Tag Soup & Other Lessons From My First Hunt

[AZCoueser]

I had my first coues hunt this past week in Unit 22.  I was ultimately unsuccessful in harvesting an animal, but I still consider the trip an overall success.  I had a blast!

Thinking about key takeaways, the following come to mind:

• I need to have better game plans for each morning.  On one occasion, I missed the most active part of the morning because I couldn't get to where I wanted to be before 9:30a.  I spent some valuable hours just in my car trying to drive to a location.
• I underestimated the other-hunter competition aspect.  I'm not sure if all units are like this, but I was constantly bumping into other hunters.  What ultimately sent me home was another hunter taking a 700-yd shot (and missing three times) on a buck that I'd located and been chasing over a couple days.
• At least in my experience, Unit 22 is a tough hunt.  I didn't have a SXS so spent a lot of time walking.  The deer seemed to be concentrated in one area and all the 'regulars' knew where that area was and took out a few bucks on the first morning.
• I took a few scouting trips, but I realized that I spent most of those trips in the same area.  Next hunt, I need to scout more broadly so that when my Plan A falls apart, I have a decent Plan B.  I think it'll also be important to find some bucks during those scouting trips.  During the scouting trips I took, I was only able to find does.

What do you all remember from your first hunt?

[Couzer]

Pretty much sums up the word "hunting", good job. Keep it up!

[idgaf]

Basic rule i live by.  Hunt where others don't. It could be too far out or so close it's overlooked 

[PRDATR]

I've often thought to myself that every trip is a learning experience. My first solo deer hunt was a memorable one. I had a 68Chevy truck with a six cylinder and two wheel drive. I drove in on Four Peaks rods and took a road back to an old deserted ranch one day after work. Slept in the back of the truck and heard some hewhaw's and thought, so that's why they call them mule deer. Got up early, grabbed my 44 Contender and a Featherweight 06 I had bought earlier on clearance for $269 at Walkin Auto in Tempe.

So, off I went down the wash to the upper end of the lake. About two hundred yards farther I rounded a bend and there were two spikes sparing, maybe 30 yards. I pulled up the rifle and shot one. They both took off over the burm in the same direction. I went over and found blood and started to follow it. I trailed it for a short distance and it took me back to the opposite side of the wash. Then I followed it down the wash and came across the buck lying dead under a paloverde tree. 

I had some rope and tied it around the buck and over a branch. I pull the buck up in the tree as far as I could by lifting it up with one arm and pulling the rope with the other. I had it gutted a short time later and threw him up over on my shoulders and carried it back up the wash. I was glad when my truck came into view and when I got to it I reached up and dropped the tailgate and laid the buck down. It took me about an hour to get home and the wife was a work. I put some plastic down on the kitchen table and did my best butchering my first buck and was done by about 11. That was probably 40+ years ago.

[forepaw]

1 hour ago, PRDATR said:

I've often thought to myself that every trip is a learning experience. My first solo deer hunt was a memorable one. I had a 68Chevy truck with a six cylinder and two wheel drive. I drove in on Four Peaks rods and took a road back to an old deserted ranch one day after work. Slept in the back of the truck and heard some hewhaw's and thought, so that's why they call them mule deer. Got up early, grabbed my 44 Contender and a Featherweight 06 I had bought earlier on clearance for $269 at Walkin Auto in Tempe.

So, off I went down the wash to the upper end of the lake. About two hundred yards farther I rounded a bend and there were two spikes sparing, maybe 30 yards. I pulled up the rifle and shot one. They both took off over the burm in the same direction. I went over and found blood and started to follow it. I trailed it for a short distance and it took me back to the opposite side of the wash. Then I followed it down the wash and came across the buck lying dead under a paloverde tree. 

I had some rope and tied it around the buck and over a branch. I pull the buck up in the tree as far as I could by lifting it up with one arm and pulling the rope with the other. I had it gutted a short time later and threw him up over on my shoulders and carried it back up the wash. I was glad when my truck came into view and when I got to it I reached up and dropped the tailgate and laid the buck down. It took me about an hour to get home and the wife was a work. I put some plastic down on the kitchen table and did my best butchering my first buck and was done by about 11. That was probably 40+ years ago.

Walk-in Auto was a great place to buy guns and ammo.  You probably bought the same featherweight '06 I was looking at.

 

[Crazymonkey]

22 is a tough  unit to hunt with out the means to get around.  There's  plenty  of good hunting  but you need a quad or sxs to access alot of it unless  your planning  on some  good hiking.  But at the same time I've seen deer and elk in easy to get to places that are not even on the radar. Always  have a backup  plan and a backup  for that . 

[andyyy]

yep, if you have the means, then a sxs or quad makes a big difference. I wouldn't have had as much success without mine for sure. I see them as a way of taking wear and tear off your street vehicle, too. but as a means to an end, not just driving around endlessly on forest roads hoping you see something pop up.

that said you can certainly tag out with a pretty basic set of wheels, just harder