ScottAdams

Man, what a cool hunt Doug, would love to do that sometime.

Great story and pics, and a fine elk! Good job on the photo posting also. Uh Oh, now that you've started passing on animals, there's no stopping you know. You're going to be killing some big critters and having a lot of fun doing it. Congratulations.

Travis, that is truly amazing. I love it when those that put in the time and effort like you obviously have, get to taste the fruits of their labor. That is a magnificent buck and you earned him!! It appears you have found one of the secrets to killing big Coues deer. Don't forget what you did to achieve this and stick with it. Great job and an outstanding buck!!! We're all thankful you included us in your celebration!

Will do Tommy, thanks.

Thanks guys.

Yea I think you're right. He may have a thyroid problem or something. He's downright obese. Keven, we guessed he would go around 100, give or take.

Way to go!! Unit 23 is not the easiest of Coues units. In fact it's a very difficult area to hunt and you did well. I'm glad your brother was able to keep you motivated. A very nice buck even if you do consider him a consolation prize. Sweet!!!! Remember: Never Give Up!!!

Thanks Jim & Keith. Younghunter, she was a little worked up on that first shot but settled in nicely for the second one. It was something to see in person. Also congrats on getting your dad his buck! Ralph, I didn't check to see if my stash was still there. By the way it's been there for 11 years now!!

My wife Ronda took her first Coues buck on Friday, opening day, in unit 27. Amanda was also with us as she has the same hunt, and glassed it up. Actually she glassed up 5 bucks right under our glassing point!! I ranged them at 500 yards and knew we needed to get closer. With Amanda watching from above, Ronda, our good friend Keven (who was here from Texas to see what all the hoopla was about this Coues hunting) and myself started dropping down from our vantage point atop some bluffs. We went down 2 steep, rock chutes through bluffs before we were able to reach the edge of yet another bluff which put us in range of the biggest of the bucks. It was a classic spot & stalk scenario. We located the buck working a ridgeline toward a shady slope. Ronda kicked the bipod out on the 300 wsm and I ranged the buck at 256 yards, grabbed the camcorder and fired it up. When Ronda located the buck in her scope and the deer stood still enough, she touched her off. The shot was high and a clean miss but the buck didn't seem the least bit concerned and started browsing again within seconds of the shot. I told Ronda to take her time and hold steady. Just as I zoomed in the camera the 300 wsm fired and I watched in shock as the buck literally exploded in my viewfinder!!! He dropped in his tracks and that was that. Here is a photo showing where we glassed and shot from in the background. We had it pretty rough coming out. We had 3 blufflines to scale and very warm weather to deal with. We arrived home after dark totally exhausted. Well, maybe not totally exhausted, we did fry up some backstrap for dinner.

Hey guys, thanks for all the congrats and notes of encouragement. Ronda did very well on the hunt in spite of the rough country I took her into. She always has to have the nails done, no matter what she's doing. We've had 5 hunts in two months, it feels like a marathon run. I'm way behind on my posting here and honey-do's at home. I mentioned that I videoed the kill. Amanda has it posted on the site. You can check it out here. You're going to like it. It's on the video page of the main website. Ronda's kill shot

The hunt is over and it was quite an adventure. My friend Chris Ellis and I both had muzzleloader tags for Coues deer in unit 23. We decided early on to hunt very aggressive and so we started out in the extreme by hiking up a massive mountain at nearly 2,000 above the surrounding terrain. We glassed up an assortment of does and fawns and then finally I locked onto a couple bucks about 2 miles out with the 30's. We watched them work down a shady slope and finally bed down. At least one of the bucks looked good...so, throwing caution, and good sense I might add, to the wind we bailed off the mountain and started after them. We hiked down bluffs and rock slides to get where the bucks were. It took about 3 hours to get down there. The temperature really warmed up and it didn't take us long to run through most of our water. Once there the bucks weren't where they had originally bedded which isn't too unusual since Coues deer usually move to a cooler location later in the morning. We continued watching the ridge while we ate lunch and took turns napping. By 3:00 there was still no sign of the bucks. I felt the bucks were still close by so we decided to walk along the bottom of the ridge where the bottom got brushy and take our chances of busting them out. We hadn't walked far when we heard brush popping and cracking in the bottom. I immediately dropped to one knee and waited with the muzzleloader at the ready. In about 3 seconds the cause of the commotion emerged from the bottom in the form of 2 nice Coues bucks. Chris quickly ranged them at 54 yards. I picked what looked like the biggest and squeezed off. When the smoke cleared both bucks were still moving up the ridge but the buck I had shot at started to slow and then suddenly crashed down into a mesquite. What a rush!!! That's not the end of the story though. We were pretty much out of water and with a hike of over 2 miles and 2000 feet up still ahead of us, we decided to hike out to a different area and bum a ride out. However it got dark before we could hit a road and we decided to stay put for the night. So we bedded down under a couple of juniper trees like the deer we were pursuing. It was a long and cold night and this morning we were able to hike a couple of miles to another deer camp and get a ride out. Our lodging for the night. What an experience!!

