DEER SLAM ROAD TRIP
THE SLAM YOU CAN AFFORD Story & Photos by Remi Warren
“Poor man’s sheep hunt is right,” I thought to myself as I made it up the cliff face to where Jon was throwing out an encrypted form of hunter sign language. It looked more like gang signs to me, making me glad that we had moved north away from the border for our tenth day of the hunt. We wouldn’t want the border patrol to mistake Jon’s, “I see a buck and what are you going to do,” hand single as some trafficking related gang code. We spent the majority of our week only a stones throw away from Mexico on the Arizona border. However, we opted to migrate north after being chased out by drug smugglers, border patrol warnings and the final straw, AKA machine gun fire a few canyons away. We had found an awesome spot by chance, with tons of huge Coues deer but what we didn’t know was that it was also one of the worst areas along the border for drug trafficking. Some people might think it would be stupid to hunt in that area, but I rationalized it the same as hunting in grizzly country. As long as you are aware of the threat and do what is necessary to avoid confrontation you will have no troubles.
Jon Lesperance
REAL magazine
HUNTING
Coues Deer
Part II
Coues at Home || The top photo is a picture Jon took through his spotting scope of the trophy buck Remi chased before harvesting his deer. Remi took the other picture 70 yards away with no cover left to get closer. Even though it is a desert, little springs, like the one below are abundant in the step washes throughout Coues country.
The story of my deer slam lays not so much in the deer itself but the journey to get it. A Coues was the last of the deer species I needed to complete my deer slam with a bow, and it all boiled down to the last afternoon of our 10 day excursion. Throughout the week we encountered many unforeseen events and had a few close opportunities at deer. Even if I didn’t get another chance at a buck, the trip would have been a success. We had seen some awesome country and some killer deer to boot. My friend Jimmy had got a shot at a great buck. Jon had a pack train of drug smugglers walk underneath him only feet away and lived to tell about it. I had an awesome opportunity to witness two Coues bucks fighting and rutting around at close range. To top the trip off, I had learned so much about Coues deer in the ten days I was there; it is easy to see why they have such a cult following in the southwest. After only a few days of chasing them in the hot Arizona sun it becomes apparent why they have been dubbed one of the most difficult deer species to harvest, especially with a bow.
About the Coues
Coues deer, pronounced “coos” in the U.S., are a desert sub-species of whitetail that inhabit Arizona, a few places in southern New Mexico, and northwestern Mexico. Arizona is the top trophy producer of Coues deer followed by Mexico. Some of the highest deer densities in Arizona are found in the southern units along the Mexico border. We concentrated our hunting efforts in areas that the Arizona fish and game outlined as having high deer densities. Coues are generally found in higher elevation habitat from 4,000 to 10,000 ft. They are smaller than a regular whitetail with the bucks standing less than three feet at the shoulder and weighing an average of 100 pounds. Field dressed they weigh in around 80 pounds.
Unlike most northern deer who rut in mid-November, the Coues deer rut happens in mid January, making it the perfect time to chase them with a bow. Coues deer inhabit some of the nastiest country I have ever found. It is big, steep, hot, chalked full of cliffs and everything in it bites. Their small size makes them next to impossible to spot because they can hide behind nearly any bush or cactus. The Coues deer’s elusive nature and ability to vanish right before your eyes makes it a serious game of hide and seek, where glassing is imperative to your success.
