ACfixer Report post Posted July 22, 2019 Hey folks! I didn't see an intro forum so I thought I'd gather around the campfire. Drew my first AZ coues tag this year, going along with a guy that's punched 11 times in the unit so I'm pretty excited about it... I look forwarding to reading up here and getting some of your knowledge. Thanks, Lance. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stanley Report post Posted July 22, 2019 Welcome to the site!! You have definitely come to the right place for chatter regarding coues! Good luck on your hunt this fall! S. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CatfishKev Report post Posted July 22, 2019 What hunt and unit you get? Congrats. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ACfixer Report post Posted July 22, 2019 1 hour ago, CatfishKev said: What hunt and unit you get? Congrats. Pretty sure it's unit 32 second week. I am truly blessed that one of the guys has drawn 11 times and punched every time, told me his grandfather taught him how to hunt this area when he was a teenager and has great success. No reason to doubt him, he seems like a square guy and he's got heads on the wall. He told me to get ready to pay a taxidermist and eat some deer. He made me promise to get in shape for hunting 10-15 miles each day over loose terrain and if I can shoot straight he said I'm not going to go without taking a quality shot. I'm really jazzed about this guys, I'm 57 and this is the first public land deer hunt I've done in at least 35 years. I finally decided to quit making excuses, I am going to take every tag I can get and travel wherever. We don't live forever, I've worked my tail off and now it's time to do it. I'll be moving from Kalifornistan to Tennessee in a year or less and look forward to a lot better opportunities out east and several trips back to the West, just not THIS far west. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZkiller Report post Posted July 22, 2019 If you're walking 15 miles a day in 32 you're not glassing enough. It would take you 10 hours to go 15 miles. 4 to 5 a day 👌. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ACfixer Report post Posted July 22, 2019 8 minutes ago, AZkiller said: If you're walking 15 miles a day in 32 you're not glassing enough. It would take you 10 hours to go 15 miles. 4 to 5 a day 👌. Duly noted... he said 5+ miles each way, but he may just be trying to make sure I'm in shape. He said a few miles in from camp (near Klondyke?) before we glass... We've all gone down that road with guys that aren't in shape for the hunt right? I don't blame him for having his concerns, we've never hunted together before... but I'm not a road hunter. How do you guys feel about my rifle? Rem 700 VTR in .308 with a 3x10 Leupold VxII. I was thinking of putting a good 4.5 x 14 on it for this hunt. I have other options, but I have yet to meet any animal that liked the taste of a 150g slug out of any rifle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PRDATR Report post Posted July 22, 2019 2 hours ago, ACfixer said: Duly noted... he said 5+ miles each way, but he may just be trying to make sure I'm in shape. He said a few miles in from camp (near Klondyke?) before we glass... We've all gone down that road with guys that aren't in shape for the hunt right? I don't blame him for having his concerns, we've never hunted together before... but I'm not a road hunter. How do you guys feel about my rifle? Rem 700 VTR in .308 with a 3x10 Leupold VxII. I was thinking of putting a good 4.5 x 14 on it for this hunt. I have other options, but I have yet to meet any animal that liked the taste of a 150g slug out of any rifle. Welcome to CWT. Nothing wrong with having more scope power, you should do fine with the setup you have though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZkiller Report post Posted July 23, 2019 2 hours ago, ACfixer said: Duly noted... he said 5+ miles each way, but he may just be trying to make sure I'm in shape. He said a few miles in from camp (near Klondyke?) before we glass... We've all gone down that road with guys that aren't in shape for the hunt right? I don't blame him for having his concerns, we've never hunted together before... but I'm not a road hunter. How do you guys feel about my rifle? Rem 700 VTR in .308 with a 3x10 Leupold VxII. I was thinking of putting a good 4.5 x 14 on it for this hunt. I have other options, but I have yet to meet any animal that liked the taste of a 150g slug out of any rifle. Yes I'm sure that's the case. I like power myself so I would say 6.5 - 20 at a minimum. 8.5-25 is what I have on my coues gun. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dse Report post Posted July 23, 2019 5 hours ago, ACfixer said: Duly noted... he said 5+ miles each way, but he may just be trying to make sure I'm in shape. He said a few miles in from camp (near Klondyke?) before we glass... We've all gone down that road with guys that aren't in shape for the hunt right? I don't blame him for having his concerns, we've never hunted together before... but I'm not a road hunter. How do you guys feel about my rifle? Rem 700 VTR in .308 with a 3x10 Leupold VxII. I was thinking of putting a good 4.5 x 14 on it for this hunt. I have other options, but I have yet to meet any animal that liked the taste of a 150g slug out of any rifle. About any rifle will do so long as you can shoot it well out to 3 to 400 yds. Glass quality is more important than power. 14 power will be plenty and a Leopold VX-3 would be a very minimum as far as quality. Coues will vanish into almost nothing, especially with bad optics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigorange Report post Posted July 23, 2019 Welcome to the site and good luck. Where in TN are you moving? I grew up there...lots of private land but also lots of deer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ACfixer Report post Posted July 23, 2019 14 minutes ago, bigorange said: Welcome to the site and good luck. Where in TN are you moving? I grew up there...lots of private land but also lots of deer. Eastern, Johnson City area... I'm certainly not opposed to private land hunting, might even buy my own. 🙂 Thanks everyone, yeah I'll grab some nicer glass. Most of the hunting I've done has been 200 yards and in. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigbuckfever Report post Posted July 24, 2019 The best advice I got when I first started hunting Coues was "sore butts and tired eyes". Best of luck on the hunt. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Rabbit Report post Posted July 24, 2019 Sounds like you are in good hands with your friend. I'd be sure to have some good 12 or 15x binos on a tripod, and a foam pad to sit on too. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ACfixer Report post Posted July 25, 2019 10 hours ago, Red Rabbit said: Sounds like you are in good hands with your friend. I'd be sure to have some good 12 or 15x binos on a tripod, and a foam pad to sit on too. How do you guys feel about rangefining bino's? Say something in the $1,000-$1,500 area? One thing trying to do the job of two things and a mediocre on at that (like most combo stuff), or one less piece of gear to carry? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PRDATR Report post Posted July 25, 2019 12 minutes ago, ACfixer said: How do you guys feel about rangefining bino's? Say something in the $1,000-$1,500 area? One thing trying to do the job of two things and a mediocre on at that (like most combo stuff), or one less piece of gear to carry? You might find some old Leicas for that. The ranch owner in Sonora had a pair this past spring. They were on par with my Sig Kilo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
