Coues deer demension

[elkhunter]

What's the legnth of a coues deer chest from top near the spine to the bottom of their chest? From my past bucks i'm guessing 12-14 inches? Am I about right? Couldn' find this info on coues biology/shot placement

[azcouesandelk]

I was thinking about 16 or so inches but you may be closer.

[Guest Ernesto C]

oh no you guys are waaaay off.......I got this coues in unit 27 and the chest was about 28 inches wide; but is not the bigest thoug

 

 

What do think it will score?

[COUESAZ]

high 80's i bet.

[TAM]

I always figured 15 inches.

[firstcoueswas80]

15" sounds about right

 

 

az guide, you are way off! that thing has to be atleast 90" maybe 120"!!!

[shortpants]

I've measured a few bucks and came up with 13'' as an average but you might see some up around 15'' or even 16''.

[elkhunter]

Alright thanks guys

[deernut]

From 1997 to 2002 I measured this in Coues and desert mule deer in the hope that someday, someone, somewhere would ask me that question.

 

In that time I actually only measured 25 Coues deer from GMUs 36ABC (Fortunately most people skinned their deer to save the meat and so I couldn't get that measurement with fur on). The average of those 25 deer was 12-3/8" from the top of the back line to the bottom of the brisket (what you would see through a scope). See, biologists sometimes measure cool stuff. I collected this scientific data to help me judge distance though my scope : ) The range of those 25 deer was 11"-15", but most are right about at 12". For anyone interested, I also wanted some scientific data to allow me to judge antler size in the field so I measured single ear length along the back of the ear from the base at the skull to the tip. I also measured ear spread from tip to tip with the ears pulled tight straight out to make a straight line across the top of the head. When field judging antler size you have to visually "pull" the ears down straight for this to be useful.

 

Single ear length of 81 Coues bucks averaged 7-1/8"

Tip to tip straight ear spread of 81 Coues bucks averaged 18"

 

(Also, desert mule deer chests are 14-3/4", a single ear is 8-3/4" and the tip to tip ear spread (straight out) is 22"). All data from GMU 36ABC south of Tucson.

 

Thanks for asking!

 

JIM

[CouesWhitetail]

Great info, thanks Jim!

 

Amanda

[cramerhunts]

Thanks for sharing your info with us Jim! That really helps on field judging.

[TREESTANDMAN]

Thanks for the documented info Jim!

 

I wonder how different the measurements would be on bucks from the Northern Central part of the state? I would guess they would be a few inches longer?

 

When you say the range was from 11" to 15" but the average was 12", did that study separate the mature bucks from juvenile bucks? I would think that the measurments from the backline to the bottom of the brisket would vary quite a bit from a mature buck 3.5 yrs + and a 2 yr old.

[TREESTANDMAN]

[TAM]

It seems to me that bucks in the northern units tend to have larger bodies than those in southern Az. Even my taxidermist has noticed this. I'm not sure if there is any science to support this like genetics or climate? Isn't there a theory about the further north you go from the equator the larger the bodies of deer get? Perhaps that has something to do with it?

[shortpants]

Hey Jim good info. Just to add to it I've always used the white (inner) part of the ear as a reference and came up with 6'' as an average. Usually the white part of the ear is more visable than any other reference.