Mulies or Coues in AZ??????

[Flatrock]

For those of you with points or that have hunted AZ, are you going to burn your deer points on mule deer or coues? I've got 10 points and everybody that has hunted coues deer has said it's a blast and they're going to do it again. I don't know that it's worth it to wait for a late season Strip or Kaibab tag as that might not ever happen. I'm 35 but even so, I don't know that I'd ever draw one of those glory tags. And if I did, if might not be for another 30 years. Additionally, I really don't know a whole lot about other potential mule deer units that would be worth burning points on.

I think a coues hunt would be a blast and that's kind of what I'm leaning towards. I'd plan on drawing a December hunt. Just curious to hear some feedback from some other guys.

 

[Bigjay73]

No way I would burn 10 points for coues deer. Keep trying for a Kaibab tag, plenty of people draw them with less than 10 points. I've hunted both, and am gonna get a load of crap for this, but imo, coues are overrated. Very fun tohunt, but I never understood the hoopla,

 

[BrentD]

I'm with Bigjay73 on this one.

 

[MTGomer]

10 is a tough spot to be in as NR. Not enough to plan on drawing the glory tags yet unless you’re lucky but way more than necessary to draw a lot of the others that would be good hunts.

 

[madtom]

Never hunted AZ, but there is a 0% chance I’d wait and build points for 40 years for one tag. I would find a good mule deer tag for your 10 points and then start coues hunting on the 0 pt pre-rut tags next year.

 

[HighDesertSage]

I would hold fast for a Kaibab or strip tag.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Save your points for Kiabab.Go OTC Muley and Coues In Dec./Jan.also Javelina.
two for one!Save money and get more hunting.

 

[.270]

Just like everyone has said, keep in the game for Kiabab or strip tag. If you want to hunt coues with a rifle, you can try to pick up a leftover tag for Oct or Nov hunt but they get picked up very fast. You can get a dec rifle coues deer tag with 10 points no problem though.

 

[junior88]

keep applying for a glory tag. you can get a leftover tag for an oct. or nov. coues hunt. that won't burn your points. however 10 points will get you a dec. rifle rut hunt

 

[okie archer]

I honestly don't see the wow factor with Couse deer. Here in Oklahoma they look like the dink bucks that I see and pass on all the time. I realize they are a bit different deer than Midwest whitetail but seriously when they look so much like 1.5 year whitetail I don't get to excited. To each their own I guess. If I was an Az resident I would hunt them but no way I'm driving to Az to specifically target Couse deer.

 

[Flatrock]

According to gohunt, my odds of pulling a late rifle tag in the Kaibab or Strip are about 0.1-0.4% or so. I doubt those odds will even increase much, if at all in the years ahead. I could very, very easily apply for another 40 years and not even draw and then die with 50 points. That just doesn't appeal to me. And I'll never catch up to the bonus pass. I could pull the early rifle Kaibab tag but that sounds like it can be a tough hunt.

Maybe I won't burn these points on a coues tag and will look for a mule deer tag in a different unit. A guy just rarely hears about mule deer hunting in AZ in any units other than the 12s and 13s. There must be a unit or 2 that are under the radar. At the very least, I wouldn't mind burning points in one of the next few years for mule deer and then after that, try some low point Coues hunts.

Keep the comments coming.

 

[.270]

Okie, if you look at coues deer by just their antler size then I can see why you won't get excited from your Oklahoma whitetail. To put in some perspective a 70" coues deer is a Pope and Young buck while it takes 125" for a whitetail to make book. The size of the antlers or the deer doesn't make coues deer hunting addicting, it is the challenge of the hunt. Finding this little elusive deer in the desert is challenging enough, they don't call them the grey ghost for nothing, and then being able to close to distance to seal the deal is pretty rewarding. I think you just have to try it to understand how much fun it is to hunt these grey ghost.

 

[LCH]

I don't think Coues hunting would be much fun in August.. But after freezing your buns off in a treestand for 2 months, heading down to southern Arizona in December is a welcome change of pace.

