has it a particularly large Hog exists out here!

If you'd rather go for small game, then look out for the speedy Black-tailed Jackrabbit, California Quail, and colony-living California Ground Squirrel.

If you're here for big game though... oh boy, do we have that! Sutter Buttes is where you'll find the exclusive Tule Elk! Did you know they're only found in California? And if you're here for hiking, then head up to the Trinity Alps for Mountain Quail and Mule Deer. These bucks are tough, but I've heard there's a particularly big one out there!

Alright, here we are, hahaha. I based this reserve concept on where I grew up hunting in real life. Also took into considerations a few requests of the community - snow goose, GO Mulie and Feral Hog, and of course, some "new hunting flavors". I know the community wants a prairie dog (which should still be added to SRP!), but the California ground squirrel could offer a new opportunity for us and of almost the same thing.

Reserve Weapon - 6.8 Western with California Compliant copper bullets

This would also be the first time that Tule Elk would be in a hunting game since 2006 - and it'd be great to have the trio in-game.

Other things discussed: Coyote re-work including a size up (Class 3)

Been sitting on this concept for a while and I'm glad I could finally share it.

[tawdry parrot]

Bump

[wooden crypt]

There would be maps I'd prefere but I wouldn't complain if this comes out especially if it would feature the well fitting https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1316523455822299158 or brant goose

[tawdry parrot]

Nah, no Brant in the valley but I definitely thought about Wigeon - they're all over the place

[placid needle]

I would love to see the northern forest part of this map have some of the massive tress California has to offer.

[wooden crypt]

That would really make the map more attractive for me

[tawdry parrot]

Ooh that'd be a fun thing to stumble on up in the mountains. Giant Sequoia are so awesome

[tawdry parrot]

Also if #1273552003712421899 goes through - Sutter Buttes is actually perfect for Rio Grande Turkey of all places. They were introduced to California a long time ago (prior to then, the endemic turkey species went extinct like 11,000 years ago)

[tawdry parrot]

Tule Elk please

[raven path]

What is a Ringbill, or did you mean Ring-neck.

[tawdry parrot]

Ringbill, Ringneck, Aythya collaris

[raven path]

Interesting never heard them called Ringbill

[raven path]

I feel like Cinnamon Teal would also work well.

[tawdry parrot]

Def, they're definitely in the Central Valley

[tawdry parrot]

It's definitely the name that all my hunting buddies use and I just asked my other friend from Texas and he said yeah he's heard them called ringbill his whole life too hahaha

[raven path]

Funny, I’m from Missouri and all I’ve heard them called is Ring-necks, real question is what you call pintail

[tawdry parrot]

Pintail

[raven path]

Ok so no Bullsprig

[tawdry parrot]

I've never heard that in my life LOL

I know of the name, but not in usage

[raven path]

Yeah, never heard it in Missouri a lot but definitely more up north

I think cinnamon teal would be a great addition to the map though since California is one of a handful of states that they regularly get harvested in

[tawdry parrot]

Sure, didn't want to overload it but man Cali def gets a lot. Also thought about #1316523455822299158 of course, tons and tons of those there too.

[raven path]

I need to finish an idea I had for an Arkansas map set in Stuttgart, with rice and timber hunting. I was thinking of adding wigeon, woodies, and blue winged teal.

[tawdry parrot]

I was thinking about something like that as a sort of "American Salz" if you get it haha

[raven path]

Same, I was also thinking about adding blinds/pits you can buy to build like the blinds on parque

[tawdry parrot]

Oh yeah, they totally have those in the Central Valley both on the refuges and on private leases - would be super cool. Does Arkansas get woodcock? What about prairie chicken?

Reason I ask is that's the main thing I was thinking for Kansas or something. Of course, a small bird-focused map would be really cool for Florida (Osceola Turkey!)

[raven path]

No, prairie chickens for sure and I think little woodcock, but that might just be the places I’ve seen for woodcock. Yeah the only reason I would pick Arkansas for a small map is that it’s the duck capital of the world.

