bigbuckclub

Frankly, anywhere in 33 will hold coues. They are hard to find, so don't be afraid to glass and re-glass the same areas multiple times. You'll be surprised how deer seem to pop outta nowhere.

Personally, I would want my 15's. These deer are small and hard to find. They don't call them the grey ghost for nothing.

I grew up hunting the border units and some of the units further north. If I was going out on a solo backpack hunt for coues, I wouldn't hunt the border units. For me it's just a peace of mind thing especially if I was by myself. One of the areas we hunted regularly is now getting hammered by drug traffic. You would probably see some of this:

It's incredible how they just disappear and reappear. Congrats on a nice buck!

Congrats. Those are studs.

Awesome buck! Congrats.

Thanks everyone!

Keep trying different areas. I think you answered your question in your post... go where you think less people tend to go and you should have better odds of finding mature deer. 33 is big and there are deer everywhere in that unit. Good luck.

Thanks guys! I know he'll probably shrink some, but we gave him a rough measure and have him at: Width: 7 4/16" Length: 12 12/16" Total: 20 0/16" Length (nose to tail): 6'4" Age (game and fish estimate): 14-15 years old. To me he is an AZ bear of a lifetime. An old bruiser who definitely mixed it up for years. He was around 4000-4500 feet elevation and feeding on the juniper berries all morning.

Post pics

Love those unique bucks.

Awesome video. I too have noticed that cameras in the same spot will often miss the same game... where one captures a photo and one doesn't. Interesting stuff! Looking forward to the next one.

A buddy and I decided to go out last Friday to look for bears. The wind made glassing tough... as I'm sure it was for a lot of deer hunters out this past weekend. As luck would have it, we glassed up a nice looking bear feeding away. We worked our way into position a couple of times in the morning, but couldn't get a clear shot. He would casually feed over a small ridge or into some thick cover and we'd re-position. I also wanted to cut the distance a bit more than usual considering the wind. I worked my way into a better position and found him feeding again right around noon. Worked a little closer and had a great rest at 223 yards. I couldn't be happier with this bear... he has battle scars and a big blocky head with character and a beautiful jet black coat.

I wouldn't count on the black bear season being open in Nov. Unit 33 usually reaches the sow limit and closes quickly. Just an FYI.

Those two things aren't mutually exclusive.... and there are many, many hunters - myself included - that have killed big, mature coues bucks via spot and stalk.