Mule deer vs. Coues

I've hunted mule deer, but never coues or Eastern whitetail.

I hope to make an AZ archery coues deer hunt soon.

For those of you who have hunted coues and mule deer, my question is: Do these coues whitetail behave more like the mule deer that they share habitat with or more like sketchy eastern whitetail cousins I read about?

Just wondering what I need to change up if anything to increase my likelihood of success on a coues archery spot and stalk.

They're like easterns. Fun to hunt, but not as difficult as people make them out to be. The stalk on coues is the same as mulies or elk with a bow. I always try to figure where they're heading and get there first for an ambush. Where do you plan on hunting?

Thanks Bigjay.

It sounds like you have hunted them in January when they are up more?

I haven't selected a unit yet, though I suspect that it will be one of the Southern units where the trophy size deer are less common but the opportunities more plentiful (at least per what I read). I just arrowed my first cow elk and really just wanted to get more stalking practice in so I was planning on hunting some javalina, which I have done before during the general season. Following a recommendation from a friend I will try to find a unit that has good opportunities for both during the same season.

Mainly I am looking for opportunities to stalk in bow range of game to build my skills. Trophies can come later; though, I really would consider any coues a trophy at this point in my experience.

Coues are tougher to hunt than any big game animal in north America . Ask all the so call Pro's and big name hunters that come here and leave puzzled. And they are the ones that have said that phraze ,not me , but I will agree with it. You have to hunt them for years to learn them............BOB!

From limited experience in Southern AZ hunting Coues and relating it to Iowa white-tails and Montana Muleys: The Coues spot and stalk is more like the mule deer games in the mountains, since it usually started with a steep hike followed by a lengthy glassing session for me. I never sat water or in a blind, but after trying to stalk them, if you have the patience, it may be the way to go! They're creatures of relative habit, and they're home ranges are individually much smaller than other deer. I've heard 1-2 miles is all from AZGFD. That would seem to hold true for where I was hunting, as I could always get on the same couple bucks in their drainages in January. They're wary little creatures, an their eyesight seemed to be on par with Pronghorn, so it was best to put them to bed. Patience is not my virtue, and I've had many a failed stalk by attempting it when the buck was already in a good vantage and I tried my luck with the wind, so like any deer, their noses aren't to be trifled with either. The Muleys live in the flats where I was, and the Coues in the mountains, so they remind more of mule deer overall in their habits and how they bed, feed, etc. Either way, great opportunity hunt, and if you get one, share your tips! I'm still looking for success.

The hardest part of Coues hunting is the spotting. Once you get eyes on they are not overly difficult to harvest, if you can keep eyes on, similar to stalking a mountain muley. They are called the grey ghosts for a reason though, they are small and live in country that can completely hide them as often as not. Binos on a tripod are the way to go here in my opinion.

tmike51 said:

The hardest part of Coues hunting is the spotting. Once you get eyes on they are not overly difficult to harvest, if you can keep eyes on, similar to stalking a mountain muley. They are called the grey ghosts for a reason though, they are small and live in country that can completely hide them as often as not. Binos on a tripod are the way to go here in my opinion.

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Couldn't agree more. Your ass should get wore out well before your feet do while hunting southern AZ. Holds true for mulies and javelina as well. Glass, glass, glass

naturebob said:

Coues are tougher to hunt than any big game animal in north America . Ask all the so call Pro's and big name hunters that come here and leave puzzled. And they are the ones that have said that phraze ,not me , but I will agree with it. You have to hunt them for years to learn them............BOB!

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Hahaha

naturebob said:

Coues are tougher to hunt than any big game animal in north America . Ask all the so call Pro's and big name hunters that come here and leave puzzled. And they are the ones that have said that phraze ,not me , but I will agree with it. You have to hunt them for years to learn them............BOB!

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I'm guessing this comment is tongue in cheek? I appreciate the humor.

In my opinion most "Pros and big name hunters" are a bunch of blow-hards. I have much more respect and confidence in the average Joe on this forum.

Thanks guys for all the feed-back. I agree glassing will be the difficult. Glassing up javalina is hard enough. What I didn't have any appreciation for is what to expect once I've found them. If they are no more difficult than Muleys than I have confidence, and there is no tool in the bag more effective than confidence.

You guys talk big. . What is the HaHaHa denver boy. The Coues Deer will out fox you more you most of the time . How many times have You hunted them. Lets see some kill pics. Goatshoes that is no Humor I spoke. I have hunted them 40 years .. Live in Phoenix. I knew there would be some know it all Jokers on this topic. ASk Big Fin the owner of this site . He will tell you. I'd love for Him to chime in . Bunch of clowns that don't know what they are talking about on this topic. And I am serious .no joking. Spikes and little raghorns ,don't count. I dought if most can even get them...........BOB!

Not trying to badmouth any one, but You should really know what your talking about before You open Your mouth.............BOB!