Thanks Jason. My wife and oldest son have the 27/28 Coues hunt that starts Friday, so it's not over yet... man this if fun!!

Thank you Doug. It was quite an experience. You'll have to go with me next year.

Wow, what a trip Doug! It sounds like the vacation of a lifetime. I think we all dream of a hunting trip like that some day. Great Photos too!! Them bucks are hogs!! I didn't see Rica in any of the photos. Don't tell me you left her at home.

Yes, there is a gas station there. They sell diesel as well, and prices aren't bad.

Dan, that was not the Burros. It was the regular unit 23. Be forewarned though, bucks are difficult to locate and decent bucks even more so. Believe it or not, I don't even own a muzzleloader. That one was borrowed. I killed a mule deer in unit 23 several years ago also with a borrowed muzzleloader. I'll tell you, that's the kind of hunting I love!!! The rougher, the better, at least until I get a little older.

I left the goats at home, although they would have done well in the terrain. My young ones are coming along nicely and should make some excellent packers. Mr. Webb, I didn't draw any tags in AZ this year. The boys and I have been applying for elk and deer in AZ and NM, hoping each of us draws at least one tag. So far it has worked out great. The last 2 years we each have at least one elk or deer tag.

Tim, we only saw the one buck that was with this one. They were pretty close to the same size. We only glassed Saturday morning, it was a done deal after that. I think Chris plans on making a trip to Phoenix before the SC hunt. He should have them by then. Oh, I forgot to tell you Amanda. The meat we kept with us, actually right next to us while we slept. Nothing but a gray fox ever came in. That Coues meat is too much of a delicacy to be wasting on foxes and other vermin. Good Luck Bill!!!

Thank you for the compliments. I will say this; that this was hardcore Coues hunting in the truest sense of the word. My calf muscles are killing me this morning. Younghunter, I think the Adams family has plenty of meat with some to spare for the this winter, and we still have two more tags in the family . Amanda, Chris didn't tag out and headed home yesterday. Unfortunatley he twisted his ankle and wasn't able to hike much. His boots were showing a lot of wear and just not giving him the ankle support he needed. I think he's sold on the Cabela's Meindl Canadas that I wear is going to pick himself up some. Also as to your 27/28 hunt, there are some tough areas like this and we may hunt them or at least I know of one for sure that we will. We'll play it by ear. On another note; in this picture we had the area we glassed these bucks up from in the background. Check it out.

Way to go Cole. You're off to a great start. Tommy, another job well done.

Way to go Kade and Ralph. He was sure enough due. What a beautiful buck. Congratulations to you Kade.

Very nice buck! I've only seen one crossover buck and it was found dead later with it's horns deadlocked with another buck. Congrats!!

Congratulations Redman!! Some units are extremely tough, but hey, at least you're huntin'.

For me, if it's over 2 miles I start looking at packing in. The farthest I've packed in for Coues is 5 miles, and that is quite a packtrip. It's the reason I have packgoats now. Scott

Well, I don't drink either so a pop will be fine. Hey don't you think that antelope hunt was plenty of hunting for the year? I mean, you don't want to over do it. You may have to pass on the elk and Coues this year. I'll be in a maroon GMC crew cab with a big ole CouesWhitetail.Com sticker in the back window. Not sure where I'll be camping, maybe Coal Creek in AZ or off the Harden Cienega road. I'll look for you if you are out scouting during the muzzleloader hunt.