Shiras

Bull, Geeez you make 23 sound like literal heck. All I've seen of it is on the dirt roads- driving to see if the dogs could scent a bear in '99. Are parts of it really THAT bad? Why is 23 worse than any unit in Az? I AM going to hike AWAY from the lazy SOB's that road hunt, but my goodness,- 4-5 hours to get to a spotted deer?????/?? Man, I hope you are exagerating just a hair. If not, oh well. I'll be sure to avoid that Toyota at all costs, sounds like he knows absolutely nothing about coues-only spotting 4 or 5 95" Whitetail. Geez, I wouldn't settle for anything less than 110. lol By the way Bull, IF you did take a 95 why would you leave it? Too far to pack out? Wouldnt you at least take the cape and head? - I would definately, just wondering what you do/ or would do in that situation. If i shot a 95 I would probably sleep right there with him.lol -Shiras

Where is White rock? Is it north of Mule creek? My friend and I are hunting 23 in Nov and are starting just North of Alma, maybe camping at pueblo park. Great photo, crazy. That is a very nice buck. Talking to Duwane Adams on the telephone (last night), he was telling me that I would be lucky to even see a coues deer, simply cause I've never done my hunting with binocs in wide open country. Here in Oklahoma, it's pretty much a 50-75 yard MAX opportunity,(unless you caught one crossing an open field or something). I was there in 23 and 16 in '99 on a bear hunt , and saw tons of mulies and even more elk. This was the first 5 days of November and we saw bucks running together. I'm assuming they havent started to rut at this time..?. Good luck this year to all. Shiras

The way I read the regs is that any skull found is state property (in NM). Is this true? It would be awfully hard to resist picking up a nice rack and letting mr. mouse and mr. squirrel have their way with it. -Shiras

Just a theoretical question to all you seasoned coues hunters out there. I am from Oklahoma and have no more seen a coues deer than a man in the moon. My friend and I are attempting the NM rifle season Nov. 10-14 and realize that it is a generic tag. Would any of you that had your heart set on a coues, "settle" for a muley? After reader Dwane Adams book, and talking to him twice on the telephone-, it sounds like i will be lucky to even SEE a coues deer of any kind, much less a nice buck (due to not being used to glassing wide open country and rarely seeing deer over 100 yards and shooting over 50). I was on a bear trip in unit 23, and 16 in '99 and saw 1000's of elk and 100's of muleys in 5 full days of hunting, -no bear,lol. We actually had to stop in the middle of the road going into Reserve waiting for a herd of elk to cross. Talk about culture shock! -Anyways back on the subject, I am kind of looking at our up coming "hunting trip" as more of a "camping trip" and if we bag anything, looking at it as a bonus. My friend is not oriented in the "journey" aspect of the hunt, but more focused on the destination (bagging the animal). I am hoping his perspective will change, but I am not sure he will have the patience to sit and glass and wait it out. I'm not a great hunter by any means, but am practicing glassing every weekend and trying to get the mental part of the game down. Oh well , any information or input would be appreciated.-Shiras

Crazy, Nevermind. I forgot i gave my email address when I joined.

Crazy, Where do I go to get your email? Somewhere in this forum?

I guess I'm not hip on the western slang. "Carp" meaning muley? I've also read about "toads". ---------------------------- (Shiras)"Alex, I'll take deer names for 800". (Alex) The name frequently used to a big mule deer out west". (Shiras) "What is a TOAD CARP?" lol- Shiras By the way, Are any of you all going to be in 23 this year (Nov. 10- 14)? I've talked to a ranger up there and am just trying to find out if around the pueblo park area is a good place too camp, or are there a lot of road hunters coming thru there? I'd love to talk to some of yall if we ran into each other.

Coues addict, No, I never have taken a muley. and I would be thrilled with either. But I am EXTREMELY partial to the whitetail, be it eastern or coues. That little guy, among ALL big game animals is what I would like to take the most. I've had 2 very successful years of hunting easterns here and the whitetail bug has just bitten me very hard (where before it didn't matter what animal I was hunting,...like the bear). I like mule deer (and heck I might love them if I actually harvested one) but the whitetail mystique has me firmly in it's grasp. lol The question was just to see if all yall were "whitetail" or nothing at all. Everyone is different, so I was just wanting to see the mass consenses on the topic. Thanks for your reply.-Shiras (Ronnie)

I spoke with the biologist for unit 23, and he was telling me that last year when he was hunting he ran into a lot of coues and mule in this unit. I am fortunate enough to go out there this fall with a friend and he wants a mule and I obviously would love a coues. Just trying to figure out where a good mix may be for an otc tag. This will only be my 2nd hunting trip out west. First one was back in '99 on a unsuccessful bear hunt in unit 23 and 16, so I somewhat know the area, thus the reason for me picking this area. I live in Tulsa, Ok. and am looked at as a bonafide kook for wanting to hunt these grey ghosts (by my immediate circle of hunting friends, not understanding why I don't want a muley or whitetail). I would much rather have a 110 coues than a nice muley. These deer have mesmerized me for a long time, and the thought of possibly harvesting one seems to be the ultimate for me. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks all.

coues addict, My comment on the 131 wasn't at all a statement of what I've accomplished, only comparing some of the coues that I've seen are bigger than him, which is unbelievable! I am SO excited about Nov.10-14 I just cannot stop prepping, thinking,and dreaming of it. I slipped away from my workstation to come get on the net to see any new posts, so I better get back to earning my $ and vacation time so I'll be sure to be able to go;] .Man I've got it bad....... talk to you later-Shiras

Definately the non typ. I've never killed a coues (going this year to nm). I've never had the chance to harvest a regular whitetail non-typ here in Ok. I killed my biggest deer to date this year at 131 with blackpowder,( I know its not that big for a whitetail) and you are talking about these dwarf deer bigger than this regular whitetail! I cannot wait to be in coues country. I've talked to a biologist in unit 23 and he said last year he was hunting up there and ran into "a ton of coueseys" to use his terminology. we will see......Sorry for that tangent...