January 2018

andrew12gauge

Active Member
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I'm in the beginning stages of planning a diy, otc archery coues hunt in January of 2018. Looking over harvest and survey numbers it looks like unit 33 may be the hotbed for deer numbers. Are there any other units I am seriously overlooking? I'm not looking for gps coords or anything I just wanna know if I am going to spend the time and money on a hunt that I'll be putting myself in the best position to at least see game. Also is it legal to pack a sidearm while archery hunting in Arizona? Mostly worried about the 2 legged predator problems down there. What kind of weather could one expect in January in coues country? I understand it's a desert but will water sources be a little easier to find that time of year? Thanks in advance for any helpful advice.
 
There are several good units, two of my favorite are 23 and 27. I believe it is legal to carry sidearm while archery hunting but double check rules. Weather can be anything from hot to 10 inches of snow.....all depends on what elevation you're hunting. I don't focus on water during this time of year other than checking for track....much better to glass and stock.
 
Sweet thanks for the info. I've started looking at New Mexico a little now too as it seems archery tags can be easily drawn there for a lot less money but I still think Arizona may be the better bet
 
Yes, NM NR hunting license is $100 cheaper than AZ also NM does have some good whitetail hunting however it won't compare to AZ in quantity or quality on a consistent basis.....What state do you call home ?
 
I'm up here in Idaho, we've got plenty of muleys and whitetails but I am getting the bug to chase a coues for some reason.
 
I had seen somewhere that NM unit 23(borders Arizona) has a lot of coues deer, and it looks like the archery tags would be pretty much a guaranteed draw and I could put in for the burro mountains as a first choice as it is labeled a quality/high demand hunt. How would NM unit 23 compare to units 23, 27, 33 in Arizona?
 
Yes, NM 23 borders AZ 27......The Burro hunt is a tough draw for NZ....it would help your chances if you put in with a outfitter.
There are great bucks in both units. Best way to hunt is to get away from roads and sit on high points and glass. If I could have any whitetail tag it would be a AZ unit 23 rut hunt.

Greg
 
>I'm in the beginning stages of
>planning a diy, otc archery
>coues hunt in January of
>2018. Looking over harvest and
>survey numbers it looks like
>unit 33 may be the
>hotbed for deer numbers. Are
>there any other units I
>am seriously overlooking? I'm not
>looking for gps coords or
>anything I just wanna know
>if I am going to
>spend the time and money
>on a hunt that I'll
>be putting myself in the
>best position to at least
>see game. Also is it
>legal to pack a sidearm
>while archery hunting in Arizona?
>Mostly worried about the 2
>legged predator problems down there.
>What kind of weather could
>one expect in January in
>coues country? I understand it's
>a desert but will water
>sources be a little easier
>to find that time of
>year? Thanks in advance for
>any helpful advice.

you know, there's lots of places to hunt coues deer in AZ. I like unit 23, but personally, i hunt unit 22, because i live here, and unit 23 is at least a 15 minute drive.

it's hard to beat the beauty of the sonoran desert in the southern units, though.

here's the thing, whitetail are whitetail. I don't care if their coues or if you're hunting in ohio, their all the same.
 
Bojangles I'm in Idaho so don't know a lot about whitetails other than they are ag land and river bottom dwellers around here, can you expand on that comment. I know coues are wary, and from what I read they like to live in pockets of dense brush amongst the wide open deserts but it seems a little more plausible to employ more of a mule deer spot and stalk approach as opposed to the sit and wait treestand approach.
 
check out coueswhitetail.com

lots of good units in AZ for archery coues in Jan. LOTS!!!

Coues densities in NM are a lot lower than AZ. I know quality hunters that go to NM rifle hunting for coues and end up with tag soup. archery would make it that much harder.

good luck
 
whitetail are whitetail, and that's all there is too it. the only difference between coues and eastern is the terrain in which they inhabit.

if you want to kill a coues, locate some heavily used doe trails and corridors that they travel in, then hang some stands in those areas, carefully considering the wind, and exposure, etc. wait till the rut kicks in and start hunting.

i've found that coues live in textured terrain with easy access to canyons and steeps. occasionally i've found them in the flat bottom land, and occasionally i've found them way up on the side of mountain, but for the most part i've seen them in draws with good browse that are near an escape route.

the habitual nature of the coues makes them easy to kill. it's the open terrain that works to their advantage, that's why i choose to hunt them higher up in the trees, where i can hang tree stands and get out the line of sight, just like i would back east.
 

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