gonhunting247

I drew a 31 late Coues tag and will finally get a chance to actually hunt in AZ. I thought I would hunt Javelina first, but beat the odds and drew the deer tag. I'm really excited to get my boots on the ground and try to connect with my first Coues. If any one is willing to offer some information on this unit or share some of their knowledge on hunting Coues in AZ it would be really appreciated. I have hunted most of the west and AK, but this will be a great new adventure. Feel free to PM me if that is a better way to go.I have been reading everything I can find on 31 and Coues in general, but figured this forum would have some of the most experienced Coues hunters around. Any info or experience that folks are willing to contribute is very, very much appreciated. I am from OR and have a lot of experience with all species here, so if you have interest in hunting in OR don't hesitate to ask. Thanks in advance for any advice that you are willing to share. Thanks, Bob E.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Feel free to keep adding to it if anyone thinks of something they wouldn't mind sharing

Thanks Hatchet Jack: I have good boots and still have pretty strong legs . I could use a little better glass, but my mid range Leupolds will have to do. I will have my brothers' Leupold spotter also. It has served me well in AK for sheep and goat, so I'm hoping it will work alright for Coues.I'll need to address the tripod situation I think, as ours is pretty cheap. Exciting to hear about seeing bucks already! Mulepackhunter: The dates are 12/9-12/31. What a generous offer. That brings up a good question. Is the first of the season best or would the tail end be better? I will probably have about 2 weeks maximum of vacation time left by the time I'm done with all my other fall hunting.

Probably a simple question to a resident (and probably most non-residents ), but is there fall hunts for Javelina besides the youth hunts and can you get 2pts per year for this species? How many points are needed to draw the best areas? Is there a good source of information on the best units, or am I over thinking it? Thanks in advance, it's easy to find info on the deer, elk, antelope and sheep units and draws, but I haven't found much detailed info on javelina.

My draw luck ran out for Spring Bear, so I was able to make the most of the new 3 bird general spring limit. As a bonus, My son had a chance to come home and we called a good Tom for him too!

Great bucks!

I agree with the others, that bear is really good, one of the best I've seen.

Thanks, that makes things a lot clearer. I really appreciate the help

Just added the third general Tom in OR this year. Turkey hunting is one of the real bright spots here!

Well another year slipped by without me getting to hunt AZ, hopefully I'll get lucky in 2016. I did grab a javelina point so I should at least get to try that soon, I hope. I thought I'd share some of my out of state and home state of OR success pics. OR Fall Black Bear UT MZ Elk OR Black Tail MT Mule Deer I was lucky enough to get a spring bear and two spring turkeys in OR this year also. I'm thankful for another great year hunting with family and friends. Can't wait for the chance at hunting AZ. Thanks to all the folks on here who have shared there knowledge of hunting AZ with me so far. It is really appreciated.

NWhunter: Those big old black Tail bucks, sure do get in your blood. I'm guessing it has to do with where we grew up, because it sounds like those Coues deer can be just as addictive. I can't wait to give Coues and Javelina a try.

Thanks everyone, I can't wait to have a chance to get some critters to post from AZ. Maybe I'll get lucky and draw an elk tag for late rifle. I'm never sure if the units I choose are a good choice, but I figure if I draw I'll make it work

Some are harder than others of course, but there is a lot of opportunities to draw with 0-3 points. The units I hunt can be drawn fairly easy for sure. I can recommend some pretty decent spots if you'd like.

Nice work!

Good work, looks like you do a great job of putting your fur up! Congrats on a great season.

We eat at least one bear a year, sometimes two. I cut my meat myself and bone it out. I separate all muscle groups and remove all the fat and connecting tissue so I'm left with just lean meat. When bear is cut this way, in my experience it has never been greasy (spring or fall). It makes great roast in the crock pot, ground meat for sauces, tacos and chili, but my favorite is to make breakfast sausage for burritos and patties. Here again I do not add any kind of fat, just seasoning. ( I am going to try adding a package of pepper bacon ends and pieces to my next 15# batch just for fun though!) I prefer breakfast style sausage over summer sausage and pepperoni due to the fact that I control the cooking temp and it's easily made at home. I've heard of people using the bear fat, but I prefer just the lean meat, as that's how I cut the rest of my game meat. It seems to me that most of the taste influence from an animals diet is carried in the fat and the lean meat is much more mild and consistent when trimmed this way. ( Just my preference though!) A side benefit being that it's great tasting protein without extra fat. I've won over many a skeptic with the bear meat I've cooked and served. Besides great meat you get another critter to hunt and in some cases twice, both spring and fall! Have a blast it's addictive! Good luck

That's cool, good work

Great looking critters, good work!

Wasn't sure where to post this or even if I should post other state pics on here, but I know I enjoy looking at pics so here goes. I really enjoy following this forum, but live in OR and haven't made it to hunt AZ yet (haven't drawn a tag yet!) I did get to take a vacation/scouting trip to the Tucson area this year though! I still hope to get down there and at least try out the Javelina hunting while waiting on a Elk tag. I also plan on trying my hand at Coues Deer once I get a chance to check out a few more areas. I have a friend who hunted Coues this year with no success (passed up a few younger deer) and a buddy that's hunting elk as I write, so I'm starting to get some good in-sight. I wanted to thank all the folks on here that have offered their thoughts and advice on Javelina, it is very much appreciated. AK Mtn. Goat Silvers on Kodiak Chrome Bright Silver MT Antelope OR Fall Black Bear OR Blacktail I posted my two Spring Turkeys in that forum earlier so I won't post them here. I also had a chance to assist a buddy on a once in a lifetime bighorn sheep hunt here in OR and we were successful on a awesome ram (saving those pics and story for a magazine article). All in all it's been an awesome season with family and friends. I feel pretty blessed! Hopefully, I'll get to meet some folks when I get the opportunity to hunt AZ. I can't hardly wait to get down there! Thanks to all the folks that share their stories and pics on here. It's awesome to hear cool stories and see all the great critters AZ produces. My daughter Shelby's OR Blacktail My son Dylan's OR Antelope

I'm lucky to have relatives in AK, that allows me to afford trips like Sheep and Goat (No guide required/Next of kin). With out them being willing to tag along with me it wouldn't happen! Thanks, It was a fun year! Thanks, I love seeing all the AZ critters on here, it's cool that people share their pics! Wasn't sure whether to put them on here, but I don't have any AZ pics to show Ha, Thanks, I really hope to have a pic of some AZ critters soon. All new to me though! Thanks, hope I draw soon!

Nice work on some awesome rams. I really like the wall pedestal ram!

Great work!

That's a great looking Deer and they did a great job on the mount. Impressive!

Looks great!

Those are really nice, Having the velvet really adds an element of difficulty. Good job!