AZ Coues hunters?

[David Petersen]

#3599

Does anyone here live in southern AZ and/or have experience bowhunting Coues deer? Yes, I’m shopping for places to hunt! :oops::lol: Thanks, dave

[Daniel]

#21724

I can only suggest mountain caribou Dave, had a few locals complain how they needed to wait for these curious caribou to move off the skidoo trail they were on the other day 🙂

Made me laugh, and they were really upset too 🙂

I edited my post because I had a question about coues deer. They are the smallest in the deer family if I’m right, are tree stands the best methods to hunt them? Being that small, they must be on high alert, pretty jittery all the time.

SB

[JWnWyoming]

#21760

I don’t know about Deer but my sister in Prescott Valley sez the Javalinas are tearing up her front yard. Sounds like it’s time to make bacon!:P
JWnWyoming

[traddad]

#24248

I am an AZ resident hunter. The vast majority of coues habitat is within National Forest Lands and open to the public with the exception of Indian Res. Your best option is to find a likely mountain range within these boundries with elevations of 4000-6000 feet. They will be rutting in January. Climb a lookout and glass. If you can pattern the does you might find a well traveled saddle or scrape line to ambush a trailing buck. Stalking is difficult at best. Sitting water might be a possibility. They love the ocotillos and scrub oaks. If its cold they might be sunning themselves. By the way, glass all day regardless of rutting activity, they are often moving at mid day. Good Luck. Check units 32, 33, and the 34’s-36’s..Check out this site. CouesWhitetail.com

[David Petersen]

#24408

Thanks, traddad! I appreciate the tips and will check out the website. Leaving next week and I have a full week or more to bowhunt Coues and quail (the latter with a 12 bore but no dog). Leftover tag from last January. A benny of living in the SW! Dave 😀

[traddad]

#26457

Since your hunting mid December, you won’t find them in the rut. They’ll be buried deep in the base of the canyons and draws probably out of view until they come out to water, nibble some chow or sun themselves if it’s cold. (of course nothings written in stone). Stalking is tuff, but possible. If you can pattern a bucks bedding area you might have luck setting up on his travel route out the bottom of the draw etc…still watch the saddles and ridges just before and after sun rise/set. For quail, without a dog, drive to the water holes and walk the area 360 degrees around it, especially around the washes…have fun!
PS..get some gaiters to guard against cactus and felt bears feet for your boots if you plan a stalk…

[muddy]

#38881

David,

Could you share your experience on this hunt with a flat lander?

[David Petersen]

#40324

Muddy — happy to, if it ever happens. Had to delay a week due to major snow here at home and big rains in AZ. Now rescheduled to leave this Friday and return Christmas day. dave

[Jesse Minish]

#40431

Good luck!

[griz]

#41846

David, good luck will be looking for your return hunt post. Iam doing a diy next year.

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#43739

Dave, you are leaving this morning. Good luck. Can’t wait for the story and pictures when you return.

[T Downing]

#47574

Dave, I didn’t realize that you had already left for your AZ hunt. Good hunting my friend, talk to you after Christmas. T

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#47716

Hello thomas merry christmas to you and family

[T Downing]

#48028

Merry Christmas to you as well Alex. We missed you this past year, looking foward to your next visit to our sacred elk hunting grounds. Hope all is well with you and yours, Thomas

[Stephen Graf]

#50490

Well?

[David Petersen]

#50941

Thanks, my friends. I am home and glad of it. This is the sort of hunt that after, we with we hadn’t boasted about before, so we don’t have to disappoint our friends who want to hear the good news.

Good news: Lovely place in the northern range of the Coues in AZ, nearly 20 miles from the paved road and in the 5 days I was there, not a single other vehicle came in that far. Most wisely stop at the sign reading “Do not attempt to drive beyond this point when roads are wet, under penalty of law.” The boot- and tire-sucking mud in this place is infamous. So, I had it all to myself.

Except the first day when my AZ friend Christian was there to help me choose a good camp and hunting area. We scouted with shotguns and C’s German shorthair, and had a blast with Gambel’s quail and cottontails. Coues tracks were everywhere but unfortunately so were watering places, this area having been blessed with 2″ rain a week before. Next morning C left and I spent the next 4 days and nights alone and hunting hard in gorgeous country — no moo cows, no other humans — but alas, no deer sighted either, nary a one. “Buckbrush” was head high on a basketball pro and the little whitetails just didn’t come out in daylight hours. So when rain and snow joined the howling winds Wed. morning I pulled camp and drove home, the last 2 hours through a snowstorm in the dark with snowpacked roads, only to get stuck a quarter-mile from the cabin, to which I postholed most gladly.

Last year, by comparison, I spent 12 glorious night and days camped and had to suffer no more than a bit of wind a few days and saw deer and pigs everyday. That’s the nature of the game, ain’t if fellers? Sorry to disappoint you with such a sad tale, but frankly it was an adventure in itself and I’m at once grateful to have gone and grateful to be home. Already thinking about an Aug. Coues hunt to the same lovely area.

Now, let’s hear YOUR winter hunt adventures! Warmest wishes for a wonderful holiday for you and your families … and esp. to those of you who are alone, as I have been so many holidays in the past. Cheers, dave

[William Warren]

#52824

Dave,
My only desert experience was a visit to Fort Craig New Mexico where our ancestor Capt. Alexander MacRae was stationed at the time of his death in 1862. We were there researching and not hunting since my Dad is not a hunter but I quickly saw that walking up some rabbits or quail would be a possibility as there were lots of wildlife in the area. We walked on the game trails over by the Rio Grande at the Mesa de la Contedero or Black Mesa as it is also known. I was very nervous seeing those fresh bovine tracks but Dad was undaunted, not being a hunter, he had no idea how dangerous feral cattle in a thicket can be. But anyhow, I was quite mesmerized by the diverity of plants and animals and I hope to go back some day to hunt. Any time spent in the desert tops on my list!

[bates777]

#53002

David Petersen wrote: Does anyone here live in southern AZ and/or have experience bowhunting Coues deer? Yes, I’m shopping for places to hunt! :oops::lol: Thanks, dave

David I live in Tucson Arizona how can I help?

[Author]

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