bullwidgeon

Ahh yes, deer in the cholla, they love eating that cane cholla in 33. I swear that rabbit looks to be half the size of that deer. Nice pics and story Amanda!!! I find it hard to focus on locating hogs when deer are everywhere. The first 2 days of the HAM hunt in 33 produced 21 different deer and 5 bucks, 2 deer that were nice bucks in the mid nineties before I even saw a hog. Finally one herd of 20 or so pigs appeared right before dark on the second day, but I missed a long shot at the only hog in the open. Sometimes I swear they just want you to play tag with them and wade through the brush to see how close you can get before they bolt to the next mesquite tree or catclaw patch. My buddies girlfriend had a 37A rifle tag and other than one really big desert muley that I only got fleeting glimpses of and a desert tortoise all I saw were hogs. Maybe I will have to start hunting pigs in units with no or very few coues deer, it might make it easier to focus Bret M.

I was HAM hunting in the Catalinas this weekend and saw alot more deer than hogs. I did miss one long shot at a big hog standing in a mesquite tree and passed on a couple of smaller pigs but was extremely happy with the deer I saw. Lots of deer and the horns already appear to be turning light colored they might drop sooner than regular down here. It would sure be nice to go shed hunting before it hits 100 degrees. All the bucks I saw were alone except for one little spike by 2 that was folowing around some does. This is the only one that lent himself to photographs he was up early before 3:00 PM feeding. I might try it again on Thursday... Bret M.

Sometimes it is the only way . More than half of the nice deer (ones over 100 inches) my family has killed were kicked out after being glassed up and watching them disapear into somewhere thick and nasty. The bad part is trying to shoot one at 40 yards as it is jumping and running through catclaw up to your armpits . Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you shoot holes in the air, or ground or mesquite or whatever is around the deer. I am 0-2 on shooting at good bucks that way. Confucious say "One can never shoot enough running jackrabbits in the off season". At least you don't go home wondering if you could have kicked him out and killed him though. Also, back in the old days before big binos and tripods my grandfather use to line the boys (my dad and uncles) up in a skirmish line and then hike down about a half mile in front of them and have them push the thick oak and catclaw ridges, they killed a alot of deer that way including a few good ones. Bret M.

Let me try the picture thing again. Any luck or just more red x's? Bret M.

In 27 this year we were seeing close to 10 a day. That was good for us in that area. In New Mexico we were seeing 15-20 or so a day and that blew us away we were mega happy with that. In 33 I don't get excited till we hit the 20 mark and have had 30 deer days quite a few times. Same for the 36 units. But there us always a time or two when we have 0 deer days too. I guess it depends on exactly what the deer are doing. Bret M.

My dad killed one this year. I think it weighed a little more than 60 pounds though(It felt like it anyways). I think it was just a real young (2 year old) deer. It seemed to have a regular sized body and a midget rack basket like rack. Bret M.

I don't really know too much about the deer situation there but, if the prickly pears are in this year then that unit C bear tag will be unbeleivable!! Just find big patches of ripe pears at the base of mountains near water and hold on. Don't shoot until you think it is as big as a VW bug and yes they will look that big when you see the right one. Good luck. Bret M.

P.S. There is another camo foam butt pad hanging out around the 4-way gate at the base of the mountain I shot at the big bear at 2 years ago. We made a move on some deer one night and my camo seat pad walked off that night. You are welcome to it if you find it, looks like you need it more than I do Bret M.

Too many pine trees around there, look lower . Serna got into truck trouble and never made it back. He says you are welcome to whack "Old Chocolate Horn" the 2x3 we couldn't find . Good luck Scott, remember the golden rule of coues hunting, good things come to those who wait. Bret M.

You didn't crack that weener did ya? Just kidding, looks like a good one. Good luck with whatever you did! We want more of the story!! Bret M.

Awesome journal. Keep it up, it makes work go faster knowing what I am missing out on, good luck. Bret M.

I just got back from 27 and the activity is real spotty. Some days they rut, the next day they disapear. I saw "The Kid" in action with his high shooting gun and it was a text book stalk and my buddy and I thought the buck was a goner for sure but the worm turned for the worse. The next day we saw no coues bucks, lots of does and muleys rutted out of their heads. Then yesterday we made a play on a rutted up 100 incher with an hour of light left to cross two big canyons and by the time we got there we could see all 4 of his does but he didn't make an apearance. Note to self, always have a flashlight and extra battery's when making a 2 canyon stalk on coues deer right at sunset . Good luck to everyone still hunting. Scott check your email. Bret M.

