Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Ok...the BEST damn Coues deer rifle?

I have been in on the take of several 110"+ bucks and the longest shot I have seen was just short of 500 yards--by an elderly gentleman who had been crippled with polio when he was young. We spotted the deer out of the pickup and decided that it was a shooter. I was just asking him if he thought that he and his crutches could get another 200 yards up the hill before it got really steep, when he touched off his .257 Weatherby that he had rested on the hood of the truck and the deer reared over backward and died.

That said, the next longest shot was about 350 yds--as close as we could get under the circumstances. The hunter rested his .270 across my daypack and killed the buck with one shot. All of the rest of the animals were taken at ranges less than 200 yards, the closest at about 75 yards. If you can plan and stalk, 500 yard shots are not necessary.

Personally, my average shot is a little over 100 yds (113 to be exact). I am no Leatherstocking, but the same tactics that work on whitetails elsewhere work out here, providing that you can find the animals with your optics and have the patience to work out a stalk that will put you within reasonable shooting range. Unfortunately, I have never seen a really good Coues whitetail when hunting by myself--my guests and clients seem to have all the luck!

Tom, you are correct, but I have never ever seen or heard anyone pronounce the deer as "cows"


Secondly, I had two different clients carry 300 WBY's last year. One killed a 100" buck, the other had gun problems and ended up carrying my 270wsm. he missed a 90-93" buck at 385 yards.

I have killed them at 341, 251, 150, 281. i have seen them killed at 75, 150. they can be killed at many different distances.

I have heard them called 'cows' aswell. however the most common pronounciation is 'coos'.
I believe my good friend Duwane Adams mentions this in his book "How to hunt coues deer" A lot of info in that book.

On the rifles. Mudhen brings up a good point. I have a friend that shoots a 300 roy and consistently takes big bucks at long ranges. However I know a guy that kills big bucks at close range with his 270.
The good thing about a reach out and touch something gun is you can make farther shots if needed and cleanly take game incase you get a gust of wind. The extra power can sometimes compensate for the not so perfect shot. That same friend that shoots the 300 roy had his back go out one season. We glassed from certain points where you didn't have to walk more than a few yards off the road. We found a buck and he shot it at 605 yards. He had his gun set up for long range, but also so if he needed to take a shorter shot he could do so.
So yes a guy can get close and take coues at close range, but you may also only get that long range shot. I've been fortunate to do both 90 yards with a rifle 5 yards with a bow after a long stalk. But also 500+ with a rifle. As a hunter I say be prepared for both.

A variety of magnums are popular for Coues. The mature bucks have a comfort zone of 1/4 mile. Get closer and they tend to leave. There are many canyons were you are on one side and the deer on the other. Stalking is impossible with those conditions.

I used to walk them up when I was younger. I used a 284 win, my only rifle. We loved 36B where there were many small hills. Everytime we crested a hill we had hopes of jumping a nice one.

As time went on I realized that optics are the way to go. High magnification and a tripod will help you see many more deer. I remember the first year I went to a 15 power bino..seemed like there were lots of spikes that year, until I realized that I just never saw the small antlers with 10x binos!

As for rifles... In the past I have used the 284, 7 mag, 6 mm, 243, 7-08, 300 win mag, and 270 Roy. Many of my friends like the 7 mag, 270 win, or one of the WSMs. I have evolved, always looking for more. I used a 7 RUM last year. I just built a 257 Roy with a 28" tube and the bullet is a high BC (.530) 115 Berger VLD. I will most likely get the honors this year.

As for distances I shot one that was bedded down right after a 1 foot snowstorm at 25 yds, many from 75 to 450 and a few at distances greater than that. I am comfortable to 550 or so. Lots of varmint hunting with my magnums keeps the skills up.

azshooter, you are correct! varmint hunting with the deer rifles are perfect! theres nothing you can do to prepare like shooting small varmints with ur hunting rifle!