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I
went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately…and see if I could
not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that
I had not lived. Henry David Thoreau
Does the picture above make your heart beat
faster? Does the first hint of the cool fall air find you
longing to be in the mountains of the southeastern Arizona, New
Mexico, or Mexico? If so, then
perhaps, like me, you have developed a passion for searching for the
elusive Coues White-tailed Deer. The Coues Whitetail (properly
pronounced "cows", but almost everyone pronounces it "coos") is a
small subspecies of white-tailed deer found in Arizona, New Mexico
and Mexico. This deer has developed such a reputation for
being able to vanish from view in the smallest amount of cover that
it is frequently referred to as the "Grey Ghost". Many people
consider Coues deer to be the most challenging big game animal to
hunt. Some even refer to hunting Coues deer as the "poor man's
sheep hunt" because of the harsh terrain involved. Famous
big-game hunter Jack O'Connor proclaimed the Coues deer to be "the
most difficult of all deer to kill" due to its extreme wariness and
the inhospitable habitat this deer can live in.
This site, launched on December 23, 2002, is
dedicated to bringing you everything you could possibly want to know
about Coues White-tailed Deer. I will cover topics such as the
biology and taxonomy of this deer as well as how to effectively hunt
for this species. I intend to make this web page useful to the
novice as well as a veteran Coues deer hunter. If there is
something you think should be included in this website that you
don't see, let me know by sending an email to amanda@coueswhitetail.com.
This is a work in progress and I will frequently be adding
information to this web page, so please visit often.
Information on this website has been gleaned from numerous books,
journal articles and technical reports. Please visit the references page to see a list of
that literature.
Do you have a hunt story
you would like to publish here?
Do you have venison
recipe to share?
Would you like to post a picture of your
favorite Coues buck?
Navigation Hints: All of the information on this
website can be accessed using the navigation buttons on the left margin of
this page. Some of the information is highlighted below. If
you know specifically what you are looking for, you can use the navigation
buttons to the left or the search box just below this text. Pages
that contain the word searched for will be listed below the search
box. Otherwise you can peruse the information below to see what
might interest you and what has been recently updated. Text that is
light purple and underlined is hotlinked and can be clicked on to go directly to that
section.
Please
don't forget to join the extremely active Discussion Forum. Wondering
what gear to get? Looking for info on a certain hunt unit? Worried
about the effect of the drought on antler growth? Use this forum to ask
questions, leave advice, and meet some new
hunters.
March 23 - Coues
Buck Contest Results have been posted. See if you are a
winner and if you are, make sure you email Doug or I to arrange to
get your prize delivered to you.
Feb 28 - Guard Dog
Binocular Cover for Swarovski 15x56s added to the store...this
product adds a little extra protection for your valuable
binos. Check them out here.
Feb 27 - Thanks to
everyone who stopped by to say hello at our booth at the
International Sportsmen's Expo. And special thanks to Ryan
Eustice who asked me to score his 140 inch whitetail that he shot
this year in AZ. And thanks to Ted Aday who brought by a great
shed from the San Carlos with a droptine to be measured. I
would post pics, but I lost my camera at the show!
Feb 11 - Results posted for the Guess the Mule Deer
Score. If you are one of the winners, you need to email me
with your prize selection. Click on link above to see list of
winners and scoresheet for the buck.
And don't forget to visit the discussion forum to see the latest photos
and hunt stories!
Jan 15 - Please welcome Colburn and Scott Outfitters as a sponsor
of CouesWhitetail.com! Darr Colburn and Jay Scott have helped
their clients take some amazing animals! You can learn about
their business by clicking on the logo below to go to their
website.
Jan 10 - looking for
pics of bucks taken this year? Check out the forum where
content is updated daily! There have been some great archery
and rifle bucks taken this year and you can read all about the hunts
in the forum.