 

[sneakem]

I'd take a December coues hunt in a second over a prayer shot at a mule deer in Arizona. You can kill Strip and Kaibab quality deer in so many other states without waiting a lifetime for a fractional percent chance.... For some reason people get hung up on the concept that points = inches of horn. It rarely is the case, it usually just means less competition in the field for those older age class animals...

I personally would love to hunt coues 5 times versus maybe never hunting deer once. Early coues hunts are miserable...90-110 degrees.

 

[NoWiser]

I'm a couple points behind you and plan on burning them on a Dec. coues hunt by the time I have 10 or 12. I think your head is in the right place. You can sit on the sidelines your whole life and watch your points grow, or you can go burn them on a hunt you'll remember for the rest of your life, and then start saving to do it over again. My philosophy is that the best value for your points in any state is to burn them ASAP. Good luck!

 

[arwhntr]

Looking at the odds of drawing a Strip tag is as about depressing as it gets. Being young and having a few points I’ve decided I’d rather have a handful (5-6) good hunts vs a single (if I’m lucky) great hunt. I’ll likely burn my points in the next draw I’m eligible and hunt Kaibab archery. I would certainly enjoy experiencing the country just once. After that I’m all over rifle coues tags. They are an incredibly fun animal to chase.

And like sneakem said, you can chase big mule deer all over the west. Coues deer you only have Arizona, Old Mexico and a few in New Mexico.

 

[MTGomer]

As far as big mulies go... I’m no expert whatsoever, but on my second ever day hunting in AZ I saw a mule deer that is up there with the biggest I’ve ever seen in Montana in 28 years and is larger than 95% or more of the bucks killed in the Kaibab. It’s a rifle tag you could draw every few years and bowhunt for 45 days every year. Personally, I think I can and will kill good mule deer bucks by learning a place like this well through hunting it. Would I do as well up north on a tag I will only get a time or two? Not unless I take a drastic amount of them to scout. Scouting for a tag that I might not get for 20 years is not something I personally have any interest in doing.
Id rather hunt. And really, I don’t have that much interest in hunting a unit full of roads where the outfitters have a dozen guys combing it for a big buck.

If I were you, I’d find a unit you like with good odds at an October general tag and go hunt.

 

[Tiredofthebickering]

I'd take a December coues hunt in a second over a prayer shot at a mule deer in Arizona. You can kill Strip and Kaibab quality deer in so many other states without waiting a lifetime for a fractional percent chance.... For some reason people get hung up on the concept that points = inches of horn. It rarely is the case, it usually just means less competition in the field for those older age class animals...

I personally would love to hunt coues 5 times versus maybe never hunting deer once. Early coues hunts are miserable...90-110 degrees.

I was just watching Randy's Kaibab hunt on Amazon Prime yesterday and the above seems really true. Honestly I saw the title of the episode and I thought I was going to see a monster taken by either Randy or his buddy. Now, Randy could have filled his tag with a buck if he wanted, but they didn't see a single buck that either of them considered a shooter. And they were hunting a "glory tag" as Randy called it.

 

[BrentD]

I'd like to hunt the Kiabab because it is the Kiabab, not because the bucks or bulls are bigger. Just that is a cool place and hunting would be a great way to see it. That determines a lot of the places I end up hunting.

 

[LopeHunter]

In a heartbeat, I would use the points to apply for a Dec Coues hunt. Just because you have a few points more than needed is no reason not to go hunting. Your health will never be as good as this year, trust me. Hunt while you can enjoy the tag.

You can be hunting Coues this December and likely will draw another December Coues hunt or two before ever get that primo mule deer tag that the average buck is maybe a 160" "disappointment" after waiting 25 to 40 years. There are not that many huge mule deer in those units and there are plenty of tags to thin them out before or while you are on your hunt for them. Add in a dry spring so small antlers grow the year you get your mule deer tag, a Federal shutdown, wild fires, illness in family, road closures, loss of job, tweak a knee, etc, and that multi-decade wait to hunt will be memorable for sure.


Besides, you can chase mule deer in a few other states. Coues are in but a few states.

AZ December Coues: