AZ Coues 2012, Left-over FUN!

[AZ402]

Just got back from my left-over coues deer hunt here in AZ. We had a great time, filled 5 out of 7 tags with a 100% shot opportunity. I'll post some pics and a little story after I unpack.

 

[sreekers]

Sounds like a fun trip.

 

[AZ402]

The hunt actually started on Nov 30th but I passed on the front end of the hunt to tag along with Buzz on his sheep tag. My buddy Bret and I headed down on Thursday afternoon to meet up with our other friends who were already down there.

Before we got there 3 out of 4 of them had tagged out. One was a great buck scoring over 105.

Since Bret and I only had 2.5 days to hunt, I wasn't going to be picky. Anything that wasn't a spike or a forked horn was in trouble.

Friday morning we started at one of my favorite spots but didn't see a deer. We moved down to glass another ridge and once again saw nothing. We decided to head off to another set of fingers and glass them for awhile. Almost as soon as we set up I picked up two bucks about 3/4 of a mile away. We grabbed our packs and the stalk was on.

We had to cross a pretty fair sized draw so it took us a little longer than we had expected. Once we topped out I gave the cut they were last seen in the ocular pat down and gave it the security clearance and began working to the next little cut.

As we topped out on the next finger I caught one of the bucks flag up. I set up for a shot and Bang, flop, Coues down. We knew there was at least one more buck in the cut and sure enough he was frozen near the bottom, looking towards his buddy in the dirt. Bret set up for a shot on the buck, bang, flop, two bucks down 50 yards apart. It was Bret's first antlered animal of any kind, I was glad to be there for that.

We made our way to Bret's buck first and he was more than pleased to say the least, great first buck. We left his and made to mine. Probably the smallest game animal I've ever shot but I was as happy as can be. It was a great hunt, we saw two other really NICE bucks after we shot while trying to get our other friends tag filled. Great hunt with great friends, one of my favorite hunts of the year.

Bret with his great Coues buck.

When you shoot a deer this Bad Ass, you can "Mean Mug" the camera, so I did.

Both bucks together,not the best pic but we were aways from the truck and were ready to break things
down.

 

[Wyodeerhunter]

Congrats! I need to make it down there sooner than later....

 

[ihuntelk]

More impressive than the deer is the fact that you could unpack in an hour.

Congrats on a couple nice bucks. I was moping round the house all day with blowing snow and temps in the teens outside. I really need to make an annual pilgrimage down there this time of year and soak up some sun and chase deer. Looks like a great time!


- Cade
www.HuntForeverWest.com

 

[Oak]

Nice job, guys. That's a pretty good half day hunt. I wish I could have been down that way this year.

 

[BuzzH]

Nice work on the deer and congrats to all.

There are no deer that are any more fun to hunt than coues.

 

[Spitz]

Congrats Stan! Sound like a fun trip.

 

[mtmiller]

Awesome. Maybe some day for me.

I have to ask...sidearm? Lotsa griz?

 

[AZ402]

;

I have to ask...sidearm? Lotsa griz?

Something like that....... I know when I'm in that area we hunt, my sidearm is locked and loaded at all times. We didn't see much "traffic" this year but man, the BP was busy down there.....

 

[Wyodeerhunter]

Has any hunters ever been hurt down there by border jumpers??? Drug cartels maybe???

 

[havgunwilltravel]

Nice bucks guys, sounds like there is a few added precautions to take
on this hunt. Sure would be interesting doing it solo.

Just a question, if you pick up a left over deer tag, but either apply for a point or
fail to draw in the regular hunts, do you still keep those hard earnt az preference
points you have accumulated trying to get in the game for a strip tag?

Thanks

 

[jabber]

Bret's looks like a pretty nice buck.

Congrats to both of you

 

[AZ402]

Has any hunters ever been hurt down there by border jumpers??? Drug cartels maybe???

There have been a few incidents over the years. With the amount of hunters down on the border units year in and year out,you hear about very little conflict. I did a solo hunt in this unit last year and never felt like I shouldn't have done it.

I think if you're aware of your surroundings you'll have no problems down there. I know I'll be down there every year I don't draw my deer tag North of the big ditch. It's some of the coolest public land we have here in AZ for sure. The critters don't seem to mind either. We saw Coues, Muleys, Goulds Turkey, Mearns Quail, Scaled Quail, Fox, Coyote, Javelina and more different types of birds of prey than you could imagine.

 

[AZ402]

Just a question, if you pick up a left over deer tag, but either apply for a point or
fail to draw in the regular hunts, do you still keep those hard earnt az preference
points

The left-over tags Do Not effect your bonus points.

 

[havgunwilltravel]

Ok thanks for the information. I thought the points were kept, but wasn't sure. Certainly a great plan B for hunters with those leftover tags.

 

[1_pointer]

COngrats on some fine looking bucks! Looks like a super time in some neat country.

I need to give that a try. wydeer and miller will probably invite me once they see the 3 person sleeping bag I'm building...

 

[BOHNTR]

Those are some good looking Coues, Stan. Congratulations to both of you.

 

[sbhooper]

Those are good, solid Coues deer. You cannot appreciate them unless you have hunted those little ghosts.

 

[Dinkshooter]

With the amount of hunters down on the border units year in and year out it is getting harder to get your shipment and then get back home to start distributing

Hmm nice to know

Those are some pretty deer, looks nice and warm as well.