Many successful Coues Whitetail Hunters will tell you that
the keys to killing good bucks are great optics, a sturdy tripod and many hours
in the field behind their set up. While that is true many hunters do not manage
the areas that they hunt. A Coues Deer Management plan allows bucks to grow
from good into trophy class, 110 plus. A Coues buck management plan consists of two
key elements, buck selection and removal of predators.
Mature Coues deer have two categories of predators, hunters
and natural predators- lions and coyotes. Hunters pressure the bucks a combined
three months out of the year while a lion will kill a deer sized animal every
week. Lions will travel great distances to find food sources. In order to
maintain a healthy deer habitat lions must be hunted continuously throughout
the season. Lion hunting with a good
pack of hounds is a great way to pass the time in between January and August
Coues Bucks Seasons. Lion hunting is an adrenaline packed thrill ride that will
provide excitement every step of the hunt and also relieves pressure from the
main Coues Deer predator. Active lion hunters will also learn the area that
they are hunting, revealing water and cover that cannot be found from a ridge,
miles away. Coyote hunting on the other
hand does not take much by way of preparation or cost. A hunter can go anywhere
in the West, set up a spot and call until a dog comes in. Coyote hunting is a
very good way to practice hunting situations while increasing the chances to
allow bucks to mature.
Buck selection,
although not as time consuming as lion hunting is very important to Coues Deer
management. By making a commitment to taking either a trophy buck or management
buck, hunters will allow bucks to mature into the trophy class. This part of
the management process can be controlled, to some extent by the hunters and requires
a great set of optics and knowledge of bucks in the area. Many hunters feel that
a shooter buck is any buck in the 90 inch class. In some cases a mature, big
bodied buck may only have a 90 inch frame and would be a great management deer
to take on an early hunt. In an area
with good genetics a 2 ½ year 90 inch buck may turn into a 110 inch+ trophy
deer within a couple years if given the chance to mature. Not all bucks will
become 130 inch giants with a management plan in place but many bucks have a
great chance to reach that 100 inch mark that most Coues Hunters strive to
kill.
By using the Coues Buck Management plan, the AZ Ground Pounders
Outfitters have killed many great bucks in areas where the principles were
applied. In October of 2010, Steel Armstrong took a 120 3/8th inch
buck within a mile of where a large Tom Lion was caught just five days before
the hunt. The impressive 3x3 with eye guards was followed for two years and
could have been taken when he was first located in 2008 as a 100 inch buck. In
October of 2011, Bill Armstrong put the hammer down on a typical framed 131 1/8th
4x4 buck in a location where four lions have been killed in a mile radius over
the past 3 years. In these same areas bucks have already been located that
possess the same genetic traits as the trophy bucks that were taken. In January
2012, AZ Ground Pounders Outfitters located the biggest Governor Tag Coues Buck
in AZ History, a 133 inch monster in the same area where three lions have been
killed in the past two years. In
October 2012 Levi Armstrong killed his 117 Coues Deer in the same canyon that
Cash and Steel caught a Tom 2 weeks before the hunt.
Some may think that killing a great buck may be just luck and a perseverance but if you can find a great area and use the Coues Buck Management principles you will find that year after year trophy bucks will be found in your hunting area.
Some may think that killing a great buck may be just luck and a perseverance but if you can find a great area and use the Coues Buck Management principles you will find that year after year trophy bucks will be found in your hunting area.
