Spent the last week in southern AZ on one of my most enjoyable Coues hunts to date. The weather was storming on the way in on Thursday and we had both rain and hail on the pack in.



Had a great campsite and a running stream... complete with a local bear.



The weather continued unsettled Friday and I decided not to pass on my opportunity at this 88" buck Friday evening at 430 yards.





From Saturday on it was sunny and pleasant and we located another shooter.



Patterned him for a a couple of evenings and set up Monday afternoon and waited for him to appear. My brother made good on a 220 yard opportunity and tagged this 92" buck.



Not the biggest deer for either of us but pegged the satisfaction meter.

Back in Phoenix tired but rewarded with a great hunting experience.

Congratulations! Looks like a great way to spend a week.

Great job Mike! Looks super fun....

Nice!

Sweet!

This in spades!

Tell you what, that looks like a LOT of fun to me! Have always wanted to hunt Coues in the Sonora.

Love the photo of you by the tree, what an interesting specimen (the tree, not you ).

Got your MSR Hubba too I see... good tent.

What sort of shooting iron/setup you using?

Thanks guys. A hunt like this needs to be on everyone's bucket list. GregW already knows...

Brad, the big sycamore is one of the neatest trees I've come across. Was always too focused on the hike to get a picture until now.

The rifle has been my favorite for the last few years. A pre 64 M70 with a McMillan edge stock, a Jewell trigger, steel bottom metal and Latigo sling. I wore out the .270 barrel with a lot of hot RL22 loads and just to be different bought a 6.5-06 reamer and a Mike Rock 5R 8" twist No 2 barrel that a good friend fitted for me. Shoots way more accurately than I can utilize in field conditions but is a confidence booster. Had been using a 2.5x8 Leupold converted to CDS but after about 2400 rounds, it started vertical stringing and will be sent in for a checkup. Have had a Mark 4 10X on it since the summer and it worked fine for the more deliberate type shooting on this trip.
My brother is still shooting an old model 721 30-06 w/4x Weaver I sold him when we were in high school and loaded ammo with a Lee Loader! It's killed a bunch of Coues with this one being his longest shot.

Thanks for the info on the gear... a really great, well thought out rifle. And a backpack from my home town.

But honestly that tree is one of the coolest things I've seen in a while. A true patriarch of the wild.

Very nice camp. Good pic's. Beautiful silver-grey, little deer and the 6.5-06 is kind intriguing too.

Congrats ! Nice little bucks.

I had a unit 29 hunt a week or two ago. All I saw were tiny little spikes with 4" prongs. No shot's fired. In a year or two... they might be worth anoter look.

Thanks, the little bucks do taste good though! These two are by far the best eating we've had for bigger bucks... think the bumper acorn crop may have something to do with it. They each had a fat layer at least 3/8" thick.

That's interesting... friend shot a whitetail here last week that had 2" of fat. Montana is a bit different

I'm sure it is! That's why I'm not sure I could survive a winter there as a native Arizonan...grin.

MikeS:

Congratulations!

I'll be hunting coues deer in southern AZ in the next season after Thanksgiving. I had good previous hunts there and I Love the country and warm weather.

KC

Congrats on a great adventure and some excellent meat for the freezer.

Looks like a great time there Mike.

Tanner

Great hunt.

For the rifle loonies, below is a pic of the 6.5 123gr AMAX recovered under the hide on the offside shoulder of my buck. Not much left, but it did retain the core.

Two killer bucks too! Nicely done!

Some good Coues and a cool tree. Glad it was a good hunt for you.

Great story Mike, me and my boy are getting ready to backpack in a few days on my coming up hunt. I cant get out until mid week cause of work hopefully they'll save me a buck lol.. I really enjoy this type of hunting especially with my kid good quality time. Hopefully one day ill see you guys on the mountain keep the great story's coming.

Looks like fun, Coues Deer is on my bucket list.

Nice! Looks like a lot of fun in a corner of the country I haven't spent much time.

I have your rifles twin in 280. Pre64, Rock#2, Compact Edge in green...

Thanks guys.

Azrumshooter, have a great time on your hunt with your boy and hope to see some pictures and story posted.

MadMooner, I know I've seen pictures of your .280 posted. IIRC it has a 3/4" cylinder which is what I went with on mine.

Nice bucks.. Great country!! Thanks..