CouesPursuit

It was a bit hairy for me last winter @ 450 but that was at 2AM with some runoff at play in the creek across from the ranch and just above the crossing. Thanks for sharing, I'm not as confident as I used to be either considering the size of some of the releases this last year and some wisdom slowly settling in.

I haven't been in the last 30 days but know the area well, I wouldn't personally cross above 400cfs. Tagged with interested in others experiences.

Good luck getting everything sold and into your new chapter. Sounds like you are doing what you have to do as much as it sucks. Very admirable.

Good luck with everything, but particularly getting that wrist healed properly.

Fair enough! One guess I had was that most people had good 10's as their primary optic, then upgraded to the 15's to reach out when they could afford to. Reason for my follow post is to see if any had 8's, felt disadvantaged, and went back to 10's. Granted most aren't hunting coues in Arizona, but based on reviews on other forums, it seemed like 15x and 8x was a very popular combination, our poll here showed otherwise.

I'm surprised in so many 10x votes and relatively few 8x. Anyone with experience on the combo care to share any additional thoughts either way?

Coues deer live below 3500 too. Lots of them. This is where you just have to go scout buddy. Find an area that feels good and deer show up in your binoculars, then watch everywhere they go and how they use the terrain. There are coues deer in 95% of 24B.

+1 on Flatlander's excellent post. In addition - I would add to specifically start with 10x binoculars. 12-15x are great and praised for good reason, but with as much $ as you are going to have to invest elsewhere, and size of deer not being an issue, 10x will serve all your needs in the forest and open country. Then you can invest in heavier, more expensive deer finders later. 15's tend to overlook the deer that are already in (or closer to) your shooting range. Practice out farther than you plan to shoot. My ethical shooting distance ends when my 3-shot groups exceed 4", YMMV. Also have an idea of what your 1st, cold bore shot does compared to warmer bore shots 2 and 3. Hopefully you just need the first one. When you sit to glass with your tripod, sit within shooting distance of expected encounters whenever possible, have your firearm ready and always keep the wind in your favor for both scent and sound. I killed my first elk 30 seconds after snoring, downwind with my back to a tree and my rifle in my lap after hiking 6 miles that morning. A quick 20 minute nap often keeps me focused for the rest of the day. Finally, search this site for everything that comes to mind. With exception to new equipment, everything a beginner could hope to learn already lives in these forums. Here are some of my favorite threads -

Looking forward to the thread. Good luck, Hunter!

Very nice. So close to what I'm searching for and have been for months (you're right on that). Shouldn't last long. Glws.

Very cool, OP. Thanks for sharing. I had my wife with me one day and checked a camera to see a bear in the photo 6 minutes before we got there, didn't tell her until we got back to the truck.

Based on the 2018 BP report, I am slated for my first late December coues hunt in 2019 and I've been scouting new area since archery ended in January. I set new cameras Sunday and saw 15+ bucks with buds and at least 60 doe. I also found a nice deadhead on an unmapped water source and a "white" coues at 1.1 miles away. The weather was incredible, it was a glorious day in new country.

I set new cameras Sunday and saw 15+ bucks with buds, none carrying. Also found a nice deadhead.

Your inbox is full. Trade for vortex diamondback 10x50? They were given new from warranty dept at vortex 18 months ago and used as a loaner to a couple friends. Good condition. Thx for considering.

Bump