Saw my first Coues Buck today...

[HillBilly_Al]

dead on the side of the road. On my way to work I wascoming around the Rt 92 Big Bend and up by Turkey Track Road there was a deer laying on the shoulder. I stopped to take a look. He was a 3x3 in velvet and all 4 legs were broken low. There was a spot on his rump that looked like where he was hit but more disturbing was the 2" round ragged exit wound in his front shoulder. He couldn't have been there more than a few hours. Not knowing what the salvage laws are here in Az I left to go to work wishing I had brought my camera. As I was leaving I saw a pickup pull over where I just left. Figure he was as curious as I was.

 

I called AZFG to see what the rules are on salvage and was surprised to hear the only if you hit the deer can you claim it. If the driver who hit it doesn't want it or leaves the scene ther is no ability for a 3rd party to claim the meat - it just rots on the side of the road. Back in Ohio anyone could claim road kill. yeah I know this aint Ohio (thank God). They didn't say hitting it had to be the cause of death so I think I'll keep a baseball bat in the car for such occasions.

 

On my way home I noticed the carcass was still there so I stopped again. Someone had turned it over and in doing so broken one of the tines. This time I could see the entry hole just behind the shoulder in the rib cage lung area.

 

What a waste.

[25-06]

Glad to hear you saw your first coues. Also happy to hear that g&f still consiters a vehicle a legal method for taking big game. he-ha...

[Arizona Griz]

It is a shame that the meat goes to waste, at least for human consumption, but there is ALWAYS a plan and the scavangers will take care of it.

[111]

Someone probably hit it with a car and then finished it off because it was wounded so bad. It's too bad your the first coues first deer sighting had four broken legs and a hole out the side of the chest.

[CouesWhitetail]

You might contact your local game warden. I have heard of them allowing salvage of a deer even if you didn't hit it as long as they know when and where and generally if they have checked out the animal to make sure it wasn't poached.

 

I too think it's a shame that people can't use the road kill.

 

Amanda

[COUESAZ]

I saw a big horn sheep get hit a couple years ago. It was still alive and I called the game warden. He came out and I told him how the guy that hit it was mad at me because I would not put it out of its pain by shooting it with my pistol. I told him you would never find my bullet in that animal. The warden told me that was a good Idea to not shoot it.The warden came out and put it down and took the animal with him. He said they needed it to study because big horns should not be in the area. I see them all the time in that area. I bet he has a nice big desert ram hanging on his wall as I type this out. Just another thing to think about.

 

I have thought about taking the horns of of raod kill before, But then I start thinking of how to explain a fresh cut set of horns if I get pulled over. I have had sheds taken out of my truck by a warden to make sure they are drops not cut. I have one monster mule deer horn of a buck I saw get smeared by a big rig down in unit 32. I was glassing him as he was coming from 30b into 32 and smack. I saw were the horn landed off the side of the road. After the deer was picked up by the highway crew I went back and got the horn. He was a monster and sad to see him waste like that. Would not be much good meat left after being hit by a big rig.

[azpackhorse]

I was tempted to saw the antlers off of a muley buck I found dead along the Sasabe road Sunday morning but then I started thinking about how to explain it if I was stopped, well that was one of the reasons I didn't saw them off, the other was I don't think I could've quit gagging long enough to see what I was doing and probably would have sawed my finger off or something.

 

I was down scouting the southern units and they are looking very good, lots of tall green grass(really got the allergies going) and water in all of the tanks I checked. I video taped 10 different bucks, a couple of slightly above average in size. Didn't find any real monsters(yet). The southern units should be very productive this year.

[More D]

AZ G,

 

Where was that sheep at? How long ago?

 

Just curious.