144" Coue's Whitetail

[AZHunter]

I thought you all might be interested in a GIANT of the smaller subspecies. Some of you may be familiar with the Coue's (prounounced "cows") whitetail of AZ, NM, and Mexico and if you are, you know that 85" is the minimum to make the record books (I think its that low). While 144" may be considered average, mediocre, or so-so for midwestern whitetails, a 144" Coue's whitetail is the equivalent of about a 210-220" midwestern whitetail. If only that could have been me to find this!

http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23993&st=0

One of these days, I'll get around to posting photos of the Coue's sheds I've found over the years. Nothing like this one, but I have a couple of record book-size antlers.


And I almost forgot this link to a MONSTER muley taken from northern AZ on the famous Kaibab Plateau. This will likely be the unit I'm applying for in 2012, so fingers crossed.

http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=24014

 

[Brett Morris]

That is a sweet muley! Hard to imagine that 144" is a record book coues deer, bet people in your area drool when they see pics of big iowa whitetail

 

[Cooter]

Both awesome animals thanks for sharing. Good luck with the draw:way:

 

[biggest buck]

Wow those are both incredible bucks! Thanks AZ

 

[AZHunter]

That is a sweet muley! Hard to imagine that 144" is a record book coues deer, bet people in your area drool when they see pics of big iowa whitetail

It's all perspective, Brett. Mininum for the record books for Coue's is about 85" and 100"+ is on par with 150"+ midwestern whitetail. A big Coue's buck is about 100-125 lbs on the hoof, but they inhabit some of the most inhospitable land AZ, NM, and Mexico has to offer and they blend in very well. There's a a good reason they are called the gray ghost! Chuck Adams, himself, has said archery Coue's hunts are among the hardest he's ever done.

I grew up in Iowa, so I'm used to big Iowa whitetail, but hunting that open thornscrub country that Coue's deer are fond of is an absolute blast. As small as they are, after dragging one 1.5 miles back to my truck, they get heavy quickly!

Come try it for yourself sometime and see! :way:

Biggest Buck, I can get you and your son into some good areas that you can get drawn your first time, even as a NR!

 

[Shovelbuck]

Thanks for the great links!!!

 

[Iowa1]

1. 144 1/8 Pima, AZ Ed Stockwell Barbara Stockwell 1953 1

2. 143 Navajo, AZ Larry Johnson Alan C. Ellsworth 1995 2

3. 134 4/8 Grant, NM Victor P. Giacoletti, Jr. Victor P. Giacoletti, Jr. 1981 3

4. 133 Pima, AZ Michael E. Duperret M.E. Duperret & J.K. Volk 1990 4

5. 131 7/8 Cochise, AZ George W. Kouts George W. Kouts 1935 5

6. 130 5/8 Chihuahua, MX Wayne Kleinman Wayne Kleinman 1958 6

7. 130 4/8 Pima, AZ Kim J. Poulin Kim J. Poulin 1981 7

8. 130 2/8 Sonora, MX Neil G. Sutherland II Neil G. Sutherland II 2004 8

9. 130 1/8 Santa Cruz, AZ Sergio Orozco Sergio Orozco 2001 9

10. 128 3/8 Sonora, MX Picked Up Kirk Kelso 2002 10


I've pasted the top ten typicals. According to the B&C website, the world record typical Coues' deer is 144 1/8 and taken in 1953. The nontypical is 196 and taken in 1971. If this is a non-typical score it would be 13th all time in B&C.

Amazing deer.

 

[Sligh1]

SWEET!!! Ok, so a guy like me wants to come hunt Coue's deer, is there generally a lottery system or long wait to be able to do so? Same with the giant muleys over there? Great stuff!!!

 

[shednut]

Correct me if I'm wrong! But, nonresident Mule Deer tags are very hard to draw(Kaibab for sure). It took my boss 8 years to draw and he ended up shooting a monster gross 204 typical. It is also very expensive, even worse than Iowa non-resident deer tags. I think you have to purchase a small game license each year you apply (around $100). So a person could easily have $500 to 1,000 into it before they draw the tag.