Dec 23 - Welcome to Ross Outdoors as a sponsor of
CouesWhitetail.com. Ross Outdoors is a retail store located in
West Phoenix and sells primarily archery gear, optics, optics
rentals, and some hunting gear (calls, knives). Ross Outdoors
provides full service for archery gear and they can help you get the
gear you need. Not many stores will rent high quality optics
to hunters, so if you are considering trying out some optics, give
Ross Outdoors a try. Ross Outdoors is offering a special for
CouesWhitetail.com members.....10% off when you spend $100 or more
at their store in West Phoenix.
Dec 21 - Welcome to Elk Hunter Magazine as a sponsor of
CouesWhitetail.com. If you love hunting elk, you will want to
subscribe to this magazine! One of our forum members (Grong)
is even on the front cover of the premier issue of this new
magazine. All CouesWhitetail.com members who subscribe before
Jan 1 will receive the premier issue free! To get to this
offer, go to the website to subscribe and add CouesWhitetail.com in
the Company Name box when you fill out your name and address during
checkout.
Oct 21 - Good luck to all
you October Coues Hunters!
FYI - our host server for the forum is getting
an upgrade and there may be some hiccups in service while this is
happening....bear with me!!
Oct 20 - Please go vote in
the Trail Camera Photo Contest so we can pick the top winners in
each of the four categories.
Sept 6 - Please welcome Southwest
Wildlife Taxidermy as a sponsor! Jim Hartsock is the owner
and he has been in the taxidermy business for 36 years! They
do some great work and mount over 100 Coues bucks a year, so they
have the experience to make a great mount for you. Several of
our forum members have been very happy with mounts done by
Jim. Check out their website and see if Southwest Wildlife
Taxidermy is right for you.
Aug 31 - Please Welcome Hunter's
Headquarters as a sponsor! This is a brand new retail
store that offers a great variety of items both online and in their
2000 sq ft store in Flagstaff. In addition to having lots of
outdoor and hunting gear, they have an indoor archery shooting
range. If you are in Flagstaff, I suggest you stop by and see
what they have. Or just check them out online by clicking the
button ad below.
Aug 12 - Forum was back up
this morning!! Yeah! We have tons of space now and
shouldn't encounter that same problem again. Sorry for the
inconvenience.
Aug 11 - The forum is
being moved to another server with more space. We just flat
out way exceeded our space limits with the old hosting
company. So we are getting a dedicated server with another
company. The transfer will take a day or two. I hope to
have the forum up Friday afternoon. In the mean time, browse
through the photogallery and check out the hundreds of photos of
bucks there. Or visit us on facebook and see the giant coues
shed I just posted there....
Aug. 10 - The forum is
down at the moment. Tech support is working on it. We
hope to have it back up soon. Sorry for the
inconvenience.
Aug 10 - Fall 2011-2012 Coues Buck Contest is
launched! You just have to be registered in our forum before
your hunt starts to be eligible. So for you archery hunters,
that means, you need to become a forum member fast, if you are not
already. For more info, please click here.
We have some new categories, which include a
random drawing of winners from those who didn't already place in one
of the main categories. We also added smallest 3 point buck as
a category. And we also have youth categories, hunt story
categories and more. So you can win in this contest no matter
what size buck you kill! So come on sign-up, it's
free!
Aug. 9 - Please welcome Miller's Southwestern Processing as a
sponsor! Miller's provides outstanding meat processing for all
your game and domestic animals. They make some great sausage
and for the month of august are offering $10.00 off of processing orders $75.00 or more
& $15.00 off processing orders $125.00 or more to all
CouesWhitetail.com members. They have drop-off points in some
of the elk units, check out their website for more
info.
July 16 - Welcome to Gila
Outdoor as our newest sponsor. Gila Outdoor in Thatcher,
AZ is a 20,000 square foot retail store specializing in archery
equipment and other outdoor related gear (optics, backpacks, camo,
etc). They also have an indoor archery shooting range and the
all new Techno hunt where you can shoot at real footage of animals
such as deer, elk and even Africa animals and the system tracks your
arrow shot, fps and score so you can shoot against your friends.
