HELP!!!

huntsonora · Dec 17, 2002

I had a good friend of mine offer to let me kill a coues deer on his ranch this January. This particular ranch has HUGE deer on it, the problem is, it has huge mule deer and huge coues deer. Help me understand how I am supposed to concentrate on hunting coues deer when I'll be right smack dab in the middle of some of the best mule deer country in the world! I just dont know how I'll do it, even though they killed a 130 gross coues on this place last year, I just wont be able to get these muleys out of my mind. Any suggestions? Drummond

fisrtcoueswas80inches · Dec 17, 2002

just think about it this way, if you kill a 130 coues deer, thats almost as big as a good mule deer still ##### but almost. a 130 inch coues is only 15 inches or so away from the world record typical! shoot if you cant concentrate in killin a huge coues then i sure can tell him ill be there
casey

Dodger · Dec 17, 2002

You could take me with you and I'll go and chase all those mulies away then you won't have to worry about them

. I'm still trying to shoot one with my bow and I know that I end up doing a lot hunting and chasing and very little killing. Plus, I've been in a long dry spell of not seeing huge deer ever since I moved to Tucson from Flagstaff. I would just like to see a huge deer in real life not just pictures of someone else's deer.

I would love to be in your shoes right now!
Good luck and Happy Holidays
Matt

Wyorawhide · Dec 17, 2002

I take it that you have never hunted Coues. Jack O'Conner wrote that next to sheep, it was his favorite big game animal. If you give it an honest to goodnes try, It will hook you harder than Muleys. A 130 coues is akin to a 230 mule ear. Take the unique opportunity that you have, and make the most of it.

Wyorawhide · Dec 17, 2002

Hey Dodger,
Try huntig in Tucson Mountian Park this month. There are some BIG Mulies there. I know a couple of other places that have some good mulies.

crazyaboutcoues · Dec 18, 2002

If you are having trouble deciding which species to take, you do need help

. But then again having a 200" muley in bow range would definetly get my blood pumping. If I was in your shoes I would take the first opportunity on a life time buck, be it muley or coues.

Later

Quail_Runner · Dec 18, 2002

Huntsonora,

You seem to be in quite a predicament. Let's break this down. You are having trouble focusing on a huge Coues deer since Mulies are running circles around you... Humm, this is a tough spot...

Tell you what, give me a call and let me come assess the situation for myself. That way, I can give you some honest and practical advice. I will need a few days "to walk in your boots" before I can be sure of what the right thing would be to do. Send me a PM, and I will reserve a few days the first week of January to come help you - Would that be too late?

I'll be thinking about you - have a Merry Christmas.

Bura Nut · Dec 18, 2002

Drum: You may disagree, but coues are twice or more as difficult to hunt than muleys. Secondly, its a bit harder making a shot on something 1/2 the size out at 300 yards or more. My strong suggestion is to take two days out of your routine and treat yourself to the coues hunt. Set a goal of over 110 and see if you can kill a book coues. I got a feeling if you start on these critters, you will then want to guide for both down in Sonora. If you want a spotter and a half assed scorer, let me know, I will bring the glass...... Allen Taylor......

RLH · Dec 18, 2002

coues twice as hard? dang i don't know if i agree with that one. to me it seems that once a deer gets big, they get hard to get. don't matter what color their tail is. i've shot a lot more muleys than coues, like over 60 muleys to 5 coues, but 4 of the 5 coues are real good ones, over 105. only got 2 what you would call big muleys, 185+. while the coues are one tough little sucker to get, i think a big flap ear is it's equal. sounds like sonora has a real dilemma. poor guy. if i saw a 30" muley i wouldn't hesitate shooting it. and if i saw nice 3x3 coues, i wouldn't hesitate there either. i assume this is a bow hunt in Az.? if it's ol' mexico, then that's a different deal all around.

CouesFanatic · Dec 18, 2002

I would wait for a Coues unless a Toad of a muley is a easy target.

huntsonora · Dec 19, 2002

If you guys are serious about coming down, let me know. The ranch will be down south of Nogales about 100 miles and the reason I will have such a hard time hunting coues deer is because there are some HUGE mule deer on this place. I have such a passion for big mule deer that I have a hard time thinking about anything else. I do enjoy hunting coues deer and I look forward to the opportunity to do so. I will have a very real opportunity to harvest a record book animal. When I get back I will post some pictures of some of the deer they have taken off of this place. HUGE!!! They killed a 140 gross NT and a 130 gross NT in the past 3 years and they dont hunt them that much. Like I said earlier, if you guys were serious, we could hit it hard for a couple of days. I will only have 3 days on this ranch before I go to other camps I will have down there. Drummond

crazyaboutcoues · Dec 19, 2002

If you need the help, give the details about accomodations, dates, ect. How is it about taking high dollar glass and not have them taken away. Heard about some pretty bad horror storys.