The Story
My Coues deer road trip began after a friend of mine, Jon Lesperance, moved down to Arizona for school with his wife. We decided to give it a shot the second week in January, during peak rut. Our hunting party consisted of Jon, another friend Jimmy McLennan and me. Jimmy and I flew down to Phoenix where we loaded up Jon’s Isuzu with bow cases, packs, tents, targets, coolers, and food for a week of hunting, before heading toward the border with a road map and some secret directions from a past hunting client of mine. None of us had been in the area before, let alone hunted Coues deer, but we had all done some online research combined with the help of a Coues deer hunting book by Duane Adams. The book gave us some valuable pointers, but the real learning experience came from crawling through the cactus and a weeks worth of hard hunting. The trip boiled down to the last afternoon of the last day. After making it to the top of the mountain, Jon and I glassed the canyon below us. The sun by this point had heated up the day close to sixty-five or seventy degrees, but the strong breeze and shade from a cliff above kept us cool as we glassed. We spotted a few does but hadn’t seen
anything new for a while. All of the sudden, about 350 yards away, I spotted some does that had just come over a little draw below us. We looked them over and determined that there were no bucks with them. Then as quickly as the does appeared, a huge buck materialized out of thin air and started chasing the does up the hill at almost a dead run. I decided to try and make it back over the top and cut the deer off before they crossed into the other canyon above us. Along the way I could see they had run over half a mile from where they were before. By the time I reached the top, I had completely lost the original group of deer. The hill was so steep I had to fight to keep from sliding down the mountain. As I made my way to where I thought the deer might be, I slowly crept up over the ridge, scrolling each new piece of land like a book. The further I moved toward the edge the more land below was revealed. As I crested the top, I used my grunt tube in case the deer were close. The grunt tube had saved me all week and now I was relying on it to help ease deer I may have glanced over. As I neared the edge, two does walked out below me and looked back my direction. I laid down, out of sight, and continued to grunt. For no apparent reason the does trotted over the ridge and away, with no buck in tow. I grunted one more time before hearing what sounded like a faint grunt below me. I wasn’t sure of the sound because of the wind but I decided to get to where the does had crossed in case there was still a buck in the area. While moving to get in position, I skirted along the edge of a little outcropping. Directly below me I spotted the shine of a buck’s antler about 90 yards away. It wasn’t the big buck we saw earlier, but it was in a perfect place for a stalk. I noticed a finger in the ridge that would conceal me above the buck and put me into shooting position. I quickly dropped my
Everything Bites
Prickly Pear
Agave
Don’t Forget Tweezers || It just goes to show that Coues country is out to get you. Picking cactus spines from your thumb is probably the mildest place you can get them. Plants like the Ocotillo, pictured left, will grab you all day long. The long spears of the Agave plant are the most dangerous and will go through even the toughest boots with ease.
The Road to a Slam|| No trip is complete without encountering a giant Paul Bunion along the way. Food seemed to be an afterthought as the groceries for the week got jammed in what little space was available inside the car. The trip couldn’t have ended better, with a nice Coues on the ground.
pack and made the final stalk above the deer. As I approached the spot where I planned to shoot from, I slowly peaked over the edge and ranged the buck. He was 56 yards away but straight down. I stayed crouched out of sight and drew back. As I pulled back, the arrow caught on my rest and came off the string. The hill was sloped so much that I was canting my bow to the right too far for the arrow to stay on the rest. It looked level to the eye, but gravity doesn’t lie. I quickly put the arrow back on the string, leveled my bow by looking at
the bubble level on my sight and drew back. I slowly stood for the shot. The buck was still there, perfectly broadside. I bent at the waist and put my forty yard pin low on his chest to compensate for the severe down hill angle. Focusing on the spot I released. Thwack! Almost instantly, the buck hit the ground and began to role down the mountain. The angle of the hill was so steep the arrow went through the buck’s spine and out, just above its belly. My adrenaline was pumping as I made my way down to the buck. In my excitement I had forgotten to take it slow. I lost my balance and slid right down into an Agave plant, whose sharp spears actually pierced through my boot and into my foot. Not to mention the four other small punctures the plant left in my leg. It
hurt but the excitement of walking up on my deer made all the stinging disappear. As I got closer I couldn’t believe how small his body was. It really sank in when I moved the deer whole, with ease, to set him up for pictures. As I packed the buck out over my shoulders I couldn’t help but think about how blessed I had been to get the chance to harvest four different deer species with my bow. I had experienced the different terrain and challenges that may be present in harvesting a grand slam of sheep, but at a fraction of the cost. The most rewarding part was I had attained my goal. It proved a deer slam can be a reachable achievement for the average hunter with limited financial resources. It gave me a greater respect for all deer by learning first hand the differ-
ence between the deer species and the challenges each present. I learned new tricks and tactics to take with me while chasing mule deer or whitetails back home next season. In all, I feel it has made me a better hunter by testing my skills and teaching me to adapt.
A Slam of Your Own
Arizona is the place to go for a Coues deer hunt. The archery tags are over the counter and are good for almost the entire state. The nice thing about the tags is that they allow you to harvest a Coues deer or a mule deer, your choice. The archery tag allows you to hunt a split season. It generally opens August 22nd to September 11th and again from December 12th to January 31st (always consult regulations
for individual unit season dates). The split season gives you plenty of options and opportunity to work the hunt into your schedule. You are only allowed to harvest one deer per calendar year; however, the same license is good both seasons within that year. If you aren’t a bow hunter, rifle and muzzleloader tags must be drawn through an application process. Some of the early hunts have almost 100% chance of drawing a tag, while some of the later hunts may take a few years to draw. Either way, applying is the only way to secure your chance to hunt these awesome deer with a gun or muzzleloader. When deciding where to go, start your search by looking in areas with high deer densities. Some noted areas include units 36A, 36B, 36C, 34A, 34B, 33 and 32. The Arizona fish and
Welcome to the Southwest|| Jon glassing for deer on an old mining truss above a creek of turquoise. The sunset among the Giant Swarrow cactus in the flats is an unbeatable sight. The three amigos, from left to right, Jimmy, Jon and Remi stop for a picture after a long hike back to the truck.