July 5 - Flatline Hunt
Unit Maps are 1/2 price for limited time only! Jimmy and Rynda
Hoffman, owners of Flatline Maps have donated these high quality
hunt unit maps to help raise money for members Josh and Jennifer
Epperson. Josh and Jen suffered some major medical bills and
we are helping to ease that cost by raising money. Check out
these great hunt unit maps and help out some fellow members.... http://www.coueswhitetail.com/bookstore/maps.htm
May 10 - Welcome to Bull
Basin Archery as a sponsor of CouesWhitetail.com. Bull
Basin has a store in Flagstaff and a brand new store in Tucson that
opened in April. If you have any questions about archery, Bull
Basin has a great staff that is very helpful and they know
archery! Visit Bull Basin's website for more
information!
May 7 - Welcome to Camo
Collections as a sponsor! Camo collections sells a variety
of camouflage luggage, backpacks and duffelbags. I have
checked out their products and they are made to last and with very
attractive camo patterns. Visit their site and see if you can
find something you need! Also, they sell luggage with pink
trim on it, so perhaps a great gift for your wife or mom on Mother's
day!
April 30 - Added Wilderness Athlete Products
to the store! - these are great products to keep you fueled-up
during your hunting trips. I have used them on backpack hunts
and really felt the difference. Wilderness Athlete
Products Page
March 17 - Please welcome Sonoran Ghost Outfitters as a new
sponsor! Chris Jacob is the owner and is a very passionate
Coues deer hunter! He offers some outstanding hunts in Mexico
for the gray ghost. He will make your hunt in Mexico a breeze
by handling all the paperwork and guiding you on great
ranches. Check out his website to see some of the many
trophies he and his clients have harvested.
March 7 -
Thank you to everyone that sports a CouesWhitetail.com sticker on
their vehicles! As a tribute, I made this 3.5 minute video which
shows about 170 stickers. Enjoy the video!
Featured Coues
Deer Hunting Guides/Outfitters and Equipment dealers
The following
guides/outfitters and optics dealers help sponsor this web
site. Please consider supporting them by using their services
for your next hunt.
Would you like to have your service featured
here? learn how by clicking
here
Wildlife artist, Mike
Fabritz, has joined as a sponsor of CouesWhitetail.com. He has
some excellent images of Arizona wildlife. Check out his
collection of pastels, by clicking on the images
below.
Need a tripod or
tripod head? CouesWhitetail.com has teamed up with Jim White
to offer an excellent tripod head and a variety of tripods for Coues
deer hunters.
Want to know more about Coues deer hunting and
read some great hunt stories? Then check out the "How to Hunt
Coues Deer" book by Duwane Adams and Tony Mandile. You get a copy
from the CouesWhitetail.com
bookstore. This is an information packed book that
any Coues hunter will love.
Want to get the
latest information about Mule Deer Management? Then you are
probably interested in reading a new book put out by some of the
leading Mule Deer biologists.
A new mule
deer book called "Mule Deer Conservation: Issues and
Management Strategies" has just been published by the Mule Deer
Working Group (sponsored by the Western Assoc. of Fish and Wildlife
Agencies). This 240-page book is the latest information on
mule deer biology and management and is written by the western
states' and provinces' leading mule deer biologists. It is
written primarily for the working biologist so you have the
latest information at hand on issues like diseases, predation,
habitat changes, nutrition, elk/deer competition, weather,
etc. However, it will also appeal to many hunters.
Joe and
Marisa Cerreta are wildlife photographers with
a real appreciation for Coues Deer. Please visit their
collection to see 33 of their beautiful
photographs.
Check out these monster sheds from the White
Mountain Apache Reservation. They score 122 6/8
without a spread! You can see more photos of
these sheds and many others in the Ellsworth/Epperson Coues
Deer collection.
You can see more photos of the monster shed
below and others in Coues
Sheds-5. This palmated shed totals 82 4/8
inches and has a 7 inch 3rd circumference!
This huge buck was found dead
and net scores 125 inches. You can look at other found racks in the
Pick-ups section of the Photo Gallery.
