HUGE W / T Buck Spotted!

[jeffcros]

About 5 years ago I saw my first buck WT in 37a and every year since I see more and more. Last year i watched a teener class buck rutting two does while hunting pigs. They are there... Not alot but they are there

We hunted all over the Tortolita Mountains in the 1950s and early 1960s and never saw or heard of any indication that there had ever been a whitetail on that mountain. We did take some good mule deer and many javelinas there, though.

 

Don't know about the Ajo and Picacho mountains, but we did see whitetails when we hunted javelinas in the Sand Tanks near Gila Bend when I was a boy.

 

Bill Quimby

[southwest hunter]

There are some nice coues bucks in 37a... I see them every year hunting pigs

Would be very surprised to see a whitetail in that area. Have seen a few mulies, but just not the eleveation or landscape for whitetails.

 

 

 

There have been Whitetail there for the last 10 years

[Diodefense]

I saw trails and a course doe making a hasty exit when I was up near the top of Jefford’s peak on March 30, 2020. Also found the skull of a small buck which had been taken by a mountain lion. 

[ThomC]

Wow a new breed of deer in the tortolitas.  Maybe a whitetail/horse. 

[Big Tub]

WOW this is an oldie being resurrected!

 

[stanley]

1 hour ago, Big Tub said:

WOW this is an oldie being resurrected!

 

Yup.   Honestly, when this happens it always sort of sends-up a potential spam/scam alert on my radar.   Just makes no sense that some newbie with only ONE post would resurrect an obscure thread from a decade ago.  

[Flatlander]

However this got resurrected, it was cool to see some dialogue about coues deer habitat and behavior. Really cool to see some of the old names here, especially Bill (RIP).

In the spirit of bringing a contribution to the table I can say I saw a very nice coues buck in the Tortolita’s probably 6 years ago this January. If I remember correctly he was rutting a whitetail doe. So maybe that population is fully established now.

[Diodefense]

1 hour ago, stanley said:

Yup.   Honestly, when this happens it always sort of sends-up a potential spam/scam alert on my radar.   Just makes no sense that some newbie with only ONE post would resurrect an obscure thread from a decade ago.  

Well, I think I was a member many years ago under a different email address. In any event I was out looking for mountain lions in the Tortolita yesterday and I just did a Google search for Coues whitetail in the Tortolita’s and found this thread. As you probably know, The 125 Tags for both fall rifle hunts in unit 37A are “any antlered.” About three years ago I bumped into the AZ GFD and Forssman officer and Edwin Road and we got talking and he was one that told me there are Whitetail up there in the high country. So I always wanted to hike up there and find out for myself and happily, I was able to confirm it. I hunt quail and rabbit in relax Ranch a lot and I’ve seen many mule deer and I’m happy to report I haven’t seen anything that I would suspect was a hybrid.

[Diodefense]

Here’s a picture of that little buck skull I found. (Sorry about the typos in the last reply. Siri hasn’t been very nice to me recently).

[Diodefense]

5 hours ago, ThomC said:

Wow a new breed of deer in the tortolitas.  Maybe a whitetail/horse. 

I will say I also keep my eye out for that reported wild horses up there but I have never seen anything.I will say I also keep my eye out for that reported wild horses up there but I have never seen anything.

[stanley]

1 hour ago, Diodefense said:

Well, I think I was a member many years ago under a different email address. In any event I was out looking for mountain lions in the Tortolita yesterday and I just did a Google search for Coues whitetail in the Tortolita’s and found this thread. As you probably know, The 125 Tags for both fall rifle hunts in unit 37A are “any antlered.” About three years ago I bumped into the AZ GFD and Forssman officer and Edwin Road and we got talking and he was one that told me there are Whitetail up there in the high country. So I always wanted to hike up there and find out for myself and happily, I was able to confirm it. I hunt quail and rabbit in relax Ranch a lot and I’ve seen many mule deer and I’m happy to report I haven’t seen anything that I would suspect was a hybrid.

All good, and welcome back to the site!  👍🏻  No offense intended.   

[CatfishKev]

You sure thats a whitetail? Even small coues usually have eyeguards. 

[Big Tub]

Stan the man,

the paranoid adman 

 

[Couescrazy33]

On 12/26/2020 at 12:46 PM, CatfishKev said:

You sure thats a whitetail? Even small coues usually have eyeguards. 

Ive shot plenty of coues deer that didnt have eye guards

[Diodefense]

On 12/26/2020 at 12:46 PM, CatfishKev said:

You sure thats a whitetail? Even small coues usually have eyeguards. 

Not 100%, but the points come off the main beam and do not fork and the hide remaining on the skull shows no white hair near the nose.  The skull was near the very peak of Jefford's and I am 100% sure the doe we spooked a couple of hundred feet below where the skull was found was a coues.