game website as well as other Coues deer sites may be a valuable research tool. The book, How to Hunt Coues Deer by Duwane Adams provided us with useful information, and helped narrow down areas to try out. We hunted five different units and found deer in every area we hunted. It may take a few days to figure out what to look for, but you will be amazed at how many deer there are once you are able to spot them. Most canyons in the southern units held deer, but just like hunting any deer, some areas are better than others. The key to Coues is to glass and be flexible. Get to a vantage point where
In the End|| Remi enjoys the campfire as it cuts the nighttime chill of the desert before the last day of the hunt. Remi is giving thumbs up for, “a slam completed” after walking up on his buck. Jon and Remi take a picture with the buck before carrying him out in the traditional over the shoulder fashion.
you can overlook a lot of country from one place. Get familiar with an area by hunting it more than once. The better you know where you are, the higher percentage stalk you will be able to perform by knowing the lay of the land. It is important to remain flexible when hunting any new area. If you aren’t seeing game, move around till you locate a spot that you are seeing animals. The caveat to this is to make sure you give every location a fair shake of the stick. Don’t write off an area you have only seen during mid-day, while lazily glassing for a few hours. Often hunters spend more time moving around in new areas than actually hunting them. They get frustrated because they don’t see any game, but they don’t realize they have
spent more time looking for an area then actually hunting an area hard. Using your judgment is the key. If you feel you have exhausted an area, don’t beat a dead horse, be mobile and find a new spot. Since Coues deer live in the desert, water is important to their survival. Keep this in mind when looking at an area. If there is no water, there are probably no deer. If you find an area with lots of game, note major water sources in the area such as tanks and springs. You may have some luck sitting water holes if they are being hit hard by the deer. One of the best things you can do when hunting any new species or area is to stack the deck in your favor. Anytime you hunt in an unknown area, you already have the odds against you. Add in the fact that you
are hunting a species you know little about and your odds of success drop even further. Hunting during the rut will help increase your odds of success dramatically on these tiny deer. Other tricks, like using a grunt tube to stop, calm, and call deer, will help stack the deck in your favor as well. Making connections and getting help from people who have done it before will help you narrow down a good area. Don’t discount good advice, on my trip we used a combination of tips from people we met and knew, combined with the thorough research that Jon put in before the hunt. It is important to use what you know and what you have learned. Hunting Coues deer is like hunting mule deer and whitetails combined. You should glass like you are hunting mule deer, but incorporate whitetail tactics and behavior into the mix. Tricks like grunting while stalking, proved priceless on the Coues deer
psyche. Don’t be afraid to still hunt or call the Coues deer like you might whitetails on a river bottom, or glass them from miles away like trophy mule deer in the high country. The key to success on any species is to adapt to what works. By taking bits and pieces from other hunting experiences and piecing them together as you learn about a new species, you will move yourself up the learning curve faster toward success. The most important factor in being successful is to get out and try. Hunting the different deer species is an obtainable goal for most hunters, and can open up new hunting possibilities that you won’t get at home. It will test your skills as a hunter and be just as rewarding as hunting all the species of sheep. A deer slam truly is a slam the average hunter can afford.
RHM
Cost Breakdown
License & Tag $376.50 Travel Expense $200 Food $150* Gas for the week $120* Motel $70* Average total cost for the Coues deer hunt is $690 per hunter based on a group of three hunters.
* If you go with friends some of the costs can be split such as the food, gas, motels and travel expenses. I flew half way which is why my travel expense wasn’t split. If you and a few buddies drove down the whole way, the travel cost may be even cheaper but you may also have higher motel costs along the way (which can also be split). Overall it is a relative estimate but will give you a ballpark on what to expect.
* This story was part two of a two part series. Part one of, The Slam You Can Afford, covered Columbian Blacktails in California. The article can be found in the October- November 2008 issue of Real Hunting Magazine. If you missed the issues it can also be found online at www.realhuntingmag.