The Alaska Hunter – Winter 2008 - Safari Club International

In the Pursuit of Coues Deer
by Paul D. Atkins
“How far did you say?” I asked as I looked through the scope. “415 yards.
Do you see him yet?” Garrett asked. “Yeah, I see him. He looks like a
small brown rabbit in my scope.”
This was the third day of my long anticipated Coues deer hunt in
southern Arizona. For seven years my long time hunting partner Garrett
Ham had been putting in my application for this elusive deer. Seven years
is a long time to wait, but I knew it would be worth it and an adventure to
remember.
Garrett is no stranger to hunting Coues deer. He grew up chasing these
elusive deer in the mountains south of Tucson. Though he has taken
many deer his best one came in 2006 when he connected on a 105 inch
monster. Garrett’s knowledge of the area and knowing where to find big
bucks would be a big plus on this hunt, but more importantly I would
be hunting with my good friend in some awesome country. I also knew
whether we got a deer or not we would have good time.
I arrived in Phoenix at midnight after a long flight from Alaska. Garrett
picked me up at the airport and we headed to his home in Tucson.
The following day found us in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson.
The weather, to my surprise was cold for Arizona. I had just come from
a frigid 20 below to a balmy 28 degrees, but I was cold; we knew it was
perfect for hunting whitetails. I packed warm clothes, but began to think
that I should have packed my arctic gear.
We climbed to a high spot located on one of the many hills to glass. The
area was quite different than the tundra that I’m used to. Loose rock
lined the canyon walls covered with every kind of cactus imaginable.
The landscape was beautiful and it gave a certain thrill to the hunt that
always occurs when hunting in new country. Sometimes the challenge of
finding game in a new area that you have never hunted before is just as
important as getting the animal you are after. I was glad to be there with
my good friend doing what we love to do.
Glassing is a big part of any hunt, but even more so when you are looking
for these small deer. The low lying mesquite trees, rock outcroppings and
small ravines can swallow up a deer, so you better make sure you have
the optics to get the job done. I brought along my 15x56 Swarovski’s plus
a spotting scope to do the job. They worked great once I found what I was
looking for. Man these deer are hard to see!
That afternoon we saw thirty-one deer, mostly does, but two were small
bucks. It was a good day.
The second day we headed further south where Garrett had had a lot
of luck in previous years. The temperature was even cooler than the
previous morning. 22 degrees with strong winds made it cold!
T h e A l A s k A n h u n T e r w w w . a k s a f a r i c l u b . o r g
In the dark Garrett and I climbed to the top of a hill. The rocks and brush
we were poking through looked like snake heaven. I was just happy it was
cold and there were no snakes.
After an hour I spotted deer. Late December is prime time for hunting
Coues deer as the rut is just starting to kick in. The bucks are chasing
does and the deer we spotted this morning were doing just that.
Even though it was cold I didn’t start shaking until I saw deer. I don’t
know why, but it always seems that you start shaking once you see deer.
Good reason too as one of the deer was a real monster. Garrett guessed
him at about 100 inches and we knew this was the buck we wanted. He
was a half mile off and in a very bad spot for a stalk, but we knew that a
chance at a buck like this was rare-we made a plan.
He was located on the side of a mountain and our best chance was to go
down and then try to work our way back up to him. Half way through the
stalk Garrett stopped and gave me one of those “it’s over looks”. There
in the creek bed were tracks. Not deer tracks, but human footprints. We
looked ahead and 100 yards in front of us were two guys glassing the
same buck we were after. End of game. They had beaten us to him. This
area was public land and anybody with a tag can hunt it-part of hunting.
The rest of the day was not as fruitful. We saw few deer and at dark we
headed back to the truck.
The third day we recruited another set of eyes. Tom Oldham, an avid deer
hunter and resident of southern Arizona, came to help us. Tom has a
great eye and can really pick apart the terrain and find deer.
We arrived at our destination before daylight and as soon as we could see
we began to glass. The country was picturesque. The Cholla and Ocotillo
cactus covered the mountain side and finding deer was tough.
We had been glassing about an hour when I heard Tom whistle; he had
spotted deer. Garrett and I moved to his location and, after some time,
finally found the deer he was looking at. Three does working the hillside
but no bucks. We continued glassing and in no time Tom found another
deer. This time it was a buck silhouetted on a ridge. He was nice but
nothing compared to the monster we had seen the day before.
I had five days to hunt and this was day three. I had told myself that I
wasn’t going to be picky and I wanted a buck. Being able to find a deer and
get a shot was most of what I was after anyway. An opportunity passed
up is an opportunity wasted particularly when you have just a few days to
hunt these remarkable deer.
We made a plan just as the buck disappeared over the ridge. We went
back to the truck and drove up to the next canyon. Hopefully the buck
would be on the other side and we could get a better, or should I say,
closer look at him. Sure enough he was there, but he also had three does
with him. He was 700 yards straight up and I knew I would have to