5yearcoueshunter

I agree with Treestandman. I pesonally have had no better meat then well taken care of Javelina. The best meat is however from the young animals or the sows. An old mature bore is edible but not near as good as the young ones. So I personally try to hold out till I'm into a good sized herd and pick out the one I want. For a long time I heard the same old thing that Javelina were no good. I had to try it for myself one year and I found out nobody knew what they were talking about.

Nice bucks guys. Congrats!!!!

Nice Buck and awesome Picture! Congrats!!!!! Travis

Kevin, have you ever been to the Kiowa National Grassland by Clayton? I've heard there some Eastern Whitetails there but I never have been there.

Awesome job Cole!!!! I'm so Jealous.

It looks like the recomendations are for all deer tags to be put on a draw including bow and muzzleloader. And yes they are proposing splitting mule deer from whitetail, giving a different draw in units 23, 24, and 27. I think it's great, except they're not proposing near enough tags in my opinion for Coues. But we'll see, I think this is just their first draft. It's available on their web site.

I didn't draw squat! First time in like 10 years I haven't got at least one tag for something. Now I'm regretting not applying for Arizona this year. haha

I agree Jason. This time of year is torture. I keep looking day after day on the website hoping the results will come out early. According to the Regulations, the results won't come out till early July. Hopefully we all won't have to wait that long.

Great story Amanda, thanks for sharing it with us. It sounds like if the weather had of coperated, you might have gotten your 110" or better buck! Travis

I would love to see them. traviedw@clientlogic.com Travis

OTC coues in NM are all over the map so to speak. But the best unit from my understanding is 23. I have never hunted this unit myself but it's suppose to be the best. Concentrate south or north of mule creek and also north of virden. Other places include the Gila Wilderness and southern Blanck Range where the deer will be in pockets. Finding them can be tough but once you do, you'll have the place to yourself. The animas mountains in unit 26 have lots of Coues, but most of the land is private making access extremely difficult. There is also Coues in the Little and Big Hatchets in 26 but again, access is pretty difficult. I personally have been hunting unit 22 the last 3 years, still trying to get my first Coues. I've had my oppurtunities, just couldn't get my gun to quit shaking if you know what I mean. This unit has quite a few deer but most of the terrain is pretty brushy, making glassing difficult. However there is some spots to glass and I will usually net seeing at least 3-5 deer a day. I don't know if that's much by Arizona's standards, but in my experience on OTC tag in NM, that's pretty good. Anyway, there are Coues out there on OTC hunts but it usually takes a lot of scouting to find them. Good Luck, Travis

Jake, there is usually quite a bit of water in this unit. There are several creek drainages that sometimes have water depending on how much snow there's been. But even in dry years there are several ponds and water tanks that I have seen Javelina use frequently. Good Luck, Travis

Jake, Unit 22 is defiinately my top pick for the 3 month hunt. I have hunted that unit 3 times and all were successful. I have a buddy that also hunts unit 21A and has gotten a couple of pigs there. A lot of people think the northern hunt to be a lot tougher but I disagree. You have 3 months to hunt, very little hunting pressure, and in some units I think there is just as many porkers as the southern units. The only thing about the norther hunt is that it is more brushy so you can't do the long range glassing like the souther units. I have found most my Javelina in the bottom of creek drainages and canyons right as you get into the N.F. Hope this helps, and good luck on your hunt. Travis

I agree, Javelina is one of my favorites as well. Although I would have to say Javelina can sometimes have a gamie flavor if it's an old boar. But it is still very edible if you make sausage out of it. But my favorite is pork chops from a young pig! They melt in your mouth. God Bless and Happy New Year! Travis

I don't really know because I'm still trying to bag my first Coues. But I've always heard the oppisite. I've heard that coues or any whitetail for that matter isn't as good as mulies. I've ate quite a few mulies and all have been great. I've bagged a couple of Eastern whitetails and found them to be just as good as mulies but no better. I think all deer are good, it's just a matter of if the deer was taken care of, not wounded, and not shot when he was rutting himself to death. Travis

I was wondering about the licence system in Arizona. Is the licence year the same as the calendar year? If so, a bowhunter that goes deer hunting in January, can't go hunting in the upcoming December? It's probably an easy concept, I'm just so use to the NM system that I'm a little confused. HELP Thanks, Travis

MoreD, I abide by the same ethics. I've never poached anything or taken any animal unethically. One of my pet peves is party hunting. I hate it with a passion. To me party hunting is poaching. I was just confused because in most states, each tag you get can be used separtely. Like in a lot of eastern states, you are allowed 4 deer a year, therefore you receive 4 tags. It just seems kind of strange to me that you can get 2 deer tags in Arizona but your bag limit is still only 1 deer. It seems like it would be easy for a-hole hunters to get away with getting 2 deer a year. Ernesto, I don't understand why if you have both tags in your pocket that would be illegal. If you bought both of those tags and you haven't killed a deer yet, why would if be illegal?

Hey guys, I'm still a little bit confused. If I buy a bow tag in January, then put in for a rifle hunt and draw, won't I have 2 deer tags. How does the Game Department know I won't use both tags?

Wow, that's a lot of time to hunt. That's so different from New Mexico. Here you can only hunt with 1 weapon type per season. So if you choose to bowhunt, you can not rifle or muzzleloader hunt that season. But if you do choose to bowhunt you get 2 seasons. If you choose to rifle or muzzleloader hunt, you get 1 season and that's it. Thanks for the info guys.

So you can hunt in January and then if you don't get a deer, you can put in for a rifle tag. Then if you draw a rifle tag for November you can hunt August/September again with bow. Then if you don't get a deer during that season, you can hunt the November hunt with rifle. Then if you don't get a deer during that season, you can hunt December again with a bow? Is this right?

Thanks Danny that does help. But I have 1 more question. If you bag a deer in the January hunt, can you put in for the upcoming rifle hunts in the same year?

The most bucks I've ever seen together was also 3. That was in October. They were all young bucks. Most mature bucks I've seen have been by themselves. Also the most coues deer I've seen together has only been 5.

In my experience Chris, if a buck is trying to sneak away, he'll keep it tucked in. When he explodes out of cover and runs full out, he will put his tail up and put it flat on top of his back. I can't recall ever seeing a Coues deer actually waive their flag back in forth like an Eastern whitetail. They will either put their tail strait up when there just a little bit alert, but when their hauling butt they will put their tail flat on top of their back. That characteristic is unique to the Coues. Does that sound right Amanda? Travis

Wow, I wasn't aware the gray ranch even allowed hunting. I have passed through there many times and have seen quite a few mule deer, and I figured there was probably plenty of coues in the nearby Animas mountains. I sure wish I was a CEO of your co.

I'm guessing it's not the famous Gray Ranch located in the bootheel is it.