Did I even spell that right? I know NOTHING about cous deer hunting except it takes place in wide open country.
Again, I'd take my 30-06 and my 7mm-08 would make the trip too.
If I were just imagining what I'd like to use, it'd be a 7mm magnum. Or a .270 just for O'conner's sake. Or maybe even a 25-06! But I'd have to buy any of those bad boys while my 30-06 is sitting in the safe rarin' to go!
Funny... when I don't know what to expect (from never hunting them) in a hunt, like whitetail or cous deer, I imagine I'd take the '06! It really is a good all-rounder.
-jeff
How do you sneak up on deer in a place where it never rains? I bet hunting those desert deer ain't no fun at all. All hot and dry. Dodging packs of illeagles. I'll stay up here in the rain. It helps to keep the crowds down.
I'd probaly go 25-06 topped with the best glass I could afford.
I have zero experiance with coues as well.
Wallaby, they aint that bad! the illegals arent THAT bad either, depending on where you hunt. i have never had a bad run in with them. knock on wood of course. it is hot and dry but that is part of the experience.
what ya want is a rifle that you can reach out there and touch someting with. i have taken shots at 341, 425, 150, 250, and 280 yards so it ispossible to get within shooting range.
the ideal gun i think is something you can shoot within the 400-500 yard range. i carry a 270wsm, i think that is a superb round, something like 257 wby would also shine and is very popular!
Jeff, Coues deer are a blast to hunt.
Where I hunt them in AZ they are up in the mountains and the Mule deer pretty much stay down in the desert (though not always the case).
In the mountains the air is much cooler and very tolerable and sometimes downright cold = snow...like this year when we were archery hunting them.
I have never rifle hunted them but if I did (when I get my monster mulie from the strip) I will probably choose a .264 WM topped with a 3.5x10 Leupold.
OH and by the way.....Coues...with an E in it.
Ah, I knew I had spelled it wrong but I typed in "Arizona deer cous" into google and hit a government report with it spelled that way...
I grew up in New Mexico, so I know what you mean about the cool air in the mountains!
Sounds like a fun hunt. I'd like to hunt the Chiracawa's (sp) sometime.
-jeff
Most calibers are sufficient for Coues. My best friends uncle uses a 22-250 and his wife shoots a 30-06. They consistently take nice deer.
It is hard to place the best deer gun for coues. However a flat shooting caliber topped with a good scope that you can use past sundown or before sunup is a good choice. A light rifle in some areas is not a bad bet either.
Most people I know shoot either a 270 or a magnum caliber. In a coues only rifle I would say the 7mm's or the 270's are the best coues only rifles. Although the 257 roy and the 25-06 are never a bad choice either.
For me and my clients coues have fallen to: 30-06, 308, 270, 243, 300 win, 300 roy, 7mm mag and 25-06. Most bring a 270.
I shoot a 7 mag topped with a 4-16x42AO eagle eye optic.
Coues deer are a blast to hunt. I love units 24A, 32 and 33 because of the mountains but also the deer we are taking out of there. But I am also fond of the southern desert units. The 36's have been good to me and they produce some great bucks. however they are more desert and not as cool, but you see a lot of deer and game.
The illegals are a pain at times, but they have never bothered me or had any bad run ins. I treat them like I would anyone else and am never rude so that helps. the drug runners seem to stay away, but i bet they would be a little more hostile if I was in their path or walked up on them. Never had that happen so thank God. As long as people are not educated about the reality of the south desert, the better for me. Most people are applying for the northern units because they are either affraid of the illegals or think the hunt has gone down. So for me that means a better chance for me to draw my 36C december tag or any of the earlier hunts. A good friend of mine Duwane Adams taught me and showed me how to not let people discourage me when I am out hunting. We were on a hill and seen a hunter I said lets go he said why? Well there's a hunter there. He told me to glass about 50 yards below the hunter. There was a decent 3x3 buck bedded down not being seen. Plus having all the human activity, the deer are used to people more or less so that helps if I am archery hunting. To each his own I guess.
I still think the best units in AZ to hunt coues are 33, 36B, 36C and farther north 22 and 23. 27 is not a bad bet either. Just my two cents.
Draw one of those tags, carry a magnum caliber rifle with good glass or a 270 with good glass, 15x optics, a tripod, rangefinder and know a good taxidermist and you should be set for a great hunt.
Kique
270, 270 wsm, 7mm anything starting with 300... 15x binos., good tripod range finder and good leathe ron the boots and your in for a good coues hunt!
pretty much sums itr up doesnt it Enrique?
