Hunting coues deer in Arizona

Anyone done it ?

My brother has a couple AZ Pope and Young coes to his name. If you have a specific question I can ask him to chime in. You looking for units or?

Not necessarily just a place I can hunt public land with a rifle and get a good deer

I bowhunted them many years back in Arizona. Elusive little jackrabbits is what they are. lol

Shawheel on here (but not very much lately) is learning the ins and outs of it. He moved to Tuscon and can get to where they are (supposedly ) in 20 minutes from his house.

I want to hunt them out there. I attended a seminar at DSC last year given by a guy that guides Coues hunts in AZ. Pricey.

There’s an episode of Meat Eater where Rinella hunts Coues deer in southern Arizona. Might be of some help to watch it. I don’t think he necessarily says an exact area to hunt though.

I’m going to the DSC gala at the whitte Thursday I wonder if they will have info ?

I’ve seen it

Good show

Check out Jay Scott’s podcast. He has a bunch of Arizona Coues deer podcasts.

First step to hunting Coes in AZ is drawing a tag. Might take several years to draw one in a good unit. My brother has a number to his credit and all came from Unit 29.

There is an easier route, Majority of units are OTC for Archey Coues and Mulies. I was planning on going this year in addition to my Jan NM Mulie tag, but ended up spending my all my vacation in NM trying to fill my tag.

FYI Brandon - if you build Pts in AZ it’s a deer pt. Mulie or Coues also don’t discount NM for Coues. Easier rifle tag to draw

Pn sent bobo

The LO at our lease said there used to be some in the Chinati mountains, here, in Texas, but lions killed 'em all. Who knew?

Lions are very efficient, I know a guy that runs a lot for AZ state in areas they are doing big horn transplants. They have whipped out a few conservation efforts.

I jumped in to gohunt real quick for AZ 29

The rifle rut hunt in Dec 15-31 takes 15 pts,
Dec 1-10th 5pts
Nov no points
Oct no points

Now you still have random lottery draw but it’s < single digits chances

The Carmen mountain whitetail are pretty much a coues deer

And yes the cats are very hard on them

The Brewster ranch we hunted some years back said that they used to have some Carmen white tails, called them fantails. This was just north of BB park.

Hunted Unit 23 last year, only seeing 5 deer in 4 days. I pulled the Dec 1-10th rifle hunt in Unit 29 this year with 0 points. Spent a total of 24 hours in the unit, saw 30 plus Coues deer and ended up shooting a 70” buck my first morning in the unit. Couldn’t pass him up after the luck I had the year before and having spent 40 miles of boot leather on an unsuccessful elk hunt in NM back in October.

Not yet. Got some friends in the southern part of the state that keep trying to get me out there. They’ve always done real well. Now that I’m letting my deer lease go, I just might do it.

An archery Mulie or Coues Deer hunt in AZ or NM is best way to break in the new year.
Some of the units in NM are Sept & Jan

I hunted the elusive little buggers when I lived in AZ in the late 90s. Fun, challenging hunts (lots of glassing, humping it up and down canyons, treacherous terrain and few opportunities to shoot). Coues deer are smaller than most whitetail sub-species, move constantly at dusk/dawn but can bed down for long stretches, and they blend amazingly well with their dry surroundings. They often come to water when available, so if you want to bow hunt, that may be your best bet (I only rifle hunted back then). Break in a great pair of boots, take quality glass (binos and spotting scope), a light rifle and plenty of water. .270 or similar is plenty for Coues, but practice and be prepared to take longer shots than what we usually take in the Hill Country/Central TX. Getting to elevation so you can spot them at distances will be key.

I live in AZ and wanted to chime in.

You can find big Coues in just about every southern unit in AZ. With the exception of archery, you have to put in for a drawing to get a tag. Early season (October) and middle season (late November to early December) are easy to get drawn for; being a non-resident there are no sure things on getting drawn the first year. Late season (last couple of weeks of December) can be extremely difficult to get drawn for; even harder for non-residents. The old saying "you have to be in it to win it" does apply.

Having quality optics (ex: Swarovski SLC 15s) with a tripod for day-long glassing sessions, being able to hit a very small target at extended ranges, be prepared for significant temp changes in the same day, quality boots (sucks to have cactus spines go through your boot soles), and a ton of patience can help lead to a successful hunt. Unlike TX there is plenty of public land in AZ to hunt. Also grab a mountain lion tag since you never know when you'll come across one and there are plenty here in AZ.

If your glassing skills are non-existent or minimal, I would strongly recommend doing a guided hunt the first time out. It'll make things much easier and can shorten the learning curve on hunting them. Coues are called the "grey ghost" for a reason; they are hard to find and can disappear in a blink of an eye. I just got back from a Coues hunt in Sonora MX and hunted with eight other hunters who each have literally successfully hunted the world. Despite their experience, every single one had issues finding deer (their optics were not sufficient), had troubles seeing them in our SLC 15s (on a tripod with the head locked with the deer in the middle of the field of view), and had a nightmare of time finding them in their rifle scopes (we set their rifles up for them prone with the crosshairs on the deer). Thankfully everyone got a buck but is was extremely challenging. If they had done this unguided in AZ, it is highly unlikely any of them would have harvested a Coues buck.

I do suggest hunting them but go in with realistic expectations. Do be prepared to get your butt kicked by a 90 pound critter while enjoying every moment of it. You'll see some amazing country as well. They are extremely addicting to hunt. If you want an outfitter suggestion I can give you one.

My buddy does it every year but they really just drink beer and never kill anything.

what time of the year is best?

It’s randy newbergs favorite hunt

Dec 15-31 has highest success and lowest draw odds

I live in Arizona, we use to hunt Unit 35B (Patagonia)a lot. Now I don't even put in anymore because of the Illegal's in the area. Do your research on this and see if you even want to hunt Arizona down by the border. Have run into Illegals on the hunt skirted around them, lots of trash, just makes the hunting time suck. Also you have to worry about your safety, your camp and vehicles. Now in Arizona I only put in for the Northern units for Mule deer.