I am leaving tomorrow for wildman country where the snow is deep and the wind is cold. My buddy called today and said the rut is kicking in and the toads are stomping all over the hills looking for the ladies. Hopefully we can luck out and get the deal sealed on one!!! Bret M.

The flats is where it is at in that unit. The mountain is probably excellent but I can not stand to drive by all the good country down low in order to stare up at sheer cliffs all day. A bunch of roads go right up to the base of the main mountain in that unit(like Doug said see the Game and Fish website for exact mile markers). Get on the first low hill you can get to and turn around and glass back out towards the freeway. There are bruisers in some of the mesquite washes around there especially down towards the Buenos Aires/Mexican Border, you will just have to pick your way through and not get distracted by the tons of carp you will probably see while glassing the flats . Good luck Bret M

Anyone going to be in 23 next week for the early hunt? If you are and see a gold Toyota stop me and say "Hey". I never mind talking with other hunters. Bret M.

Why do you guys think baiting is illegal in Arizona? As far as I know and I have asked game wardens in the past and read through the rules every year, baiting is legal for everything in this state except bears and migratory birds. Unless they changed something this year, haul all the corn, salt blocks or apple mash you want up to the hills, just don't kill a bear or a duck over it and you are fine.... Bret M.

I have seen them come to rattling and predator calls. They especially freak out when the Johnny Stewart "Fawn in distress" noise starts bleating. I have seen them almost trample the speaker and refuse to leave even after they have seen me, it makes for some good photo oppertunities sometimes. Bret M.

I saw a few pigs in Peppersauce canyon this year, and last year there were alot of pigs back by Chimney Rock. You may want to check those places out, that entire mountain has alot of pigs on it though and it should be easy to find them. Bret M.

Hopefully me next year! Bret M.

I watched a buck mount a doe on Sunday in the Catalinas. A doe and a yearling were chasing each other around and this buck came out of a catclaw patch, ran the big doe down and actually mounted her. The he followed her around and stayed within 50 yards of her all day long. I have never seen them act like that so early. I can not beleive the rut has started and we did not see any more activity like that during the next 2 days. Maybe it had something to do with the eclipse the night before? Bret M.

I can not exactly speak for A but I know I was down in 36C helping out some carp hunters around Halloween and then in unit 33 earlier this week and all the coues bucks I saw were buried waaaaaaaaay low in the thick mesquite washes and little cholla flat/rolling ridges way off the sides of the mountains. Think carp country, good luck Bret M.

I never actually taped him. Rusty did some rough prelim measurements and I think maybe he will go 95 or so. I think Rusty is going to have him measured and let me know what the score officially is once he gets it done. I thought he was around 100 or so when he busted out in front of me and even after I got the 15x's on him for a few minutes, but he has a bad G3 on his left side. I couldn't see that as he was going away across the canyon. The unit was 23 just like the thread title . Bret M.

The does will be up and feeding all day long. The bucks will be hiding in the thickest catclaw, oakbrush and juniper thickets they can find because chumps like me were blasting at them for the last three days. I passed on lots of little and average deer and finally shot at and missed a real toad last night. My buddy I was hunting with, Rusty, killed this deer on day 2 with all of us 3 of us in camp helping. Use big glasses all day till you find where the bucks are going at and then use teamwork to work the thick stuff they are hiding in. It worked for us, now if our shooting had only been a little better ... Bret M.

Louis, Why do you want to know? Bret M.

They bed in the Ocotillo's in December for some reason, I guess they do feel safe. Allen, it isn't that they like flats more than anyplace else, it is just that the deer that live in the flats can grow to be old because it is hard to kill them. Thats why quail hunters are always finding giant pick up heads down there. I saw a really nice buck (105 ish) Friday morning that lived through everyone trying to kill him opening weekend in the flats down in 36C a mile from the closest thing I would call a "coues hill". The only reason I saw him is because the buck finally got spooked from a few carp hunters on quads 100 yards away from him and he busted out of one of those ultra thick mesquite washes and ran over the slightest little cholla ridge and disapeared into another mesquite choked wash. The entire time he could have been seen by anyone was less than 45 seconds. The only way he will get killed if is he dumbs up a little and he gets to chasing does real good in December in the open. Bret M.