AZ December Rifle Coues tactics advice

RyanG505

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Apr 10, 2017
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New Mexico
I was lucky and drew an Arizona Unit 29 coues rifle hunt for December, this is my first crack at coues deer. I have no experience with coues deer other than I've seen them a few times here and there while mule deer hunting in southern NM. Is there any make or break advice that you guys would recommend as to tactics for these little ghostly bucks? I know the obvious of glass, glass, glass, and I'm capable of hiking wherever, but just curious if there is make or break stuff avid coues hunters have discovered? Also, if anyone has any great reading material recommendations on these deer I can look into I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks in advance for any advice or learning I can gain.
 
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
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I was lucky and drew an Arizona Unit 29 coues rifle hunt for December, this is my first crack at coues deer. I have no experience with coues deer other than I've seen them a few times here and there while mule deer hunting in southern NM. Is there any make or break advice that you guys would recommend as to tactics for these little ghostly bucks? I know the obvious of glass, glass, glass, and I'm capable of hiking wherever, but just curious if there is make or break stuff avid coues hunters have discovered? Also, if anyone has any great reading material recommendations on these deer I can look into I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks in advance for any advice or learning I can gain.

The early December hunt or the late hunt?


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Fitzwho

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Apr 18, 2017
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Midland, TX
I had the early December hunt in Unit 29 last year. I didn’t spend a lot of time in the unit (about 18 hours). But I saw a lot of deer, enough so that I should have probably been a little pickier. PM me and I can point you in a few directions.

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RyanG505

RyanG505

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Apr 10, 2017
Messages
53
Location
New Mexico
I had the early December hunt in Unit 29 last year. I didn’t spend a lot of time in the unit (about 18 hours). But I saw a lot of deer, enough so that I should have probably been a little pickier. PM me and I can point you in a few directions.

3868a7cc8dfe9546bfb30ed6c006c98c.png



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oh wow that's a quick hunt! Nice buck, those deer are really small body wise now that I see it next to your rifle. I have the same early rifle as well so that makes me feel good, I wasn't sure what to expect. I will shoot you a PM I really appreciate it.
 

Maverick940

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Apr 2, 2016
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Ryan & Carey:

You guys shouldn't have any problem at all finding bucks in that unit during the early December hunt. There's plenty of them around. Plenty of public land, too.

Maverick
 

Desert Dan

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Jan 31, 2018
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Lansing, Michigan
Early December can be a little early for the rut so don't be surprised if the bucks aren't moving much, especially if they've felt any pressure from previous hunts. I'm not familiar with that specific unit but the deer will be there so if you're not seeing a lot of bucks moving around be patient and focus your glassing on typical feeding and bedding areas as well travel routes like you would any other time of the year. Instead of being up on their feet chasing does you might have success picking them up sunning themselves at sunrise on cold mornings and then bedding down to where you can put a stalk on one. When the activity starts to slow down late morning don't think it'll stay slow. They tend to get up and move around, even if only briefly, but mid day is a great time to look over the same area you've already glassed and suddenly see a buck standing there or browsing.
 
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RyanG505

RyanG505

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New Mexico
I appricitae the advice Desert Dan I will take all that into consideration. What type of vegetation do they usually prefer to feed on? do they eat much of that yellow grass?
 

Maverick940

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No problem, Ryan. And to answer your question about whether or not they eat much of that bear grass, the answer is no. Their diet pretty much consists of mahogany, acorns, cholla, scrub oak, "buck brush", various seeds, mushrooms, and what few forbs they can find. During the month of December, they'll predominantly be feeding on mahogany.
 
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Feb 20, 2016
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I don’t know what Glass you’ll be running but for coues it’s probably more important than any other aspect. Them things are hard to find bedded and often on that early hunt during the day you’re gonna find them bedded especially if the temps aren’t cooperating or like last year on the first December hunt we had to deal with the super moon which made it even harder.


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Outdoorsmans

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May 14, 2018
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AZ
Ryan, Coues deer are the masters of hide and seek, and can appear out of nowhere at times. As stated above glassing is your greatest tool. Stay out all day as they tend to move or reposition a lot between noon and 3 pm due to the changing sun angles.