[tawdry parrot]

Yeah I know - but Florida does have the advantage of the aforementioned turkey (plus lol, maybe gator, swamp rabbit, and/or pythons lol)

[raven path]

Well swamp rabbit you could put them in Arkansas and I just wanted an actual map with flooded timber hunting. Mississippi kinda has that but it’s not very good

[tawdry parrot]

@ripe valve exactly why I enjoy the concept of Cali - give us another wapiti, more ducks and geese, both quails, etc

[ripe valve]

Agreed

[tawdry parrot]

I've literally been in the Sierras foothills where there's both Cali Quail and Mountain Quail, it's super cool

[ripe valve]

Here’s a California list I made a while back if you want to have a laugh or maybe find something useful as i am an outsider

Clearlake hunting reserve. North CA
Tule elk (6)
Columbian black tailed deer (4)
White tail (4)
Black bear (7)
Coyote (2)
North American river otter (2)
North American beaver (2)
Mountain quail (1)
California quail (1)
Sooty grouse (1)
Pintail (1)
Mallard (1)
Bufflehead (1)
Hooded merganser (1)
Canada geese (1)

[tawdry parrot]

No Whitetail in California, and beavers + otters + grouse are probably best elsewhere. While we do have Canada Geese, it'd be better to have Snow Geese and/Greater White-fronted Geese. I was thinking Bufflehead maybe, but Ringbills are more plentiful and Buffies could be added to #1311408478518120560 (along with the Merganser and others)

[ripe valve]

And that’s why it’s best to leave a map like this up to a local but hopefully you got a good laugh from it also thank you for the information

[tawdry parrot]

Yes! All good spirits

[ripe valve]

Really no white tail in California wow

[tawdry parrot]

Nope they're in Oregon, Washington, and BC (after nearly going extinct there) but CA is all mulies and blacktail

[ripe valve]

Wow my eastern mind can’t comprehend

[upbeat summit]

I recall Columbian White-tails being a Washington/Oregon Exclusive, the White-tails in British Columbia are a different subspecies (Odocoileus virginianus ochrourus aka the Northwestern White-tailed Deer) that ranges from Eastern Washington and Idaho into Eastern British Columbia as far north as the southern parts of the Yukon Territory

[tawdry parrot]

That's actually so interesting. Bit of a misnomer then, I suppose! Thnx for the clarification

[tawdry parrot]

Bump

[tawdry parrot]

Bump

[tawdry parrot]

Perfect place for Blacktail rework, Mulie and Feral Hog GO, lots of waterfowl and upland game, and of course, some beautiful vistas 😎

[woven ingot]

I also think that if they make this map they could also add the coyote in as a remodel or a rework

[tawdry parrot]

True true, they absolutely could - didn't want to oversaturate Coyote everywhere but eh, I've seen others asking about a rework (Class change) etc

[atomic lake]

Not again USA. We already have 5 USA maps in the game. Literally every country of the world would be higher ranked in my personal list.

[tawdry parrot]

Yes I concur, but exactly three more could be made - California, Florida, and a proper Desert Southwest map. Add Yucatan and Arctic Canada and that finishes North America.

[wooden crypt]

Those are greater white fronted goose?

[tawdry parrot]

And Snowies!

[wooden crypt]

I wasn't sure because the image wasn't very high quality and I didn't know if your American or Eurasian

[wooden crypt]

I wish 😭 all our birds are gone for winter

Btw where is this, is it that Mormon lakecity everyones talking about?

[tawdry parrot]

LMAO no that's in Utah. This is the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, about a million each of Snow Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese migrate through

I have older pics too, I'd imagine ingame these lowland fields and marshes to be home to all the waterfowl, jackrabbit, ground squirrels, Tule Elk, and these (California Inland Deer, not really necessary to be that specific though and Blacktail rework works just fine):

[wooden crypt]

I didn't think California had such landscapes I mostly know it for beaches that one bridge and the big trees

[tawdry parrot]

"That one bridge" LOL

[wooden crypt]

I forget its name, it's in that town with all the addicts and fecees, oh that's all towns in the us if I believe my YouTube algorithm, even those in Alaska which is till do not believe

[upbeat summit]

"Mormon Lake City" sounds like a good nickname for Salt Lake City based on everything I have heard about it

[wooden crypt]

