talltines

I appreciate all the information on this crazy looking thing! I guess by the sounds of it I should expect to see more while hunting in southeastern Arizona!

Thanks for sharing! That little guy is sporting a nice rack. Congrats!!

it's not the same call but i got this buck growl think. MAD from drury outdoors guys. they tryed it in the field and brings big bucks in (keep in mind that they are hunting in the mid west) they shot the a doe for management and it was in heat. so when a buck wlked by it tried to get her up. But when a another buck showed up he buck growled at the other and chased him off. they took that sound and made a call. You can still make regular grunt and buck growl with same call. it might be the similar to your call that you have bought down in sv i tried it mule deer hunting making my way down a finger and got right above a nice 3x4 with 4 does and they didn't notice me (60 yards) The call you are talking about is the one I've used in Minnesota the past couple seasons. This MAD call works well as a grunt tube as well as the growl, which is more geared at calling a MATURE buck that is out of range. I would never cold call with that aggressive of a call. I tried this particular call (growl) on some "penned" mature bucks, they didn't have any response. Although, they responded to the grunts I made with it. I wouldn't use this particular call hunting Coues, too loud and aggressive...designed for the larger whitetails of the north. I found a call specific to the Coues whitetail in Mesa at the Sportsman Warehouse. It is made by Modern Call Products. It is much quieter then most of the whitetail calls on the market.

Is there coues deer urine scents or do we just use North American whitetail urine scents? I just moved from Mn, so I'm a rookie at the "coues". Do you think my MAD buck grunt and growl tube is too much for the smaller mountain "coues"? Sorry for the odd questions, but it's the only way I'm going to improvew my odds. At this point I will be hunting the archery season and I'm told this is the PRIME of the rut in AZ. I intend on doing some grunt calling and doe-in-heat calling but not sure what kind of scent I can use. I don't want to spook the deer.

From what I understand it is legal in Arizona to bait deer for hunting purposes? I would never hunt over a bait pile due to ethical choices on my part, but was very amazed by how receptive coues are to baiting with corn and salt. I put my trailcam out for one week and was startled to find I had 1181 images on my memory card! I take double shots on all activations so actually only 591, but that is busy! Many different bucks, but not any that would score above 90". I re-salted the spot again, no corn this time...carrying 50 lbs. of corn a mile up the mountain was not fun. Lol! Hoping that I can capture a nicer 100"+ buck to keep me optimistic about the up coming Archery season.

Thanks for the info.

Interesting... Thanks for the info!

Lol! I have absolutely no interest in hunting deer over bait. I have no issue with others doing such, although I trulely would have no feeling of acomplishment hunting over a pile of corn. My sole purpose in baiting is to see what is in the area. I can honestly admit that I am a trophy hunter and using an attractant pre-season to see the quality and quanity of deer in the area via trail monitoring cameras is a great tool for determining if there is an animal in the general vicinity that I would want to pursue. I've been hunting Whitetail for 25 years... the enjoyment for me is being silent and stealthy enough to be able to have a deer walk within 20 yards of me and have no clue that I'm right on top of him! That's how I like it..."Be the Woods"!

Here's a couple more shots from the same set of pics.

Dumb question, why would they stop eating the salt? I've been trailcammin' for about 8 years and have only captured a few true trophies, although I was in Minnesota and baiting wasn't a very helpful tactic in attracting game because of all the availability of agricultural fields. Never have I had 1181 images in a week, let alone a month for that matter. I can see baiting for trailcam pics is the ticket in the higher elevations (pines, junipers, oaks).

Dumb question, why would they stop eating the salt? I've been trailcammin' for about 8 years and have only captured a few true trophies, although I was in Minnesota and baiting wasn't a very helpful tactic in attracting game because of all the availability of agricultural fields. Never have I had 1181 images in a week, let alone a month for that matter. I can see baiting for trailcam pics is the ticket in the higher elevations (pines, junipers, oaks).

