mrodri30 Report post Posted October 3, 2018 Hi Guy's, I'm not new to hunting but I am new to hunting "deer" in general and wanted to get your opinion on how coues deer move throughput the day. Are they similar to elk, where they mainly move first couple of hours of dusk and dawn? Are they sporadic? Do they tend to hit water close to night time like elk? As you can probably tell I am a huge elk hunter but know very little about deer. I can "google" these questions sure, but figured any advice from you'll is a lot more useful. I have a rifle tag in unit 27 at the end of Oct and plan to scout the next two weekends to get some of the answers to my questions. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Redman Report post Posted October 3, 2018 Some of the best deer we have shot - has been around the noon hour... yes they move all day, but there is more movement at dawn and dust. Deer are no different than humans, when the sun moves and they get in the sun in their bedding areas they move. Glass the shaded side of a hill once the sun comes up and throughout the day. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeke-BE Report post Posted October 3, 2018 Also they like to stay usually in a square mile home range. So if you find one he will stick around and hunt that area 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted October 4, 2018 They often go to water at mid-day (11 am to 1 pm), although it seems they do that more during the summer than winter. But they definitely move the most at dawn and dusk. I have sat waiting on bedded bucks to come out of cover for many hours....from when they bedded in late morning until dark. Often I find they don't get up until just before the very last shooting light of the day. You will think it's impossible that they could still be in that same clump of bushes you saw them go into hours prior. Years ago, a member (Shortypants, I think) had a quote that I often think of...."coues deer are always where you last saw them" and it's true more often than not for sure. Rifle hunting Coues is definitely not like hunting elk. You spend a lot more time sitting and glassing and waiting than you do stalking. When I elk hunt I cover many miles everyday, when hunting Coues the majority of my hiking is done just getting to the glassing spot. Patience is key. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesPursuit Report post Posted October 4, 2018 Specific to your October hunt, I have found the most dependable time to find coues in a given area is first light. The areas with higher hunting pressure shorten the window. Next most dependable is deer re-bedding as the shade changes. I've seen many deer get up at 11am to move a few feet and lay right back down. This is a great time to make the shot if you bedded them earlier in the morning. What's even more dependable is the exceptions to these behavior, just like when people ask "where to glass?" I have seen coues deer do everything against the norm, including getting out of, what seemed like, a perfectly good bed minutes after laying down and moving over a ridge, or feeding for 2 hours in plain sight in the middle of a hot day. I recommend to stay behind your binoculars for as long as possible and constantly re-glass the same areas that gave you a good feeling. When you spot groups of does, move on but frequently re-glass them too. I have seen does bump up a bedded buck many times in October. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrodri30 Report post Posted October 4, 2018 Thank you for the advise! It appears its going to be an all day hunt behind the binos! Cant wait! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