I have taken more with a .270 than anything else. Am currently using a .257 AI on a Mexican Mauser action with Krieger barrel and a Rimrock stock. As I age, lighter seems to be better. If I were buying new strictly for Coues deer, though, I would be looking hard at Kimber Montanas in .270 WSM--I think that rig with a compact 3-9X Leupold would be hard to beat.
Jeff- 4 me and my likings slam dunk this is the best critter out there to hunt along with yotes and bruins.
For deer, for me these little whitetails are the best!
I've hunted 4 em down in Sonora and I've guided 4 them down in Sonora. I am telling you it just doesn't get anybetter than hunting Sonora for Coos deer.
I've used my 6/06 with a 6-20 Leo with Premier dotz to 700 and a 7 Mashburn Super with a 4-14 Leo with Premier dotz to 700.
They're not very big and for the most part anything from a 22/250 on up will work just fine. I was gonna take my 340 cause I like the gun but the Federales wouldn't allow me to bring it.
You need excellent glass (I use 7x42 Swaro's and 15x56 Swaro's), also good leather boots and gloves. Being in good condition is a very good idea as the areas we hunted (Sierra Madres) were fairly challenging.
One other thing I learned to love was a butt pad made out of Latigo. I went to a friends saddle shop and had him cut me a piece of Latigo about the size of a large pizza. I wrap it around my tripod legs while it is in the day pack. And it is great for keeping me off the rocks, cacti, went ground and or whatever. I now carry it everywhere I go and give it a ton of use while glassing for bruins.
Everone truly owes it to themselves to go down under and hunt Coues some time.
Warning here, it is very addicting!
Dober
A good friend of mine Duwane Adams taught me and showed me how to not let people discourage me when I am out hunting. We were on a hill and seen a hunter I said lets go he said why? Well there's a hunter there. He told me to glass about 50 yards below the hunter. There was a decent 3x3 buck bedded down not being seen.
I am very sensitive/uptight when it comes to hunting pressure but am learning to deal with it. I hunt Mulies in very arid badlands country and glass from high table tops and buttes. The county does not have much for elevation but it is broken and very rough. From my glassing spots I can see all the deer and the other hunters over very large areas. Most people just walk around in the open areas hoping to blindly stumble into something. It used to really bother to see other people out there but I have come to realize that for the most part they are not affecting my hunt.
I have never hunted coues deer but would love to. Would bring the same rig that I use for mulies, 270 win with 3-9X40.
The two best Coues deer cartridges are .257 Roberts and 7x57 Mauser. (I know this because I am 100% on Coues deer with those rounds. Have never hunted them with anything else....)
Have put a tape measure on the bodies of buck deer all over North America, and even some other continents. Mature Coues deer go about 13 inches from back to brisket. This is just about what bucks from Very South Texas measure, and is noticeably smaller than a big pronghorn or Montana whitetail doe. Even at 500 yards I suspect the Coues hunters who use .300 magnums do so because they like getting kicked.
Am probably headed to Sonora again in December. Will take a .240 or .257 Roy, just to mix things up a bit.
JB
I think a 240 WBY Magnum should almost be dang near perfect.
257 wby i think is about perfect.
as said, i shoot a 270wsm and i think they are about perfect for that rifle. i am confiednt out to 550. and know it packes more than enough to roll a coues at that distance.
Of course Casey it takes about as much snuff to roll a Coues as it does your basic Cocker Spaniel...grins
Dober
hell no man! my first buck took 6 shots! 3 of them were good! 1 through the shoulders ( last one that put him down) and 2 low in the lungs!(30-06 125 BT's)
my 3rd buck took 4 shots into the low lungs before he would lat down and die!(270wsm 140 Accubonds)
Casey,
You're making it sound like you're the shooter in Deadeye's video clip on how to repeatedly miss a coues buck.
RR
i dont miss MOST of the time, i usually hit them... on the second shot!
in the body.....
im gettin better though, i killed my last buck with one shot! i get buck fever like no one else!
First, at the risk of starting WWIII, but for the sake of historical accuracy, the little Arizona whitetail is not a "Coos" deer, but a "Cows" deer. The species was named for Lt. Elliot Coues, who "discovered" the species, and he pronounced his last name Cows, not Coos. Having said that, either pronunciation is acceptable these days. Still, to be accurate, it is Cows.
Secondly, the "best" cartridge for hunting these wonderful little bucks depends on what size buck you are after. If one is after a truly trophy buck, 100 points or better, he had best be prepared to shoot at uncomfortably long ranges. The two best and most successful Coues deer hunters that I know both use 300 Weatherby rifles, and 6.5-20 scopes. It is rare that they fire a shot at less than 400 yards, and usually it is considerably more than that. The don't even waste time with 100 point bucks though.
Tom
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!