The best advise when glassing for coues is to not look for a deer shapped items. Learn to use your peripheral vision to look for ear or tail flicks. When glassing into cover, start in the very center or thickest part. Coues deer will often bed up in the nastiest areas of a hillside to seek refuge from predators.

Unit 29 has a lot of bear activity as well so the deer in certain areas may be a lot more weary to changes in the enviroment i.e. hoards of hunters coming into an area.

The last tip is to be on the move, don't get hung up in one area waiting for deer to appear. If you are glassing somewhere and only seeing does, leave that area. Bucks will still be solitary or bachelored up on the early hunt. They tipically won't start looking for does until the end of December or beginning of January in a good year.

Good luck to you guys and if you have time stop by the shop and we can talk more about the hunt!

Thank you, Jake.
 

Maverick940

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For me, glassing is the only way to go. When I first started hunting them in the mid 1970's, I used to hunt them as if they were 1970's mule deer (lol). Didn't take me long to figure out that glassing was better than walking and throwing rocks in canyons. For me, the last 30 years has been all about glassing. You'll see plenty of whitetails in that unit. You should be able to see quite a few bucks. In that unit, during November and into early December, I usually average about 30 bucks seen for every ten days in the mountains.
 

Desert Dan

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Lansing, Michigan
I appricitae the advice Desert Dan I will take all that into consideration. What type of vegetation do they usually prefer to feed on? do they eat much of that yellow grass?

I wish I could give you an educated answer on what they eat but I'm not very familiar with the different plant species or their seasonal abundance. I'm sure there are a few members on here that could give you a really good answer. In general you can find them on the edges where one type of vegetation/terrain meets another. During that time of year it's a good bet to look at sunny slopes at first and last light where they can warm themselves and browse on shrubs and grasses. They'll work their way to bedding areas doing that. Also the vegetation can vary quite a bit depending on what elevation you're hunting. I usually hunt 4000-5000 ft so I get a lot of large manzanita bushes that grow next to different shrubs and grasses and overgrown draws with oak. I've found bucks using both the manzanita and ocotillo tangles as well as the thick oak draws for cover that will work their way out to browse, then back to bed. I always look for anything flowering or green near areas I described then look for likely saddles or draws that connect to bedding areas. If they've been pressured the mature bucks may very well only be moving under cover of darkness, in which case you will need to glass very patiently and intently near cover.
Don't get too hung up on patterning them too specifically though. As has been mentioned, they're sneaky little ninja deer and can be up and moving whenever they feel like it for whatever reason. They are a very fun deer to hunt.
 

Maverick940

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I wouldn't say they're Ninjas. It's actually pretty easy to kill a representative buck in the 75-95 inch class, which would be a 3-5 year old deer. Now, an 8-9 or 10 year old buck is going to be a tough nut to crack. But, you're necessarily looking to kill something that extraordinary. You never know, though. Even first timers kill 120 inch bucks.
 

Oldirtdog

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Jul 7, 2018
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AZ
I've got the early November hunt in unit 32. I'll echo what others have said here and it sounds like you're aware, it's all about glassing. My earlier hunt is typically very warm so I'll be up in the dark humping it to the highest peak and be situated before the sun rises. I've had the best luck in the early morning as they will start to bed down as it heats up and are much more difficult to spot. It's worthwhile to bring the heavier 15X glass.
 

Maverick940

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Apr 2, 2016
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I've got the early November hunt in unit 32. I'll echo what others have said here and it sounds like you're aware, it's all about glassing. My earlier hunt is typically very warm so I'll be up in the dark humping it to the highest peak and be situated before the sun rises. I've had the best luck in the early morning as they will start to bed down as it heats up and are much more difficult to spot. It's worthwhile to bring the heavier 15X glass.

I love those early November hunts. In my opinion, that's the best time to kill a really big one. Lots of public land in 32, but hard to get access to the it. Most of it is behind locked gates, but, I like it that way. It's kind of a sanctuary down there (lol).
 
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