Don't wanna get political so I will not elaborate but all the stuff I have heard about Mormons is destroying my European mind

[upbeat summit]

I was in a Mormon foster family for 6-7 years, so I am not surprised. That is where I will leave it

[ripe valve]

I don’t know how much you’ve learned about Mormons but when I first learned about “soaking” it threw me so proceed with caution

[wooden crypt]

I heard about that before I even knew what a Mormon was, I thought it was some kind of cult at first, turned out to be exactly that

[ripe valve]

I don’t really know a lot about Mormonism because it’s not really prevalent in the state I live in but I have heard enough to know I’m not really for it

[wooden crypt]

I mean I let people live their religion unless they don't respect others, I think Mormonism is hurting other people but many of them are surprisingly kind

[ripe valve]

Whenever I have been out in the western U.S or in Utah and have met Mormons I found that the people were pretty nice but Americans in general are nice so much so that it can be a stereotype like here in the south it’s called southern hospitality and the mid west is also known for being polite so really the only place in America in where the people are not as nice is New England but even then I have met really kind people from there Europeans are nice but it’s a different kind of nice and of course I’m generalizing and this is just my life experience so by no means is it gospel and I’m sure you have a different view on it

[wooden crypt]

I heard from a family member that when they were traveling thru Texas somebody pointed a gun at them twice because they Picniced on "their" land

[ripe valve]

Texas doesn’t surprise me

[wooden crypt]

Isn't that part of the south tho, well anyway they were kilometres from any houses and it still happened twice

[tawdry parrot]

Nah, Texas isn't, least not the whole thing.

[ripe valve]

Yes Texas is technically apart of the south but the United States of America as country is not too much smaller than Europe as a continent and the south is a very large region and Texas might as well be its own they definitely think they are their own

[tawdry parrot]

I live in Texas and really only East Texas is - the rest of the state is more of either its own thing or part of the West

[ripe valve]

My grandparents use to live in Dallas and that wasn’t to bad I may sound negative towards Texas but I do like the state I just feel like they claim a lot of culture that belongs to more than just Texas and so I feel as though Texans can have a bit of an ego but if you live there you know far more about Texas than me

[tawdry parrot]

Yes, that's part of the reason it's more nuanced than people paint it. I live in South Texas and it's completely different from the rest of the state, which is split into many different regions

[ripe valve]

I think every U.S state is far more complicated then people give them credit they each have their own cultures and histories and it’s easy forget that each state is the size of a country my state is the 30th largest in the country and is slightly larger in land area than Greece which is Europes 14th largest country

[feral copper]

Weapon wise what were you thinking?

6.8 Western with California Compliant copper bullets?

[tawdry parrot]

LOL YES

[tawdry parrot]

Literally edited my initial post cause it's such a good idea

[feral copper]

LOLLL

[tawdry parrot]

Up from the marshy lowlands would be oak savanna

Dominant foliage in the foothills would be manzanita, oak, buck-brush, and occasional conifers

[ripe valve]

Is this the prime tule hunting habitat

[tawdry parrot]

Bears, blacktail, both quails, and some Tule Elk indeed. However they're more of a lowland animal (they're named after the wetlands-loving Tule grass after all, and used to range in immense herds throughout the valley!)

[ripe valve]

Ok cool next to the tule elk I’m most interested in quail and if this their habitat it looks like hunting them would be fun

[tawdry parrot]

Can't tell you how many times I've trudged through gigantic manzanitas looking for Quail after hearing their characteristic "CHI-CAH-GOH" call hahaha. Could also include a Quail caller, I literally have one for both Cali Quail and Mountain Quail! (Maybe for ingame purposes, Bobwhite and Stubble too!)

