unit 8 coues?

[shooterpar]

i have a late unit 8 rifle bull tag and the months of october and november off for scouting! so here's my question, would be it worth burning my beloved bonus points and drawing the 8 coues tag? i'll have TONS of time for scouting and i know there are some TANKS in there just not real sure what to expect? any ideas?

 

thanks guys

[RoughCut]

how many bonus points?

[shooterpar]

i believe 7 right now for deer, and for the first year ever i will be applying as a NR i will once again be a resident of AZ in 2010 though, just had to leave in search of some different hunting opportunities. lots of points for me to burn which is the issue for me, but if there is a real possibility of killing a good buck with lots of hard work i have no problems burning the points. i personally have not seen many coues in 8 but know that there used to be some good bucks coming out of there, just have not heard of any lately.

 

it really just boils down to the idea of having the coues tag and elk tag in the same unit so i dont have to split up my scouting. any thoughts?

 

just looking for some other input on my situation.

 

thanks again

[Red Rabbit]

I wouldn't. Would rather cash in the 7 points on a Dec tag in unit 33. I would think you would have a better chance of a nice buck in 33 with little scouting vs unit 8 with lots of scouting. Also, access from up top in 8 in Dec may be limited with normal snow. But as a NR, you are under the 10% cap, and the cap was reached in the 20% pass for unit 33 Dec WT last year. 7 BP should get you in the 20% pass. JMO

[Coues Sniper]

I've spent some limited time in 8 (had an elk tag one year, helped a buddy on a Coues tag the next), and have seen some good bucks, but I really had no idea how I would hunt them. The best buck I saw was probably 110", but all I saw of him was him racing away as I rode up to a tank on the wheeler. Thing let me drive right up on him and then bolted as soon as I saw him. All the Coues I saw were in THICK country. If you put in the time to pattern them you might do ok as they were all pocketed up, but that thick stuff makes it tricky. My buddy killed a small two point in a little honey hole we found that butted up to the canyon. We never saw a good buck in there, but he was just looking for anything with horns anyways. I'm sure there are some pigs in that unit that don't get messed with much, it would just take a lot of work and a bit of luck

 

With 7 points though, I don't know. How big of a bull are you looking for?

[Flash]

With that many points, I sure would think twice about some of the other units that have had big deer killed out of them with better numbers of deer 922, 23, 33). The December hunt had tags cut last year to 25 and I bet the draw odds are pretty low. It doesn't take much with that many tags to make a draw tough. Last year, the access due to snow made a large part of the unit unaccessable. The October hunt is easier to draw but the people I have heard of hunting it wouldn't apply for it again. There are deer there, just not good numbers and lots of thick country to try to locate them in. I don't want to stray you, but am giving you my opinion to really think it over before you apply. good luck with whatever decision and have fun with your elk hunt. Let us know what you decide.

[shooterpar]

i really appreciate all the advice! kinda sounds like i need to reconsider those plans. i've been putting in for some hunts north of the ditch but to tell ya the truth i am getting kinda sick of not hunting and this year being a NR i dont see my luck changing. so yea i am back to the drawing boards as far as what i wanna do with my deer points...

 

any other thoughts on a good way to burn points?

 

thanks again for all the help guys, appreciate it again.

 

redrabbit-

really appreciate the numbers there and never thought about the snow and access issues. how do NR's stack up in the late 6a coues tags?

 

coues sniper-

i'm looking to kill a B&C bull, or a bull that has that "WOW" factor. i already have the whole month of october and november off from work so i can concentrate on scouting for deer (whatever i decide to do) and elk. so i really don't see any reason why i wouldn't be able to find that type of bull with the time that i plan on investing in a pretty darn good unit.

 

flash-

thanks for the advice, it's always nice to get a different point of view on crazy ideas. sure will let ya know what i decide, probably won't be til the day i send in apps and only after filling out about a dozen apps and sending them to the dumpster! hope i'm not the only one that does that. thanks again

 

[catclaw]

I have spent a lot of time in 8 recently and don't think it is worth 7 points for wt. I only see them sporadically and they are not wide spread. Saw lots of elk. A B&C bull on the late hunt in 8 is pretty optimistic me thinks. You better stay real low and way back in- like Sycamore or something to find a hold- out bull like that. It is soo thick that glassing is really tough.