Speedy

There are many reasons why your well is deep. In addition to what others have said about water levels generally the deeper you go the older and better quality the water. Stuff on the land surface like pesticides and other chemicals are carried down to the water table with rainwater, so it makes sense that the surface of the water is the most contaminated. In fact you can date groundwater by looking for man made chemicals like radioactive tritium from the nuclear bomb testing in the 1950s.

Cool story and thanks for the tips. I'm just learning but my only experience was in TX where I experienced first hand about it one I didn't see that was 10 feet away. And once you mortally wound an animal there are no ethic issues with follow-up shots. The only ethic issue is not following up IMO.

Never killed one before and I'll be doing a solo hunt in a few weeks, not sure if I want to just do a euro on the skull or a full shoulder mount (depends on the size and I'm not going to be too picky). Either way I want to make sure the meat is good so what tips beyond what is in the sticky do I need to know? I won't be able to take the javi to a car wash or be able to hoist up a tree so might have to skin on the ground. Does the gutless method work? Based on what I've read so far I'm bringing a bunch of rubber gloves! Also any good taxidermists in Tuscon area? It will likely be cheaper to leave it there than drag the skull and cape home and find someone here who can do a decent job.

I enjoy a challenge in the kitchen as well as the field! With most things it's all about how well you take care of the meat. After hearing all the stories about pronghorn antelope I was shocked at how good it was. But it was in a cooler w/i 15 minutes of hitting the ground via the gutless method. If anything it will give my smoker a work out. That was the perfect recipe for a rutty old buck I shot last year.

Do you guys carry any wet ones or something to clean up with to keep the stink off the meat? I'm usually pretty paranoid about keeping meat clean but never dealt with a stinky.

Last time (2 yrs ago) I swear I bought a GMU specific topo map at Sportsmen's Warehouse in Tuscon, but I can't seem find it. Do they exist or am I imagining something else?

That's cool. When I'm off the beaten path I always want to think I'm the first person stepping on this patch of ground but that's not likely.

Flatline doesn't have a map for 34A.

Thanks for the heads on doe P, I had no idea. I applaud AZ for taking proactive stance on CWD. Comments on the Montana decoy are they are too small for normal whitetails, so might be just right for Coues. The only issue I can see is they are a bit too red in color which shouldn't matter. I'll bring it out with me and see how I feel about using it. I'll give it one chance and if it doesn't work it's staying at camp!

Yeah, the decoy in the videos would be one heck of a Coues buck! But I'm not dragging that thing out west. These are more like it but I'm likely looking at just a doe https://www.montanadecoy.com/hunting-decoys/deer

Looks awesome OS, can't wait to see it for myself. Especially since it was -30F this morning! Speedy aka MAT

I hunted with a friend of a friend who was a guide in WY. It used to drive him crazy when hunters got poop on his shovel. To quote: Dig a hole, shoot IN the hole and cover it up.

Hey new guy here with a quick question - Based on the rut and hunter pressure, what's the best week in January to bowhunt coues in Arizona? Thx