36C December Hunt

[dit9405]

I'm a newbie to Coues deer hunting but got lucky and drew a December tag in Unit 36C. Planning to hunt DIY and am wondering if anyone can share any information on what to expect in this unit and where to spend most of my time. I live in Kansas so scouting is mostly via google earth and maybe a day or two before the hunt.

[James Gleave]

36c is an all around great unit. You can find big coues bucks in the flats as well in the steep baboquivari mtns. I recommend starting off in the rolling hills and glassing with a good quality pair of binos. If you dont do any good there, move to the base of the mtns and glass. You should see a good amount of coues no matter where you go. You will also see a good amount of illegals also, so be aware. There are trails all over the unit that they travel. If you are looking for a quality animal, you need to do a lot of scouting. Hopefully this helps. Oh yea and be sure to buy a lion tag. 36c is where ive seen a lot of cats.

 

 

[Red Rabbit]

Congrats on a coveted tag.

 

The AZGFD gives some useful MP milepost numbers on the Sasabe highway to access the various canyons.

http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/hunting_units_36c.shtml

 

Be prepared to hike at least an hour to get back into the canyons. Some of the hunt stories from last years coues contes are 36C, so you can tell what to expect terrain wise. Solano, Redondo, Sabino, Thomas are some of the better canyons in the northern half of the unit.

 

Are you hunting with someone who has hunted 36c and coues before? Duwane Adams book that is in the bookstore here might be a good read for a beginning coues hunter. Be sure to have your binos mounted on a tripod for good glassing. Duwane also has a glassing DVD.

[jakehaffey]

I have had 6 oct. tags there in the past 7 years, it is a great unit! The past couple of years it has been really crowded and frustrating where I go but in December it should be awesome! I will shoot you a PM where I think would be a good spot.

[azcoues33]

Make sure you keep an eye out for the illegal's. We have actually had them come into our camp in the middle of the night trying to get into our ice chests we chain them up.

[jakehaffey]

Make sure you keep an eye out for the illegal's. We have actually had them come into our camp in the middle of the night trying to get into our ice chests we chain them up.

 

This is true, even in the mountains. They have trails that go through the mountains just below bobawhatever the peak is called.

[dit9405]

Thanks for the information everone, this is great.

 

When you camp in these areas what type of precautions do you have to take? Do you have to take the tent down every day or can you leave it and stuff like clothes and sleeping bags there. How about when you park some place to go hunting, do I have to worry about someone breaking into the pickup while I"m gone or will they usually leave these alone?

[Str8Shot]

From my experiences down south ... They all want to try to be illusive and unseen by people period... Especially the Mules ... But if they get desperate they will take the risks especially if in need for food and water ... most issues I have heard of deal with loss of food and water since they are on the move they are trying to keep it as light as possible and not going to spend alot of time in a camp if they even intrude... We secure Ice Chests and all food goes in locked Storage lockers .... We also leave nothing to small or light that may be desireable to some one on the trek... We have had no issues with sleeping bags nor tents (they do not use them).... Also depending on the travel of the road you are camped on odds are you wont get much if any IA traffic at day hours and at night I have heard of many different ways guys use to set up some type of perimeter at their camp but personally I think our group of Snoring hunters send them way out around (think it sounds like a den of bears) so we have yet to do anything ... We do sleep with our guns close though just in case !!!!

[Red Rabbit]

I would not have anything of value visible in the cab, and cover what is in the camper shell, as a water jug or cooler may be tempting. Also, a Club on the steering wheel may be a deterrent, albeit not foolproof. I have not had a problem hunting in units 36 or 35 so far, knock on wood. There are usually some larger camps near the Elkhorn Ranch that may offer some group security.