[ripe valve]

Also this habitat is not too different from a few areas in Alabama so it kinda feels familiar though California is far more mountainous

[ripe valve]

I would love that for bobwhite since I hunt them here in bama but bobwhite don’t sound like mountain or cali quail it would be cool if they made them distinguishable in game by their calls

[tawdry parrot]

This is the call I have irl - it's very fun to be yelling "CHI-CAH-GOH" back and forth with them hahaha

[tawdry parrot]

@ripe valve fun fact, in this pic in that area you can see coveys of both species, it's a little trippy hahaha

[ripe valve]

Really! Where at in cali is that exactly if you don’t mind me asking

[tawdry parrot]

I'm in the northern part of the Central Valley, this is in the foothills of the southern Cascades/northern Sierras (like, in the shadow of Mt. Lassen)

[ripe valve]

Ok cool half of my family is from Washington so I’ve been in the cascades quite a bit but I was thinking a little lower in the state near kings canyon but it’s been awhile since I was in Cali

Ok looking at a map I’ve been to Mt. Shasta so I’ve roughly been in that area

The terrain surrounding Lassen seems a lot nicer than Shasta

[tawdry parrot]

Definitely - around Shasta you've got massive meadows and then Lava Beds National Monument. Not that it's ugly but it's just... not Lassen hahahaha

[ripe valve]

lol I understand

Last time I was in California i was with my family and I was maybe 8 so it’s been a long time I really need to go back but we went to go see General Sherman and few other sites before heading to Seattle when I got a little older I wanted to go back and see Yosemite but never got to so I guess now that I’m old enough to go myself I need to go back and revisit the parks and maybe go to Lassen if I got time

[tawdry parrot]

Perfect segway into the final ecozone - the high mountains/Trinity Alps/Cascades part.

[ripe valve]

Like sundarpatan they could reuse the dynamic weather system near the peak of the mountain

[tawdry parrot]

Yesssss please that'd be so sick.

[atomic lake]

Pretty much Silver ridge peaks... We already have 5 USA reserves in the game.

[tawdry parrot]

It is not. It is something completely unique if you read the rest of the topic - only the highest parts would resemble SRP at all.

[frail pond]

This would be great! A multi Mount slam with all 3 elk subspecies would be awesome as well

[tawdry parrot]

Oh I hadn't even thought about that 👀

[lyric matrix]

This is really cool, I’m from NorCal and grew up around this area, I’d love to see a reserve based off it

[tawdry parrot]

Finally I'm not the only one! 🤣

[tawdry parrot]

Thinking this reserve could easily support more duck species - especially #1316523455822299158 , but the Valley has a lot! Greenwing, Mallard, Cinnies, Gadwall for sure, then Northern Shoveler and Ringbill as already said, plus Northern Pintail. I'd save species like scoters, redheads, canvasbacks, and other divers for another reserve such as #1311408478518120560

[tawdry parrot]

Bump

[tawdry parrot]

Bump

[tawdry parrot]

Bump

[tawdry parrot]

Bump

[tawdry parrot]

Bump - let's get the California Central Valley ingame! Lots of potential

[tawdry parrot]

California's "Golden Hills" - there'd be Tule Elk out there if this reserve came to life

[placid needle]

They would be a great addition

[tawdry parrot]

Definitely! It would be awesome to have all them ingame. California's unique landscapes - man-made and not - definitely offer some unique hunting opportunities. I made this species list to reflect what the community has been asking for, personal wants, and for the collector type that'd like to see groups of species (as @frail pond said, a multimount with all 3 Elk could be cool). Not to mention Mule Deer GO, BT rework, and even possible rework for the other two Elk subspecies too.

[tawdry parrot]

Another thing that should be considered but idk if it'll ever be realized is that Rancho getting Gould's Turkey means that Rio Grande Turkeys could be put on Sutter Buttes - our turkeys here in California are primarily Rio Grande, with a tiny population of Merriam's in the far northeast corner.

Something that could also come with #1273552003712421899 could be the addition of Sierra Nevada Bighorn (Ovis canadensis sierrae) to the mountains of Sutter Buttes along with Mule Deer (either the already ingame Rocky Mountain or a new California Mule Deer) and Mountain Quail!

[grand thistle]

Hey @tawdry parrot!

Thank you so much for crafting this detailed reserve suggestion and sharing it with us. We will make sure it's taken into consideration.

If you have any other ideas, you can send them to us using the supporting platform here: https://support.thehunter.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

[tawdry parrot]

Thank you for listening, truly.

[ripe valve]

B

[frail pond]

???

[tawdry parrot]

Means bump, so people see it lol