I got a call from Huntin’ Fool, and they said I had drawn a late rifle Coues deer tag in Arizona. I had been building points for deer in Arizona for many years and decided 2017 would be a good year to try to draw a tag. Huntin’ Fool Professional Hunt Advisor Garth Jenson was very helpful with choosing which units to apply for. The helpful staff at Huntin’ Fool’s License Application Service took care of the application for me, and now Huntin’ Fool was giving me the good news.
I hunted hard in 2017, and my efforts had really been paying off. I killed a Dall ram and a big caribou at home in Alaska and a Colorado mule deer in November on another hunt I had drawn with the help of Huntin’ Fool’s License Application Service. I’d gone three for three and hoped things would go my way in Arizona as well. However, I’d never even seen a live Coues deer, much less hunted them, so I knew I was in for quite a challenge. My goal was to do a solo, self-guided hunt in Arizona, but I knew success might come easier with a little help. Minimally, help narrowing down my hunt area would be useful because the unit was very large and rugged.
I got in touch with Chad Rhoton at A3 Trophy Hunts and contracted with him for one of their scouting packages. The trail camera intelligence and single day in the field with A3 guide Weston Barkley proved most beneficial. I now had several areas to focus on and numerous target bucks. Hunting alone and giving myself 13 days to get it done, I was deadly serious about killing a Coues buck.
The first couple days were slow as I trained my eyes to spot these tiny, seemingly invisible deer. Carefully putting in my time behind my Swarovski binoculars and spotting scope, I was able to start picking out bucks. I also quickly learned how difficult it can be to get around Coues deer country on foot. Having lived in Alaska for 30 years, I’ve hunted some rough country, but this area of Arizona was the roughest, most gnarly place I’ve ever set foot in. I was hiking 5-10 miles a day, and the numerous canyons filled with pinyon, juniper, tall grass, and seas of catclaw were impossible to navigate with any real speed or stealth.
Nevertheless, the hunting was phenomenal. By the end of day five, I’d been less than 350 yards from seven solid 4x4 bucks I passed on. Two separate stalks on another good 4x4 buck were blown by other deer I bumped on my way in. Early in the afternoon of day five, I shot at a good 4x4 deer as he ran up the canyon wall opposite me. He ran hard and never stopped, and all three shots were clean misses. The missed shots didn’t discourage me in the least. I was having one of the most fun hunts of my life.
The sixth morning, which was Christmas Eve, I walked in the dark to a ridgetop near where I’d missed the buck the day before. As light slowly started to fill the canyons, I was happy and eager to discover what the day would bring. The first thing I discovered was a burst water bladder, resulting in a wet backside and soaked gear. I was down to two-thirds of my water for the day, and it wasn’t even 8:00 a.m. yet. Of course, it wasn’t going to spoil the fun and the glassing began.
By 9:00 a.m., I’d spotted four does and a spike buck on the hill underneath me a couple hundred yards away. A small 3x3 buck crested the ridge a little over 300 yards directly across and down from me, but nothing exciting had turned up yet. Just then, I spotted a good buck much higher up the ridge I was on, and by 9:15, my stalk was underway. Sticking to the backside of the ridge, I reached his area in about an hour. I dropped my pack, chambered a round, and eased my way over the top. Three deer I hadn’t seen before immediately ran down the ravine and up the next ridge. The small buck and two does had been right underneath me when I topped out, but my buck was not visible anywhere. My guess was that he was still close and probably watching me from some shadow or cover nearby. Furthermore, I guessed he would spook soon and probably retreat the same way the other deer had gone, so I sat down and got ready to shoot off my knees. The wait was short. In about three or four minutes, I heard and saw him running up the far side of the draw just as the other deer had done. Quickly estimating the range at 200 yards, I squeezed off a shot at the rapidly retreating buck and missed. Then, just before topping out, he stopped broadside to look back. That was all I needed for a kill shot. I put a 180 grain Accubond directly into his heart, and he went down almost instantly. The rest of the day was spent photographing him, caping and breaking him down, and packing him the three miles back down the mountain to camp. It was a hot afternoon, and I didn’t really have enough water because of my earlier mishap with my water container. Arriving at camp just before dark, I was exhausted and a bit dehydrated, but I was happy and content.
I kept the buck on ice and spent the next week hiking, calling coyotes, and taking care of meat and cape chores. It had been a terrific hunting trip, and I thoroughly enjoyed observing and hunting these magnificent little deer. Game managers in Arizona have done a great job with this precious resource, and I owe them many thanks. Thanks also to Huntin’ Fool and to Chad and Weston at A3 Trophy Hunts for giving me a little help.