Nov/Dec Rifle or OTC archery for first AZ coues deer trip?

[RidgeRebel]

My brother and I are planning on a coues deer hunt this year in AZ. We are considering putting in for a Nov/Dec 100% draw odds tag for the slightly higher success rate, but I am now second guessing if we should go archery and hunt the rut. We have archery hunted some, but really we are looking for the best chance to be successful. Would you guys recommend the earlier rifle or Jan archery to have the best chance at taking a coues buck?

Thanks
Bob

 

[uphill]

I think an archery hunt in a good coues deer area would be more exciting than a rifle hunt in a poor area. That said, archery hunting for coues deer is perhaps the greatest hunting challenge in the US.

The archery success rates are a little misleading in the sense that quite a bit of archery success is attributed to two tactics that will likely not be available to you in January.

1) It can be hot as heck during the early archery season so sitting water has produced coues deer for some very patient archery hunters.
2) Some archers that live near their hunting grounds set up and maintain bait sites...water, salt, alfalfa, cameras, tree stands, the whole nine yards. That scenario can and does result in successful archery hunting for coues deer (check local laws).

For a couple of guys to travel to AZ, bows in hand and hope to find a hot deer trail or spot and stalk a coues buck...well if you are successful that would be an event worthy of long and loud celebrations.

Regardless of success, I hope your trip is a blast.

 

[StickFlicker]

Contrary to what was just posted, NO Arizona bowhunters maintain bait sites, alfalfa, etc. as previously indicated. That is illegal in Arizona.

Either weapon you choose, your first year will likely be mostly a learning experience with a better chance at success in follow-up trips. If you're a bowhunter, hunt with a bow. If you're a rifle hunter, which I think most people truly are if they hunt with both interchangeably, then hunt with a rifle. I would think that rifle hunting would always have a higher success.

 

[uphill]

stickflicker is correct.
I was commenting on past success regarding harvest stats for coues deer with archery gear. Baiting was a practice used successfully by some and the laws changed in 2013, I believe. Now, do AZ archers still set up over water and salt??? I do not...

 

[Cactusbuck]

Rifle.

 

[bojangles]

Go rifle your first time. Archery takes a lot of patience and scouting. Once you get the lay of the land, think about bringing your bow.

 

[RidgeRebel]

Looking like rifle is what we will be working on. I just bought a pair of 18x56 Vortex Kiababs to put to work. Another question if you guys don't mind, we are going to try to backpack into a wilderness area but I am concerned about reliable water to filter. What's the best way to determine if a water source on a map is reliable other than the obvious, boots on the ground. Would a biologist give that info? what do you guys look for on a map or google earth to ensure reliable water? Thanks for the help.

 

[sagebrush]

The only way to identify a reliable water source is to be looking at it. Unless things change a lot, water is going to be even more rare than usual this year. There is good news. If a tank happens to be under a monsoon cloud, it can store water for several weeks even if it was dry for the past 3 years. I am continually surprised how one tank can be bone dry and another on the same mountain can have 5 feet of water in it.

"You can fly a helicopter to the top of Everest and say you've been there. The problem with that is you were an a$$hole when you started and you're still an a$$hole when you get back.
Its the climb that makes you a different person". - Yvon Chouinard

 

[Cactusbuck]

Remember that here in AZ the big bucks could lurk much closer to roads than in northern states. Many deer hunters camp along the roads and have great luck. It eliminates the need to purify water.