I used course granular mineral salt. I think it costed $10.00 for a 50 lb bag. The corn used was regular corn bought at any feed store. Costed $12.00 at the feed store in Gilbert. I felt the corn was a bit over priced, but I'm from Minnesota where corn is abundant ($6.00). The 50 lbs of corn was gone in 2 days, but the the deer were coming back for the next 4 days for the salt. I will share mt results from using the salt alone, since that is all I refreshed the spot with for the next week. I'm hoping with the rut approaching I might catch a "big guy" checking for "hot" does. The place where I set the camera had a lot of fresh sign prior to the baiting. By the looks of the antler size of the deer I've seen so far...they are young deer. I'm bound and determined to catch a trophy class coues on camera and just as determined to stick an arrow in one.

Very impressed! One of the nicer bucks that I've seen posted... Way to go!!

So when do the coues in Arizona shed the velvet off their antlers? I spent about 14 hours the past couple days walking and scouting for places for the late archery season in the Pinal Mountains and didn't manage to come across any trees rubbed anywhere... I was in an area with quite a bit of fresh deer sign too. I'm from Minnesota and you can tell by the shredded trees in the woods where the bucks are spending time.

BowNut, exactly what I was wanting to here. Thanks man... I was hoping to hunt the early hunt as well, but now I will reconsider. I didn't think there would be that much interest in the pint size deer? As for the winter archery hunt...How much snow are we talking about? Snow is very advantageous for isolating deer to trails, also good for locating deer too. In Minnesota snow always helped in the hunt... BTW, how cold are we talking?

Has anyone tried to use a decoy during the archery "rut" season? I have my eye on the TInk's "Miss November" inflateable Doe Decoy. Seems about the perfect size for "coues'! Under 2 pounds is pretty inviting because I plan on doing some hiking and moving around. And packable, big bonus for mobility!

Cool!... On it!!

Right on oz31p! I was thinking the same thing... if the girls are present the boys are not too far away.

Thanks bonecollector for the ZOO info. I have scouted a few times and have yet to see any people. I actually thought I would have it all to myself in January. Now I'm concerned that I should'nt have left my trail camera out in the woods! We will see when the archery season kicks off how busy it is. One of the reasons I chose archery hunting over thew rifle season was to escape the ZOO hunting! I will not let that discourage me...I have a GPS and will go deeper in if I must to elude the crowds. I'm such a rookie to AZ hunting. I've only been in AZ for 8 months and was stoked to come across this area on a sight seeing drive. I'm excited like a little kid to see what I get on the trail camera... By the looks of the trail, there are many deer using this particular area. Prayin' for a nice buck! Lol...

Amanda, Thanks for the link. I'm sure I will find it very helpful.

It's my understanding the rut happens during the beginning of January? Is this correct?... When do you ussually start to see scrapes being made? I'm new to AZ and excited to see how the coues act during the rut compared to the BIG whitetails of Minnesota.

Where'd you find "BIG" whitetails in Minnesota? From what I know about Minnesota you have a better chance of killing a 120"er here in AZ! Yotebuster, funny man! Minnesota will become the one of the leaders in trophy whitetail production in years to come. QDM is spreading like wildfire and there will be more 4-6 year old monsters lurking the northwoods. The "if it's brown it's down" mentality is slowly departing. Actually if you want to see some big minnesota bucks, google "Minnesota Metro area Whitetails" or better yet... check out this link from 2009 Camp Ripley Archery hunt. http://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/galle...s-camp-ripley-c

Sweet Man!!

Elkhunter, Again I gotta say thanks. I'll be spending a little time locating one of those calls. If they make em', I'll find em'! I absolutely love calling whitetails in during the rut and pre-rut. Heart pounding action! Lol... OK I'm getting excited a little soon, still got awhile before arrow slinging time...

Thanks elkhunter. I will be hunting and have been doing my scouting in the pines and Junipers and can't find any rubbing at all. I'm new to this coues hunting and can see it is going to be just as, if not more challenging to put a trophy on the wall. Stalking in the desert in my mind seems impossible! I want to lure in a buck with calling and a decoy as I sit in a stand 30' up in the pine tree. Someday I may try the spot and stalk, but for now...stickin' to what I know, stand hunting over active trails and scrape and rub lines if I can find some activity. If the coues act anything like their big northern brothers... the woods should start showing some territorial signage from the dominant bucks that reside in the area.