Mid December - Unit 21 - 2023

[OMordha]

Hey guys, 

First time I've ever posted on here, long time lurker as I have always dreamed of hunting Coues deer and this seems to be where all the experts are. I've learned a lot from reading from many of the posts here on this site. Anyway, I had a plan for my father and I to both hunt mule deer in AZ, before we would hunt Coues deer, but life has it's way of altering plans and dreams.... and sometimes you're dealt some pretty bad hands. This was the case for my pops. He was diagnosed with myeloma cancer in 2016, the same year we both drew our late season AZ bull tags... hurt bad returning that tag, as killing an elk is a bucket list for him. The cancer wrecked his body, he aged easily 15 years and lost all of his muscle fighting it. He never got it back.... He was struggling last year in Colorado on a good 2nd season tag and his health ultimately cost him a decent 150" class 4x4 (I know not a monster, but it would have been a great buck for my dad). Anyway, long way of saying he doesn't have the time to chase a good mule deer tag in AZ, at least not as a non resident and for a hunt like we would be after. I asked him what he wanted to do with his points this year and he said what about Coues. I did some research and had him put in for this December 21 tag as it was the best from what I could tell, with the points he had and he drew it. 

 

From the research I have done, there's a lot of Coues out that way so we should see them... but a couple questions from a guy who has never hunted them:

 

How important is water on those December hunts? Looks like there's plenty of tanks out there. 

Will they water multiple times a day?

Managing expectations, realistically, what class of deer should I be targeting for my pops? 80-90, 90-100 or 100-110?

Any first timer tips or things learned from an experience coues hunter you're willing to share?

 

Access looks good, we know how to glass... my plan is to see as much of the country as we can from our UTV, stopping and glassing, and if necessary some short hikes to glassing spots. My dad can shoot, he's experienced at longer distances too. My back is strong for the pack out. 

 

Anyway, appreciate your time and any help or insight for a first timer is much appreciated. 

 

[PRDATR]

Welcome. Without peering into the Regs it sounds like a Unit 21 tag what are the dates?

[OMordha]

December 15th-31st! I wish we could be out there for that last week, but with the holiday we are going to have to hunt the first half. 

[bhuntin]

21  is a rugged unit. if its wet even worse.  you can glass from roads and trails and might luck into one driving

. glass glass glass  ,good luck to you and your dad.

[Mathews]

If it’s abnormally dry water could be more important but I wouldn’t say they’d water that often.. without much scouting and depending on how long you have to hunt I’d say anything over 100” would be a good goal.. I live on the north end of 21 and would be happy to help should you guys end up needing it for any reason 

[OMordha]

Thanks for the replies guys! Much appreciated. I'm looking forward to hunting these things with my pops. 

[Couesnut]

First time Coues....Some difficulty getting around... Shoot the first 80" buck you can.

Guys can hunt a LOT of years before they take a 100" buck

Enjoy your time together

[OMordha]

Just want to say thank you one last time to those of you reached out! Looking forward to this one, it's getting close!

[OMordha]

Completing the circle of a unit post, just because I feel like it is the right thing to do, especially for us non residents. 

To sum up our hunt, in over our heads and not enough time. 

About 2-3 weeks prior to the hunt my dad’s cancer doctor notified him about some concerning findings in his levels/bloodwork and told him that he needed to get in before the first of the year. Well they scheduled that appointment for mid week of this first week of the season, it was the only available time for his doctor. That might seem crazy to some of you, but this doctor is the reason my dad is still alive and he travels a lot as he is an expert in his treatment of myeloma cancer. Anyway, we were cut short before we even started and because of where we live and the holidays this first week was our only chance. 

I didn’t really have any information but my own, and I never had any specific spots or anything, just general information. I don’t know anyone down here and don’t have any inside info or experience with hunting desert whitetails. So I  just had areas that I had pinned on my maps that looked good for glassing. We sold out in those areas and I really thought we would see some coues through the glass. The information I read online eluded to the fact that coues deer were everywhere in this unit in high numbers and that mule deer were dwindling and maybe they are, but that’s not what we found. We found mule deer, and lots of them. We found mule deer in every spot I pinned and we found some really good bucks. We couldn’t get away from mule deer it seemed. The first coues deer we saw was two days in after we hiked out of this bowl that I thought looked good, it was, there was a stellar mature 4x4 hanging with some does and another young buck at the bottom of it. Leaving that area and heading to another glassing spot we saw a coues doe and fawn off the road. That felt like a small win! We finally had some validation that coues deer existed. 

All the OTC guys we ran into stated they were having troubles finding bucks, so I tried trading info on the mule deer we were seeing for info on coues. Not a lot knew or wanted to share where the coues were or what type of elevation band or terrain we should focus on to find them, but since we couldn’t hunt muley’s we tried to line everyone we could on where the bucks were. 

The day before we left I glassed up a young forky Coues with a doe, my dad passed. That would be the last Coues deer we saw. 

On our last evening of our hunt, just before dark we were heading back to camp… lo and behold, I saw a big bodied deer leaving a tank. I pulled over and took some film, another mule deer buck, cruising by himself. 

Anyway, 4 coues to 40-50 mule deer, that’s what we were able to turn up. It’s clear to me, I don’t know what the heck I am doing on these whitetails and I wish I had more time to figure them out. Not sure if I would have been able to anyway in a full week, but I definitely didn’t in a half week of hunting.

If I had any advice for a non resident in my similar situation, with no experience or a friend who hunts them, I’d say don’t put in for this hunt unless you book with a guide or have solid reliable info on where to start and what to look for. This is a tough hunt for sure and coues ain’t like any other deer species that I have ever hunted. The terrain is nasty and mean. 
 

All in all, dad and I had a great time together and we made some memories together that are worth a lot more than a tag filled. 

[OMordha]

Oh and the roads, really are as bad as everyone says. Holy smokes, we got our fill of some legit off roading/crawling. I’ve still yet to find something impassable in the General though. 

[Chef]

Thanks so much for the follow up as I know we all appreciate when someone follows up after first asking for assistance.

Best of luck to your Dad.

[POk3s]

Good to read a follow up, even if it’s not rainbows and unicorns. It paints a pretty good picture of what a first time coues trip is like. 
 

To make you feel a bit better, I tried the OTC archery a few years ago. A buddy and I went to where we hoped was a bit of a sleeper unit and away from any of the big cities. That part we got right as we didn’t hardly see anybody, but coming from Montana and Wyoming we did the same as you. I had glassing spots pinned and all we found were mule deer in the lower desert, glassable stuff. I had read that the coues are typically above the mule deer and with only a 5 day hunt, up we went on day 3. We found snow, a few pines, junipers, and coues. It was where you’d expect to find Mule deer in any other state, but there were the coues. Not a ton, but it helped us out tremendously. Of course they were tough to glass up in that country and we never really scratched the surface because of the allotted time we had and how late we found the coues. But you can read as much as you want and you’ve still just gotta go do it before you get any kind of feel for it.

 

I hope you enjoyed the time with your dad and I pray he sees some improvement!

[Flatlander]

That tag is still good for 11 more days. You can donate it to a charity and they can get a kid or vet out for the remainder of the hunt.

Eddie Corona at Outdoor Experience for All can help.

+1 (480) 529-8340