California Edible Game

My favorite is the brush rabbit or pygmy cottontail. They're not very large, but plentiful in a good year and tasty. The season opens July 1st.
The Euasian Collared Dove can be found just about everywhere, open season all year round. Best cooked over a very slow fire. Keep in mind that the native Mourning Dove is considered a migratory game bird and may NOT be taken with an airgun, make sure you can tell them apart.
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California and Mountain quail can be hunted with airguns as well as wild turkey. 
Make sure you have a valid hunting license and read the DFG regs carefully before you hit the woods.
Have fun!
John

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I also live in North California, if you want to get together and shoot let me know. You are welcome to eat anything I kill too!

This should help you. Chapter 2 section 311 tells you what you can hunt with an air gun

http://www.fgc.ca.gov/regulations/current/uplandgamebirdregs.aspx

As noted, rabbits, dove and quail are your best bets for getting wild game with an airgun in CA. You can also hunt tree squirrels in Kern county and they are pretty tasty.

If you have not already, you should check out the Carrizio Plain. Lots of good hunting there.

R

I live in SoCal. The beach bunnies down here are good eatin'. But the gear needed to bag 'em is very expensive. You need looks & a whole lotta money!

The crock pot is you friend when it come to the bunnies. I piece them and cook in the crock pot, usually with an onion, some olive oil,, a dab of mustard and honey, and a bit of fresh Rosemary if you have it. (Rosemary is a common landscape plant in California as well as a seasoning herb) Add enough water to cover the meat. Cook till the meat is falling off the bones, make a gravy from the liquid, serve with mashed potatoes. I take the time to pull the meat-even my 'bunny hugger' wife will happily eat them.

Care of the meat is more important than a specific recipe. Take a small cooler and plastic bags with you if it is warm out. Skin and clean immediately after the kill and get it cooled down. Having cold drinks and something to sit on during the hunt is a bonus. Folks around here will tell you Dove taste like liver, that is only true if you have been carrying it in your pocket all afternoon on a 90 degree day.

I agree, c_m_shooter. And dove has got to be the easiest game to field dress. Simply force your thumb under the bottom breastbone and remove the breast meat with your hand. Peel the silver skin and feathers off the meat and rinse with water, and you're good to go. I strongly recommend investing in surgical gloves as the blood makes getting the feathers off your fingers almost impossible!

Field dressing and cooling the meat immediately does go a long way in reducing that "gamey" taste. It also goes a long way in reducing the chance of bacterial contamination. I also marinate the butchered meat overnight in the fridge in my proprietary marinade (it's simply a brine mixture with vinegar and a little tenderizer in it) and use recipes that use aromatic seasonings.

The only possible problem with breasting out birds is transporting them. Here in California when you transport a dressed game bird, the head or one wing must be intact so the bird can be identified. A cooler full of just breast meat might get you in trouble. To be safe, know the laws of the state you are hunting in.

Good call, Calbarry. Of course, it is always advised to follow the laws in your jurisdiction. Thanks

Boy, John; that does look awesome!