I am new to the Forum and need a little advice. My sons and I are planning an AZ Coues hunt in 2017. I have done a little research but am a little confused. It seems some of the best Coues hunting in in the south but the threat of vandals is very viable. We are looking for an easy draw with a good opportunity at a respectable buck. Any ideas?
Arizona Coues
- Thread starter JSpitzer
- Start date
Jason Balazs
New member
Archery is over the counter. Not sure about any of the rest. I am trying to plan a Muley hunt down there this January.
LopeHunter
Well-known member
Archery is in rut in early to mid-January and is OTC. Very challenging. Few rookies stick a Coues.
Rifle early rut tags are in late-December and difficult to draw as a non-resident but always a chance. More likely need to apply for 6-12 years to get a December tag and to pull two non-resident tags in one year will be more towards the 12 years.
The trend has been for some rifle Coues tags to be "leftover" tags for the pre-December rifle hunts in some units. Why are tags left over? Because if you draw any choice during the draw then you lose your accumulated points. These non-rut Coues tags generally are not viewed as worth burning points when can apply for primo tags in the draw then take a chance on getting a leftover tag which does not impact your points. The process to get a leftover tag is "first-come, first-served" but no non-resident quota limitation so that is nice. You mail in your choices once the leftover tag list is revealed but...you need for your leftover request to not arrive prior to the day they accept applications and not arrive after the day. That can be tricky for a non-resident to time.
I have hunted units that border Mexico and units that do not. The further south the unit, the more likely you will see debris and perhaps at night bump into illegals. You will see lots of Border Agents on the roads, off road and above in the sky. If you have a camp, perhaps you will have problems losing stuff but since illegals tend to move after dark and you will most likely be in camp then your higher risk of losing stuff is to other hunters, unfortunately. You can leave some bottled water outside your tent since an illegal might be looking for that if are approaching your camp.
I have been snowed on in December and been in a t-shirt. In the pre-December hunts the odds are you will be in 100F type temps so plan accordingly.
Everything in the desert will either bite, sting, jab or scratch you from below. And sunburn you from above. You will probably encounter ridges as look for Coues. They are not the color of Eastern (red) deer so are called the grey ghosts and not only does that blend into the terrain but these are small deer that can all but disappear if lay down near a medium-sized agave.
Good luck on your hunt.
Rifle early rut tags are in late-December and difficult to draw as a non-resident but always a chance. More likely need to apply for 6-12 years to get a December tag and to pull two non-resident tags in one year will be more towards the 12 years.
The trend has been for some rifle Coues tags to be "leftover" tags for the pre-December rifle hunts in some units. Why are tags left over? Because if you draw any choice during the draw then you lose your accumulated points. These non-rut Coues tags generally are not viewed as worth burning points when can apply for primo tags in the draw then take a chance on getting a leftover tag which does not impact your points. The process to get a leftover tag is "first-come, first-served" but no non-resident quota limitation so that is nice. You mail in your choices once the leftover tag list is revealed but...you need for your leftover request to not arrive prior to the day they accept applications and not arrive after the day. That can be tricky for a non-resident to time.
I have hunted units that border Mexico and units that do not. The further south the unit, the more likely you will see debris and perhaps at night bump into illegals. You will see lots of Border Agents on the roads, off road and above in the sky. If you have a camp, perhaps you will have problems losing stuff but since illegals tend to move after dark and you will most likely be in camp then your higher risk of losing stuff is to other hunters, unfortunately. You can leave some bottled water outside your tent since an illegal might be looking for that if are approaching your camp.
I have been snowed on in December and been in a t-shirt. In the pre-December hunts the odds are you will be in 100F type temps so plan accordingly.
Everything in the desert will either bite, sting, jab or scratch you from below. And sunburn you from above. You will probably encounter ridges as look for Coues. They are not the color of Eastern (red) deer so are called the grey ghosts and not only does that blend into the terrain but these are small deer that can all but disappear if lay down near a medium-sized agave.
Good luck on your hunt.
sbhooper
Well-known member
Great info, here. Those little deer are a blast to hunt and are unbelievably adept at disappearing. I have seen them do some incredible stuff.
The alien and drug traffic in the south is real. I would be armed at all times. It is our new status quo.
prhunter
Well-known member
The southern units should be easier to draw and have good deer densities.
