mattys281 Report post Posted January 16, 2008 Ok, reading Hunt Az's post about his stalking problems has my hamster running & I've noticed some things here that I wanted to ask the more experienced guys about. First off, I've had the opportunity to stalk a few mature muleys over the last couple years, but most of the coues deer I've stalked have been youngsters, I'm still working on gettin into the big ones. What I've noticed though, is that it seems like when a muley beds down for the day, he stays put, making him much more susceptible to a stalk. The coues deer, however, seem to get up & move around a lot more. I've yet to see one stay bedded for more than an hour with out getting up & browsing around, even in the early season. Anyone else notice this, or is it just me? As a result, I've tried to plan stalks on coues deer that allow me to keep a visual on them, where as with muleys, I'll drop out of sight, feeling confident that when I come back over the ridge they'll still be close to where I left them. As I said, I've been stalking young coues deer, so maybe the mature ones are different. The few mature coues bucks that I have got to play with were up & moving late in the morning (10:00-noon), but that was always during the late season while the rut was supposed to be happening. Appreciate any observations. Thanks. Matt S. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest 300ultramag. Report post Posted January 16, 2008 the bigger coues tend to be in the thickets.(cover and food) So when they strectch or feed they only travel a few feet and bed back down usually... but a stalk on a mature coues is suicide, w/ out a spotter in my opinion. A bruiser buck will always have numerous escape routes. Even IF he is still bedded in the same spot when u reach him your mind tends to play tricks on u telling u that there is no FLIPPIN way he is still bedded!....thats where the spotter comes in to help u calm down Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues79 Report post Posted January 16, 2008 This past December I watched a 108" buck stay bedded for almost 2 straight hours. He was bedded in the sunshine for an undetermined time before then too. He got up and walked 5 yards to some shade at about 11:30-12:00 then stayed bedded until about 2. He then got up and fed on some mahogany right by him, and then dropped dead in his tracks when my dad smoked him. Each deer has a different personality and will have different behaviors. A bruiser buck will always have numerous escape routes. Even IF he is still bedded in the same spot when u reach him An older and wiser buck is alive because he has had experience in escaping trouble or near death. Probably been shot at a few times too. This above is one reason big bucks get big. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jasonclay Report post Posted January 16, 2008 In my 15 + years of hunting coues deer, I can tell you that the current moon phase can play a huge part on predicting whitetail movement! During the none rutting hunt seasons, the larger, more mature bucks can definately be patterned on there daily movements, during the rut you can throw all that out the window, and just become familiar w/ popular rutting grounds. This is what makes me love hunting these deer so much!!!! Spending as much time in there environment as u can ,is by far the best schooling one can get. I' m still learning as we speak!!! jasonclay Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattys281 Report post Posted January 16, 2008 I hear you guys. I've got some great bucks on trail cam, but, as I've said, most of my real-time observation comes from seeing the youngin's & does, and I'm pretty much convinced that they suffer from severe ADHD until they pass at least their 3rd year. I've had more than one stalk blown during the last couple years because some stinking doe or spike I just watched bed down gets up 20 minutes later & is standing fifty yards away from where they had been staring at me when I get within shooting range. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elmergoo Report post Posted January 17, 2008 I think the difference between the two are with the mules there only seems to be one dominant buck with a group of does, never having to compete or fight off other bucks ( IMO experience). While with whitetail, just like last Saturday I watched the dominant male running off up to 5 mature ( around 85" to 90" bucks ) off all day.The doe would never bed. He would bed to rest, then get up to tear up a tree or run off a buck,or chase the doe.After seeing all this I then realized why it is so hard to set up a spot and stalk with whitetail compared to mules.Wish I had a camera. I watched this all happen between 9:00 a.m to 2:00 P.M. I put three stalks on that deer. He never knew he was being hunted, but the hot doe sure did.She busted me everytime.It all covered about one square mile of constant movement. Great time ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilentButDeadly Report post Posted January 17, 2008 Desert Mule Deer - Almost impossible to kill with a bow Coues Whitetail Deer - Very nearly almost totally impossible to kill with a bow Desert Mule Deer shed antlers - Very nearly almost totally impossible to find Coues Whitetail Deer shed antlers - Almost impossible to find, unless you know where to look Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattys281 Report post Posted January 17, 2008 I think the difference between the two are with the mules there only seems to be one dominant buck with a group of does, never having to compete or fight off other bucks ( IMO experience). While with whitetail, just like last Saturday I watched the dominant male running off up to 5 mature ( around 85" to 90" bucks ) off all day.The doe would never bed. He would bed to rest, then get up to tear up a tree or run off a buck,or chase the doe.After seeing all this I then realized why it is so hard to set up a spot and stalk with whitetail compared to mules.Wish I had a camera. I watched this all happen between 9:00 a.m to 2:00 P.M. I put three stalks on that deer. He never knew he was being hunted, but the hot doe sure did.She busted me everytime.It all covered about one square mile of constant movement. Great time ! That's what I'm seeing. Last Jan. 1st I was out hunting javi.s, but had neglected to buy my '07 archery deer tag. Of course, I don't see any pigs, but at 11:30 glassed up a nice tall racked 3x3 muley bedded down w/ a couple does. I ditched my gear under a bush, ran the 2 miles back to my car, drove to Wal-Mart in Globe, bought my deer tag, drove back out there, humped the two miles back in, spent a half hour looking for my gear that had moved itself in my absence, set up my spotting scope & that dang muley was still in the exact same spot! 3 hours had gone buy, it was 2:30 by that point. I stalked him, but got busted by a danged coues doe that had been completely invisible when I began, but was up & moving (go figure!!!) by the time I got over there. I don't know how long they'd been there before I started, but from the time I spotted those deer until the time I got busted & they blew outta there something like 4 1/2 hours had gone by & the only move that muley had made was to shift around the same bush to stay in the shade. I'm not saying muleys never move, I've seen 'em get up & browse around and then bed back down some where else. Just seems like they're more prone to longer naps which gives you more time to work, but as I said before, most of my observation comes from young coues bucks, which is why I asked about the more mature ones. Matt S. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
