Heinz57

Saw you out there again this morning. Sounded like the doves were comin in good today!

Working swings this week, so I was able to get out with my dad for a few hours this morning and put a stalk on a nice 3x3. Got busted at 40 yards...more lessons learned. Great first day though. Now I'm at work while all of you are out hunting! Good luck to all..

This year will be my first bowhunting attempt as well as coues attempt. What would you consider to be the best method for bowhunting these coues deer? Spot and stalk, treestand, blind? I'm pretty confident with my Diamond out to about 50-60 yards. Let me know your thoughts and any bowhunting advice would be greatly appreciated! I'd like to put up a trail cam, but haven't used one before. How should I decide where to put one up? I'll be either on Ft. Huachuca, or close by in unit 34 or 35. Thanks...

Hi everyone, I'm a brand new member to the site, and joined because I have a passion for hunting big game, but know absolutely nothing about hunting in Arizona, nor do I know anyone that hunts here. I live in Hereford, near Ft. Huachuca, and am able to hunt on post. Is this a good place to start? Any advice on this area, or other recommended areas would be great. Didn't draw a bull tag this year, so now I'm considering going for a coues; archery or rifle. Thanks for any help and advice!

Found a pair of Vortex Viper 15x50's on Craigslist for $500 with tripod adapter. Seems like a decent price, just not sure if I want to spend that much.

I agree with your stance on high percentage kill shots. The last thing I want to do is wound a coues deer in that country. A solid range for me would probably be 30-40 yards, depending on the position of the deer and the surroundings. I'll look into the Minox, thanks for the advice.

Fort calling....now that's a good one! I'll be sure to get some apple scented candles to bring along with me.

My fiance and I are new to archery, and are hoping to find a fun 3D shoot to try out. Any suggestions?

Looks like there's plenty of shoots coming up, but unfortunately I live several hours away from most of them. There is a shoot that the Huachuca Mountain Archers and Bowhunters Club is having on Ft. Huachuca, which is perfect, but of course I will be out of town that weekend. Looks like I won't be making it to a shoot before archery season, but I was glad to find out about the archery range on Ft. Huachuca. Appreciate the replies.

What brand of optics would you recommend for a beginner coues hunter. I've hunted all my life, but rarely have I used glass. Typically we still hunt for mulies in Oregon, and do lots of walking in thicker country, so I'm not very familiar with optics. I'd like something that's quality, but not too over-the-top expensive. Zeiss and Swarovski are obviously a price range I would hold off on until I've had some more experience with coues. Would Nikon or Leupold provide suitable quality for spotting these coues at a distance?

Glad to hear they've done well in this unit. From what I've gathered from this site and information on post, as you said, there are plenty of coues to hunt there. Very reassuring for a first time coues hunter. Now I've just got to get some good optics and learn the country.

Appreciate the replies guys. I contacted the Sportsman's Club on post and received some good information from the guys up there. My fiance and I both put in for a general season coues tag for the Fort Huachuca unit today. Nothing like waiting til the last minute! After getting more information on the unit, it sounds like a decent area that provides for some good hunting. This will be my fiance's first time deer hunting, and she's almost more excited about it than I am. Took her turkey hunting (her first hunting experience) in Pennsylvania last year and she had a blast, even though we didn't get a chance to take any shots. Plan on buying a non-permit archery tag also in August. She bought me a Diamond bow last year which I feel pretty comfortable with out to 60 yards, but I haven't had a chance to get out and hunt with it yet. Really looking forward to it. This will be my first archery hunt, should be interesting as I know I've got a lot to learn about archery tactics. Atleast it'll give me a good chance to learn the country and the habits of the coues deer population.

Late response, but how did your hunt turn out? I'm new to the area and hope to get some info on hunting on post.