Don't get me wrong, I think this is good. If it was an easy draw N. Arizona would not have the quality of bucks they currently have.

 

[AZHunter]

SWEET!!! Ok, so a guy like me wants to come hunt Coue's deer, is there generally a lottery system or long wait to be able to do so? Same with the giant muleys over there? Great stuff!!!

AZ is 100% lottery and we are broken up by specific dates within specific hunt units that you apply for. Generally, for deer, every hunt unit has a late October, early November, late November (Thanksgiving), and mid-December hunt (pre-rut). Each hunt is about a week (Friday-next Thursday), but some cover 2 weekends. There are units that are underdrawn every year for Coue's whitetail and you can get drawn as a NR pretty much every year. The earlier hunts have lower success rates and the December hunt has more bucks beginning to chase does, although our rut is typically January/February. Of course, archery is over-the-counter in most units. I can give specific units with the best draw odds and some good areas to get into deer. There are also several left-over tags that you can get every year. Below is my first and only Coue's. He was in the ballpark 70s, but I never had him officially scored (yet). He was my first buck ever, was respectable for a Coue's, and a very memorable hunt for many reasons (a year after my dad died; on a very significant day for my family). I guarantee anyone who goes after the "gray ghost" will have the time of their life. If not for planning to come back to Iowa this fall to hunt some family farms, I'd be looking at a left-over tag for late November in one of my favorite units in SE AZ. One of these years, I'm going to get back into Coue's hunting.

As for the trophy mule deer, Shednut is correct. Some trophy mule deer units north of the Grand Canyon (AZ Strip, collectively) can take up to 13 years to draw a tag, but the caliber of bucks up there makes it worth the wait. As NR, you HAVE to buy your general hunting license ever year ($151) to even have a chance at getting a tag in the lottery ($232.75). If you don't get drawn, you get a bonus point (different than a preference point) and all but $7.50 of your tag $$ back, but you are stuck with a $151 NR hunting license (can always go OTC archery deer or chase javelina). I know folks who have drawn tags (random number generator in lottery) within 3 years. 6-8 years is probably fairly normal for the Kaibab Plateau. I'm not a big fan of AZ's lottery system, but I keep putting in for the trophy units and then go get my OTC archery tag and chase mediocre-good muleys around the area. If you don't want to go after the northern AZ trophies from the mountains, you can always get into 30"-35" wide desert mule deer in various units that are much easier to get drawn.

 

[blake]

Dang, that is a great Coues whitetail.

I have always thought about hunting them, I had better do it soon; I am not getting any younger.


Thanks for sharing the links.

 

[biggest buck]

Biggest Buck, I can get you and your son into some good areas that you can get drawn your first time, even as a NR!

That would be awesome. I'm game for hunting any animal I can. Probably would have to be next year however, if this bear/mtn lion hunt comes together this fall. And would this be a DIY hunt?
About those Merriams, how about getting my son on to a Goulds hunt? Or even me! How long does it take my son to be considered a resident hunter?

 

[Liv4Rut]

My luck I would go down there hunting coues deer and pass up a 140 waiting for a big one. I think it would be tough going from hunting whitetails in Iowa to coues deer.

 

[JakeWym]

Cool post. Both of those animals are amazing.

 

[AZHunter]

My luck I would go down there hunting coues deer and pass up a 140 waiting for a big one. I think it would be tough going from hunting whitetails in Iowa to coues deer.

Come on down, Liv; I'll show you the ropes! All you have to do is remember their body size is smaller (think Iowa yearling), but they have proportional antles. So if you see a buck with proportionally large antlers, go for it!

When my buddies and I went on our first Coue's hunt, we all sat down and talked about body size, antler characters, minimum to make book, etc. and when one of my buddies asked "So what are going to call a trophy?" the answer was simple (after a few botched hunts): "A filled tag".

Coueswhitetail.com is the AZ equivalent to this site and there are plenty of knowledgeable people. Any of you guys, come on down!

Biggest Buck, PM coming your way, but it's 6 months for residency. If you moved your son in January, he will be able to claim residency for the June fall application deadline (deer, fall turkey, bighorn, fall javelina).