RodinAZ

I have been fortunate the past three years to have taken whitetails within 1/2 mile of roads. I however do like to get away from the more accessible areas as I "think" that is where the big boys are hanging out. Not always the case, but if I were a trophy whitetail...

Keep us posted on how the hunt goes, will be heading there on Sunday for a little scouting. Good luck with your hunt.

3 A/C November Bull rifle hunt for me, I can hardly wait, so much to do, so little time. No goat tag, which is hard to believe as I have 3 points. Congrats to all that drew, the summer will fly by now!

I'm starting my research early so I can decide where I want to apply for next season. I've hunted 36A for the past three years with good success, but without seeing many deer and smallish antlers being the norm. I know there is decent deer in every unit but I'd like a realistic opportunity to harvest something in the 100" class. I was thinking 33, 22, 23, 24A & B. Any suggestions on where to begin my search? Rod

I know of a 130 incher living in there right now Got GPS coordinates for this one? Ha, that sounds like you already know where you are applying to next season. That would be incredible to take a Coues in that category. When I lived in Iowa, I'd taken many bucks in the 140-160 range, which are not all that big for Ia. A 130" Coues would compare to a 200"+ deer back there.

Great looking buck! Congrats.

Sundevil, I'm not that familiar with 6A and 27, are there accessibility issues in that unit? 36B sounds like a great unit as I've heard tell many quality bucks have been harvested in that area. I may have to look at that a little closer. az4life83, Congrats on the nice buck, do you know what the deal is with the loss of hair on the hide?

I would take the shot as long as there was no possibility of hitting a "mule". From the pics, you are far enough away so that if they decide to respond with aggression, you would have enough space to decide whether to run or engage the threat. Most Coues deer hunters are good shots, they would be wise to continue on their way.

I agree that scouting is the key to success, unfortunately I don't live close to any certain unit that has a Coues deer season. I'm looking at atleast a two hour drive from Chandler and with the economy, family, work and kids activities, its hard to break away to properly scout a particular spot, let alone a complete unit. I'm planning on heading out predator hunting in January, February and maybe March so I'll get an idea of which unit(s) I want to apply in. Consequently, I have two friends hunting unit 36A late season right now. They have seen a grand total of two bucks in the last 6 days, a 3X3 and a spike. Ofcourse, there are many variables to consider, can they properly glass, do they know what to look for, are they moving around, are they glassing all day, the answer is yes to all those questions. But if the deer aren't up when they are glassing, chances are they won't see them. This is not to say there are no legal deer in 36A, there is, they are just good at not being seen apparently. Thanks for your replies as I appreciate your input.

I've been considering a new rifle and the 257 WM is at the top of my list for calibers. I just gotta scratch up some extra funds in order to accomplish this goal.

Any woman that hunts Coues deer has my vote, good luck

Looks like a great set up, have you noticed any pre-rut activity?

Hey everyone, been lurking here off and on for a while now and thought I'd relay the results of my late November hunt. This was my third year hunting Arizona as we moved here from Iowa in 07'. The whitetail hunting here is a bit different from what I am used to. I've hunted this unit, on the same hunt dates the past three years as well for whitetail and have been blessed with a successful hunt each year. In the past years, our camp has had 8-10 hunters each year until this year as the group split up to hunt other units, the camp consisted of Andy and myself, along with two fellow hunters from previous years, only they were mainly scouting for their coming up Coues hunt this weekend. We were both advised that we couldn't leave on Thanksgiving, so we decided to head out at 2:30 a.m Friday, putting us in place before sunrise on the opener. We set up on a traditional glassing area with views of three mountains, we could glass up to about a half mile or so to the furthest hillside. My equipment includes a Cabela's outfitter tri-pod, a Manfrotto 222 pistol grip ball head and a pair of Swarovski 15X56 SLC, this combination works well for me. We spotted two groups of does and a coyote, one of the groups of does came out of the wash after being bumped by another whitetail hunter. We went to our camp site and set everything up, had lunch and waited for our friends to arrive before heading out for the afternoon. They arrived around two and we helped them set up their tent. Around 3:30 we split up and headed back out, Andy to a different area and myself and Mel went to the spot I'd glassed in the morning. Things were quiet until about 4:30 when we started seeing a few does on two different hills and a coyote. At around five, I was starting to think about what was for supper and whether I should make the Jalapeno poppers for hors de voers. About that time I scanned the top of the middle mountain and caught glimpse of antlers moving our way at about 850 yards. I didn't have to think twice, I ran over to the truck while telling Mel to get over to my glassing spot, grabbed my rifle and sticks and ran back over to my binos. It took me a minute to find the buck as he came down and to his right, approximately 100 yds. from where I saw him. I told Mel to keep an eye on him while I run down the hill and through the wash onto the flat below the mountain. I grabbed my tri-pod set up and headed out, once to the flat I set up my tri-pod and quickly found him, he was staring right at me so I figured now or never. I ranged him at 453, found a spot to set up for a shot, checked on my range table taped to my stock, held for windage and squeezed the trigger. I lost sight picture at the recoil but quickly found the buck staggering up the hill, about when I was ready to fire again, he tumbled down the mountain a couple yards and stopped next to a cactus. At this point, it was after 5 and loosing light fast so I took off across the flat and slowly made my way up the chola, ocotillo and saquaro infested mountain side. Luckily I had my phone to call back to Mel and help me out with coordinates, it still took about 15 minutes to find him. Unfortunately, my flashlight and camera were left in the truck so I have no field photos other than in the back of the truck. It took us over an hour to carry him down the hill and to the spot where I'd glassed him up. We were both full of cactus needles and bleeding from a few falls while coming down the mountain. I used my Tikka T-3 Tactical rifle chambered in 308, 165 gr. Sierra SBT with a NF 3-15 NPR2 Sorry about the blood