CouesCoues1062 Report post Posted September 26, 2015 Hi All, my name is Dave and I'm new to the site. I live up here in Lakeside and I love to be outdoors. Hunting, fishing, sking, camping etc. I put in for Elk, Turkey and Mule deer up here every year and I also get a Bear tag as well. This year I only got drawn for Turkey so I deceided to go after a Unit 29 left over Coues tag which I was lucky enough to get. So I got my tag, now what? I haven't been to Unit 29 for 30 years. When I lived in Tucson, my dad used to take me deer hunting down there when I was in high school. From the internet scouting I have been doing thus far, it seems like unit 29 is not what it was 30 years ago. I imagine the land and all is still the same but it seems like there is alot more pressure from both the hunters and the illegal immigrants. I can deal with other hunters but I would prefer not to deal with the illegal immigrants. Typically I hunt and camp solo. I'm just not sure if that is a good idea to do down there or not. I would appreciate any feedback from those of you that know the unit better than I. In addition, any suggestions on where to camp that might limit my chances of an illegal encounter would be helpful as well. Keep in mind that I would like to set up camp in an area where I can hike in a mile or two to access some good glassing areas. Secondly, if there are any other hunters out there that have this tag and typically go solo, let me know if you might like to team up for the camping aspect and or possibly work together on the hunt aspect. I'm not sure I can get a scout in before the opener but I was planning on going for the entire hunt. Good luck and thanks in advance for any feedback. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
el diablo Report post Posted September 26, 2015 Haven't been there since the fire but we used to camp past portal and just past the research center. Plenty of areas to walk into from from there. Also seen some nice bucks in there and some nice ones come outta there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MULEPACKHUNTER Report post Posted September 26, 2015 I did that hunt as a leftover same as your doing a few years ago, I had never been down there. I did some serious hiking for a few days and then stayed closer to camp for a few. I glassed hard, hiked hard, drove hard, zero deer. Not even a doe. Only doe I saw was very young crossing the road at night headed back to camp. I did see several bears including the largest I have seen to date. I saw only 1 group of north bound hikers. I ran into 2 other hunters but pressure was low for me. Beautiful country but lots of cows and ranch fences. I would go again and maybe work the east side of the range since the west side was not great for me. I believe I camped at turkey creek camp. I was solo as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PRDATR Report post Posted September 27, 2015 I used to hunt it every year back in the late 80's early 90's when there would be 1000 tags and you could also get a second tag. Mulies down low and WT were a bit higher. We would come into Horseshoe Canyon and camp at Mexican Camp, never saw any illegals except those being detained by BP. Rough country and no roads other than the one in and out. We never encountered any other hunters in the field back then, a few bears, parrots, coati's, javelina, an all white WT buck and one year a big all black wolf. No sure what access is like into Horseshoe nowadays. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elkaholic Report post Posted September 28, 2015 access to Horseshoe is walkin only and only for experienced hikers locals won't even take horses in there - to rough - access has been closed a couple of seasons - probably a few monsters roamin around - go on google earth and check it out the rain washed everything away- google shows 2013 they have had severall bad storms after those images . should be able to take fs 42 over the top and glass a lot of country - no sure how good any of the roads are but 42b can get you into remote locations just try to get there a couple days early to prescout and check roads Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesCoues1062 Report post Posted September 29, 2015 Thanks for the feedback guys! There were obviously some things like the fire and the illegals that I didn't consider before putting in for this tag. That's ok...I'm lucky to have it and it's gonna be a great hunt! As a kid, we used to go in through Riggs Ranch and we always took deer out of there. Does anyone know if that access through the ranch to the forest is still viable? I have read on other posts that the Horseshoe Canyon is popular with experienced hikers of the illegal nature so I think I will stay away from there. All in all, I think I'm gonna focus my efforts to the northern portions of the unit and be flexible to camp and hunt in multiple areas. I would like to stay in one place to maximize my time in the field but I have a feeling that I will have to be adaptable to whatever I encounter. Can't wait to get out there! Thanks again for reading and your help. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vizsla-dog Report post Posted September 29, 2015 The Riggs' have closed all access that they used to allow Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PRDATR Report post Posted September 30, 2015 access to Horseshoe is walkin only and only for experienced hikers locals won't even take horses in there - to rough - access has been closed a couple of seasons - probably a few monsters roamin around - go on google earth and check it out the rain washed everything away- google shows 2013 they have had severall bad storms after those images . should be able to take fs 42 over the top and glass a lot of country - no sure how good any of the roads are but 42b can get you into remote locations just try to get there a couple days early to prescout and check roads That's too bad, did it get that washed out? There was always some water running across the road just before Mexican Camp but usually never more than six inches. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