Check out the Bookstore! Need a gift for
a hunting buddy? How about some topographic mapping
software? Want to read about Elliot Coues, the man for whom
the Coues Deer is named? You can find a book about him at our
bookstore. How about a hunting video?
Have you ever
wondered whether Coues deer and mule deer can
interbreed?
Get the facts by
reading this outstanding article by Jim Heffelfinger, a biologist
with the Arizona Game and Fish Department. This article is an
excerpt from his upcoming book "Deer in the Southwest". Click
on the link below to read his authoritative article which is posted
in the Coues Biology section.
Want to read some Coues deer hunt
stories?click here to see them. Read Martin
Guerena's story that was featured in Trophy Hunter
Magazine. Or read about Mark Hanson's Pope and Young Coues deer buck
and Marlon Giese's adventures in unit 24b. Read about Dave's 2002
hunt in Arizona. Or read about Casey's first Coues Deer.
Dale Tasa, from Clarkdale, AZ sent this photo in. What
an incredible collection of Coues deer! Most of these bucks score
over 100 inches and were taken by rifle in Unit 6A over the course of the
last 28 years.
If
you want to see hunter photos visit the Coues deer photo
gallery. I reorganized the photo gallery by state and
weapon type. This is also where I have the shed photos and "Find the
Deer" photos as well as live Coues deer photos. I have started a New
Mexico section, but need more photos of New Mexico bucks. Send some
in!
Sally Epperson with a huge Coues deer shed she
found!!! Wow, what a find. If it wasn't chewed up it would
probably be about a 55 inch shed. And it probably had an 18 inch
spread, making it from a buck that scored about 128 inches! And it
may still be alive.....
They're here!!
The top 5
typical and non-typical Coues deer from the Boone and Crockett
Recordbook! This is a great collection of
photos. Click on the photos above to go right to the recordbook
section
CouesWhitetail.com has partnered with
MyTopo.com to bring you custom topographic
maps.
Doesn't it seem like
everywhere you want to hunt is in the corner of four topo maps? Trying to
line them up is a pain, especially when it's windy out.
MyTopo.com gives you seamless maps - centered
anywhere! These maps are great! I have created some for
myself and used them in the field. They are waterproof and almost
indestructible. You can write on them and they can be easily
folded and packed away. Or you can order them so they are
unfolded, which makes them great for your office wall or hunt
cabin. Give MyTopo.com a try. Use these topographic maps for
your next hunting or scouting trip.
Click on the image below to go directly to
MyTopo.com.
Check out the "Where to Hunt"
section. I have posted data from
the Arizona Game and Fish Department including draw odds and hunt
success for each unit, as well as Coues deer survey data for the
last 5 years. There is also historic statewide hunt data from
1952-2000. You can also see a map of the Coues deer density in
Arizona. This data is not available online anywhere
else! Use this data to help you decide where to
hunt.
Worried about Chronic Wasting disease?
click here to learn more
Need information about Rabies? This year, with its
record warm temperatures, AZ has had a record number of rabies
cases. Click here to learn how to limit you and
your pets risk
For
information on West Nile Virus, click here. This virus is spread
by mosquitoes. Learn how to limit your risk.
Did you know?
Coues Deer breed about
6-8 weeks later than other subspecies of whitetail.
Coues deer does that are
greater than 3 years old produce the most fawns.
Antler is made of the fastest growing bone in
the animal kingdom. Find out more about the antler cycle in
Coues.
A large Coues deer buck
is only about 30 inches high a the shoulder and generally weighs
less than 100 pounds. Go to the Coues Biology
section to find out more.
What kind of sign do Coues deer leave? click here to
find out.
Want to know how to tell a Coues deer from a
Mule Deer? click
here
Looking for some fun? Test your skills at
finding Coues deer in the Find the Deer
section or in finding sheds in the Find the
Coues Deer Shed section.
This site was launched on Dec. 23, 2002.
This page was last updated on Tuesday
February 28,
2012
Please email me
at 
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