If it's worth anything, I sure as hell don't have any kill pics of the "grey ghosts" of the sky islands. I haven't hunted every species in North America, but I will say, they are not easy to kill with a bow. I was always on them, until I wasn't. Hunted them hard 3-4 days a week in the Huachuca Mountains and Whetstone Mountains for the better part of 5 weeks, and never had it all line up on a buck. Went back the next year for a third season rifle hunt, expecting it to be a slam dunk, and although I was extremely limited on time, came up short again. I don't like definitives, so I won't go as far as saying they're the hardest hunt in North America, but they've earned a lot of respect from me, more so than any cagey mountain mule deer or heavily pressured midwest bruiser. I'll equate my hunting experience to a "poor mans sheep hunt" of sorts.

I grew up hunting Easterns. I have hunted Coues 3 times, always with rifle. The early rut hunt is a different type of hunt. I never hunted the early hunts. I put hunting Coues about 20x more difficult.

First, the Easterns are reddish tone so stick out against most backgrounds. Easterns are larger so more animal to see as walks or even if bedded behind a bush. Coues are grey. Where I hunted Coues the terrain was beige with bits of sage and green tones. The Coues terrain can vary so my experience my be too limited. One unit I hunted was flat so difficult to get up above the sage, agave, cacti and scrub oak to glass down into the vegetation. Coues are a smaller target and terrain does not always provide a way to stalk then if want to be quiet there is crinkly stuff everywhere it seems so kicking off the boots to stalk in socks is a great way to study the various differences in cacti barbs. Cacti jab, agave jabs, ocotillo jabs and rattlers bite so not a lot of paces to walk casually or lay back to catch a short nap.

Coues are in warm places so glassing means battling a lot of distortion and heat waves. And drinking lots of fluids. And dealing with lots of sun. You will most likely need to glass as far as you can see so most mule deer hunters arrive with underpowered optics and are not set up to use a tripod to hold the binos for hours of picking apart every bush. Some guides use two spotters lashed together on a tripod. I was often are looking for a Coues deer to be standing out at 800 yards but should have ben looking for the flick of an ear or a bit of antler. Learning curve so now I find Coues most places I set up to glass but then I also now know to skip about 75% of the area as have a "feel" for where a Coues is more likely to be as I get to a high point to glass. More learning curve.

I find Easterns easier to hunt than mule deer and mule deer easier than Coues. I have hunted all those and Columbian Whitetail pre-rut and rut. I suppose you could sit water for Coues though they get a lot of moisture from what they eat. Another issue with Coues is getting up the learning curve. Only a couple of states offer tags. AZ offers OTC rut archery tags but can be January can be crowded. AZ offers a lot of early season rifle tags though can be 100F and you are pounding a unit in Oct and Nov with a few 100 other tag holders and some Immigration authorities and a few "tourists" backpacking in from the border. Not a lot of places to find gas and motel near where you want to hunt and expect roadblocks on paved roads every few miles with armed, no-nonsense LEO.

I love hunting Coues. I highly recommend the hunt since is a challenging learning curve. Arrive with the optimal gear and plenty of water and sunscreen and should be ready to move up the learning curve faster.

naturebob said:

You guys talk big. . What is the HaHaHa denver boy. The Coues Deer will out fox you more you most of the time . How many times have You hunted them. Lets see some kill pics. Goatshoes that is no Humor I spoke. I have hunted them 40 years .. Live in Phoenix. I knew there would be some know it all Jokers on this topic. ASk Big Fin the owner of this site . He will tell you. I'd love for Him to chime in . Bunch of clowns that don't know what they are talking about on this topic. And I am serious .no joking. Spikes and little raghorns ,don't count. I dought if most can even get them...........BOB!

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Um, I was born and raised in Phoenix. Not a know it all, just relaying my experience. No need to get upset about it. The hahaha was, I thought you were being funny. My mistake obviously

Lope hunter, I agree with mulies being easier to hunt with a rifle, but with a bow, any animal that senses you at 100 yds or less will boogie pretty quickly. Gotta love bowhunting

I hunted coues for the first time last year (I have hunted mule deer for 30+ years) and found them to be very challenging. They are very hard to spot because of size, coloration, and a seeming tendency to always be wary (they seem to travel and feed in or very close to cover). I used my normal 10x binos on a tripod and found if very difficult to see them beyond about 400 yards. I also found the terrain to be challenging because of the dry vegetation and rocky ground - very difficult to move about quietly.

Super fun animal to hunt that is worth the effort. I especially enjoyed an extended hunting season and some time in the sun in Dec. Excited to hunt them again some time.

Thanks again guys and naturebob.

Naturebob,

The only part of your post that I didn't take seriously was the reference to Pros and big name hunters. There are so few for whom I truly have any respect and I thought your comment was poking a little fun at them as well.

I believe that one of the best way to increase your odds of success is pre-planning and learning all you can about your quarry (The art of war if you will).

So are there any unique weaknesses that you are aware of that can be exploited?

They're eyesight, sense of smell and hearing are topnotch. Their disadvantage will be when they get into terrain that makes them approachable.