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broadhead

My First Coues Season

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Well this is going to be an interesting experience. When the early archery season opens up this weekend it will be my first year bowhunting in 18 years. I grew up in Wisconsin almost exclusively rifle hunting the 9 day gun season in November (great tradition) but only bow hunted my senior year of high school. Missed the only shot I got. Then I got a little older, joined the army and got away from hunting except for a few random years here and there when I was home. When my old man passed away early this year I was home for the funeral and the weather reminded me so much of a late fall day and deer season that all the memories and drive to hunt came rushing back. I remembered how much I love deer hunting and wanted to get back into it as much as possible. I brought all the guns back with me to Arizona, including the Model 70 rifles my dad and I got when I started hunting, complete with the original cheap Tasco 3-9 scopes and everything. I also decided to give bowhunting my all and now before I even know what's going on the season is opening on Friday, and on my 36th birthday to make it even better haha! Great birthday present if you ask me!

 

I will admit though that this western hunting is a whole new world to me. Hunting velvet bucks, glassing, and spot and stalk was a completely foreign concept to me a year ago but since then it's been the topic of everything I've read and talked about. I have the equipment to get the job done but I know this season and the rut later on is going to be an educational experience for me. It's become an obsession. I've been out scouting in the canyon I chose in unit 33 as much as I could be prior to the season but I've been unable to turn up a buck, although there has been an abundance of does. My plan is to get out before light, get up and glass to try to spot a killable buck and if that doesn't turn anything up I might sit near some slow moving water from the monsoon to get out of the sun during this heat and try to ambush a buck coming in. So if any of you experienced coues hunters have anything to share to help me out I'd greatly appreciate it. But to be honest I know I'm just going to enjoy getting out with my pack and bow hunting again. I'm going to do everything I can to get a good shot (40 yards is my ethical maximum range at this point) and fill a tag but that's not all it's about. Oh and the terrain I'm hunting is a long canyon between 4500 and 5200 feet with a few seasonal creeks still lingering from the monsoons. 10x42 vortex diamondback binos and a razor 11-33 spotting scope with a tripod for glass. Don't know how much pressure there will be but I'm setting up about 2.5 miles off the road, on and off a trail network. But like I said if you have any words of wisdom to speed the learning curve I'm all ears. I've already read about as much as I can on here and just about everywhere else. Good luck to all you guys and gals getting out this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing some pics and reading some stories!

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Sounds like you've got a solid game plan! Best advice I have is get out there, enjoy yourself, and see what works for you and what doesn't. Spot and stalk by yourself can be incredibly tough, I'd recommend putting a buck to bed before you attempt a stalk if you're by yourself.

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Have fun man! There's few things more exhilarating then being within a few feet from deer that don't know you are there.

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Guest oneshot

Best of Luck to you Broadhead, ya know you can take those 'back-east" hunting skills and use them in AZ???

Finding deer trails/choke points and setting-up there, placing your blind/tree-stand where you can more control your shot...

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Yeah definitely looking forward to getting out there and finding some deer, shot or no shot.

Oneshot, I'm thinking I might end up setting up like that if the deer are still scattered like they've been since the monsoons started. We just got some pretty good rain in the area last night and tonight so I'm anticipating those streams running strong again. I'm going to find some trails, use the wind, and possibly set up where I can catch one coming in to get a drink late morning through early afternoon. Then head back up and glass them coming out of their beds and see if I can spot them for the next day. The early archery hunt will likely be as much of an extra scouting opportunity as anything else, which is fine by me too.

Good luck and thanks for the replies!

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AZDirtyTaco,

Sorry, haven't been on here for awhile. To answer your question I went out with a plan that quickly changed as soon as I got out there. Got in early and set up and started glassing and before long spotted a nice buck but he dipped out and disappeared like they're good at doing before I could figure out a plan to get close enough to him for a shot. I spent a little more time during the early season trying to get a line on a decent buck again but things didn't work out as well as I had hoped and barely got any more hunting in.

I did get to go back to Wisconsin and spend a few days tree stand hunting the rut in some spectacular deer land and passed up a few smaller bucks and does waiting for one of the big boys to come by. A couple bucks that we know are in the area came close but wouldn't come within 50 yards, which with the brush and woods never presented a shot. It was a good time though. The last morning I was able to hunt I had a group of does move in and feed 20 yards underneath my stand and since there was no buck following them in I got some of it on camera and almost got busted by one of them as I was tilting my phone to get a better shot haha.

But now I'm able to get out for the late December and January hunts. I got out for a day hunt yesterday and found a nice choke point along a draw with trails running all over the place. Within an hour a doe followed the script exactly and snuck by at 50 yards. I waited for the buck to follow until the wind shifted and I had to move to the other side of the draw and waited there. And waited. And waited some more. And then waited until dark with nothing more than a few does coming by. But I also found a water source and another spot I can set up on when I get back out. Otherwise I'll get up in the ridges and try to spot them moving as the rut gets going. It's been warmer than normal this week so that might be keeping the deer from moving much but I'm going to get a trail cam up to see what comes by. Hopefully this will all end with some venison in the freezer! Sorry I don't have a success story yet!

 

B

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AZDirtyTaco,

Sorry, haven't been on here for awhile. To answer your question I went out with a plan that quickly changed as soon as I got out there. Got in early and set up and started glassing and before long spotted a nice buck but he dipped out and disappeared like they're good at doing before I could figure out a plan to get close enough to him for a shot. I spent a little more time during the early season trying to get a line on a decent buck again but things didn't work out as well as I had hoped and barely got any more hunting in.

I did get to go back to Wisconsin and spend a few days tree stand hunting the rut in some spectacular deer land and passed up a few smaller bucks and does waiting for one of the big boys to come by. A couple bucks that we know are in the area came close but wouldn't come within 50 yards, which with the brush and woods never presented a shot. It was a good time though. The last morning I was able to hunt I had a group of does move in and feed 20 yards underneath my stand and since there was no buck following them in I got some of it on camera and almost got busted by one of them as I was tilting my phone to get a better shot haha.

But now I'm able to get out for the late December and January hunts. I got out for a day hunt yesterday and found a nice choke point along a draw with trails running all over the place. Within an hour a doe followed the script exactly and snuck by at 50 yards. I waited for the buck to follow until the wind shifted and I had to move to the other side of the draw and waited there. And waited. And waited some more. And then waited until dark with nothing more than a few does coming by. But I also found a water source and another spot I can set up on when I get back out. Otherwise I'll get up in the ridges and try to spot them moving as the rut gets going. It's been warmer than normal this week so that might be keeping the deer from moving much but I'm going to get a trail cam up to see what comes by. Hopefully this will all end with some venison in the freezer! Sorry I don't have a success story yet!

 

B

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