Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Thoughts on Coues in Az 22

I've hunted a central unit in AZ and also a southern one...extreme ends of the coues deer range.

Both have some positives and both have some negatives.

Theres no question you will see wayyyy more deer in the southern units than the central.

The unit I hunted in central AZ, seeing a dozen deer a day is pretty good. Southern unit I hunted, seeing a dozen deer within the first 30 minutes of glassing was common.

Bottom line, apply for a tag and go hunting...cant go wrong hunting deer that time of year in Arizona.

I'll be hunting them again this winter.

Shot this one in the southern unit I hunted:





This one in the central unit:

Dober, I lost that buck but had two other witnesses that said he was easy mid 130's and I judged him at that myself.
So no pics.

I totally agree with Buzz. Anytime you can get a New Mexico or Arizona permit is a good time to hunt Coues'. Well, the October season might be a bit too hot for my taste, but the hunting is actually pretty good during that month. My favorite month to hunt them is in November. I used to hunt during the December season, but found it to be too problematic in terms of a specific buck or specific bucks. During the past ten years or so, I've opted for the November hunt because it seems to be somewhat less problematic in reference to a particular buck or particular bucks. Anyway, any time you can go is a good time, actually. Of all the things in North America I've hunted and/or guided for or photographed, Coues' whitetails are my favorite.

Unit 23 used to be awsome for Mule deer and coues! Toward the end of my hunting the unit it was tough to even find a muley, but BIG coues on my mountain! A friend took a 100" or so out of there. Before digital cameras so i can not offer pics but this was in the 90's.

Yeah, GMU 23 produced some huge B&C typical and non-typical whitetails and there's still some gigantic bucks in that unit. There's a buck that was killed in that unit back in the late 70's and if ever entered in B&C as a typical, it would rank number one or two. The third-generation ranch wife who shot it never even had it mounted, let alone to enter it in B&C. Eventually a collector is going to come across it and then it'll end up in the record book. Till then, the family still has it and has no interest in entering it. Kind of "sad", but I understand their point.

A very simple area to hunt 22- mostly unhunted as it requires hikin endless up hill hrs in dense desert terrain leading to the mtns.

get a boat and cross the verde river at bartlett lake - nobody hunts these ft hills that go for hundreds of square miles -all way up to the west side of the little hills they call the mad-as-hells.

hard to say deer size or #'s cuz nobody goes there! Kents claim is correct - people avoid most of the rugged areas of 22. outfitters do not like it because they don't get much sleep - between the bears and the lions trying to kill their pack animals.

Yep, the west side is definitely the best, that's for sure. Long walk though. Usually takes a day to get to the edge of habitat. Some great bucks though. I usually enter upstream from Bartlett, in the thick of the actual designated wilderness area. Helluva a long walk. Never seen another rifle hunter in there, but I'm sure a few go in that way. Anyway, tough hunt because of the distance and terrain, but worth it if a guy is self-sufficient when in deep desert/chaparral wilderness.

22n try any canyons under the mogollon rim or drainages leading to fossil creek theyll be in the drainages and canyons for most part execpt the dec rut hunt youll find in more open areas with does

Also, bear in mind that deer allocations aren't split between north and south in that unit. If you draw a permit for either of the two hunts, you can hunt anywhere within the unit.

You should see the sheds my buddy has from 22.lol! Stuff dreams are made up.
32 is getting better since access is hard to obtain on the west side. No issue for me tho. Some huge book bucks got killed in the jr hunt there this year. There are coues everywhere in the areas I hunt. Even in the areas I traditionally hunted mule deer in.
33 is the mecca. I love 33 but only in Dec or October. I have a shed of a buck that if he matched up he would be a 120 class buck. My buddy Duwane Adams has a 138 and his friend a 136 if I recall. A few years back a hi 130'd buck was killed in 33 and a couple high 120's. Even with a million tags 33 is still a great unit.
36B is still a fine unit even with a million tags and being infested with illegal. Some fine bucks killed in there this year.
35B has been a sleeper. Brushy and thick, but holds some great bucks.

Overall I think 23 is better than 22, 33 is better that 32, and 35B and 36B are good aswell. You draw that 22 tag, you'll have fun, but if it was me, i'd be trying for a december tag along the border. They are easier to draw and hold some nice bucks. For me it will be off the border and if I don't draw, I am getting a leftover tag somewhere down there.

Hope this helps and let me know what you do.

Kique

Many thx Kique, I hope you and yours are doing well!

Vaya Con Dios

Perro

My brother picked up a pair of matching sheds in Unit 32 a couple years back and with a conservative inside spread estimate of 14 inches, we figured he would net 121+ typical B&C. The very next year the rancher found that buck locked with another buck and a large lion had killed them both. The buck that had dropped antlers the year before which my brother found, net scored 137 typical B&C. He'd grown 16 inches of antler in one year. The other buck that was locked with it, scored net 126+ non-typical B&C. The rancher has both bucks and the lion mounted in his house on the ranch. He also has several other 120-130 Coues bucks on display. It's quite the impressive sight when entering his living room.

The central units Have a much higher class of clientele than on the south side of the tracks...

While on holiday at the spa, this discerning customer obviously felt a slight camera adjustment would portray his best side...

A southern bear would be sporting an orange and purple sombrero selling chicklets for a peso...















[img]http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll237/kentpowellp/mazatzalcam1123.jpg[/img]

That's just fabulous. Thanks for sharing those, KRP. That made my day.

Southern end of the Mazatzal wilderness unit 22, probably not far from where you hiked into... figured you would like it. 5 different bears for 2 weeks, then my batteries died.

Had some coues hitting it also...



Kent

Yeah, that place is crawling with black bears, lions too. I love that country. Between the Galiuro's and the Mazatzal's, it's not easy for me to pick a favorite lonesome place between to two. I love them both, dearly.

That's totally awesome bruin footage! Once upon a time I watched as a sow and her cubs took an afternoon swim in a stock pond. Good stuff!

Dober

I was running a second cam on a tank about a mile away from the first. the line was clogged coming from the spring and the tank itself won't hold more than a couple inches of water before it goes out the big crack in the back. I fixed the line so it tricked through and next time I go in will patch the crack.

Anyway, that tank is lower and in a much more open landscape, It was being hit by muledeer and this scrawny lion... no coues or bears... interesting stuff and what keeps me going out even if I'm not hunting the unit.





Kent

Gosh, that cat's having a tough go of it (lol).

Couple more pictures of the area when I was putting the cams out. This is in an spot that is high up... if you were standing on the far ridge you can see Bartlet lake and it's marina in the distance miles away. There are two dirt tanks a mile apart up here and two miles away from the spring tanks as the crow flies, though they are really two separate areas divided by rough terrain and elevation.

I've never seen another hunter anywhere in here, though the rancher runs cattle and I've seen him or his hand on horseback. I had a cam here but the cattle hit the tank so much the batteries died in a couple days and of the thousands of pics, the only critters were a couple does... I've glassed up plenty of bucks in this cut and it's a favorite place to glass.

Even with 700 tags in Oct, you can get away from other hunters and have a great adventure.







Kent