Arizona Scouting

[LearningToHunt]

Curious as to what time of year do people recommend scouting. I live in the southwest region and this will be my first season big game hunting and my first year living in Arizona. I’d like to start now but the temperature is over 100° daily and through research have sense learned that animals summer activity here will likely change drastically once temperatures cool.

So my question is at what point in the year do you start hiking and getting into the back country to look for animals without risking heat exhaustion.

 

[ncstewart]

I’m not from AZ but hunted there several time and hunted my whole life. I personally like scouting whenever I get a chance. You don’t have to hike crazy miles to learn and scout. Learning will never be hurting you.

But for the season I’m hunting then 2-4 weeks is kinda what I like.


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[Archery Bank]

It is really hot right now and they have dropped antlers. I would start around late Sept. by then the mornings are doable for a hike but it will be humid.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

The only benefit to going now is to get the lay of the land.

Zero guarantee that currently empty tanks will be empty in during the season and zero guarantee that full tanks now will have a drop of water during the season.

This is pretty much how a lot of whitetail hunts go:

Animals will stick to their pattern until Friday around noon and maybe through sunset, deer will then do what they can to hide from the mass of weekend hunters and their entourages through Sunday, things pick up a bit on Monday afternoon, and then Tuesday-Thursday they are back to their regular routine.

With each passing hunt, both mule deer and whitetail, the animals get more skittish until the late December hunt. Remember there usually are multiple rifle whitetail and mule deer hunts, youth deer, draw archery deer, OTC archery deer, and youth javelina. Depending on the unit and weather, you also have lion and bear hunters (pronghorn and elk further north can be added to the mix).

The deer typically head for shade at first light; bucks often are gone when the first sun light hits their antlers. If it is cold, they may stay in bed longer and they may lounge in the sun a bit longer. They'll bed down. At some point they will get up to stretch, use the toilet, get a nibble, and then lay back down in the shade. Then late in the afternoon, they typically will start popping up typically once the area has been covered shade. Our "knowledge" or "beliefs" on the matter has zero impact on their behavior as they are wild and will do what they want when they want.

Here's a typical schedule: Get to glassing spot before sunrise. Scan area for first hour or so of light. Hunker down and do hard core glassing non-stop until late afternoon. Alternate between scanning and glassing until 15 minutes before last legal light. Scan at ever shorter distances until legal light ends. Head back to camp. Do it again the next day.

Moon phase typically means you do full blown glassing from the get go rather than looking for deer in the open for the first hour or so. They may also have a longer window of movement at some point during the day.

Two tips to improve your odds:
Tip #1: Seriously beef up your glassing skills.
Tip #2: Get proficient at shooting at distance.

 

[100%DIYazCOUES]

Pretty good summary right there!

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Great advice above from @AZ_Hunter_2000

The coues bucks I’ve seen lately both down south and up north did not currently have antlers. Many of them seem to have gone nocturnal during the latest extreme heat, I did catch some coues deer moving early morning on north facing slopes last Friday down south.

Activity is unit dependent and is currently reliant on water tanks, both from fish and game and cattle leases.

We had basically zero winter rain this year and haven’t had summer monsoon for the last two years.

Feel free to shoot me a PM for more details.

 

[Splee]

I drew a thanksgiving tag and I’m planning on not scouting until the previous season is over, sounds like that’s not a bad idea from all the comments here. Just head down a few weeks before my hunt.

 

[hereinaz]

You can start glassing to get an idea. Even if you are not seeing anything, it could just be you…

Find someone willing to talk you through how to glass for whitetails. That’s really the key. I spent seasons hopelessly floundering. I got some help and figured it out decently in a year or two.

Coues whitetail are a very unique hunt. They don’t call them the grey ghost for nothing. You can see a deer, blink and it will disappear. Keep staring, and it can flick an ear and in an instant the deer appears. You know it hasn’t moved and you were staring right at it. Weirdest thing ever.

Google Duwayne Adams and listen to podcasts. “Angle of the Dangle” Listen to Jay Scott as well. There are a few videos on youtube that will give you an idea.

Even during the hottest months, you can catch deer moving before the sun in the morning heats up. Glass the first hour and go home.

They typically won’t move in the afternoon when it’s still hot out. Don’t go out in the afternoons.

It’s not a bad strategy to drive and scout during the prior hunt just to see the glassing points. It’s pretty obvious where hunters go and you can figure out why they are there, to find your own spot.

Mule deer are found in the “flats” and Coues up higher. They can mingle some, but if you are seeing a lot of mule deer, glass higher up the mountain for the Coues.

Grid, grid, grid. Just know that if you take your eyes off the mountain the Coues will know and move right then. Seriously, the guys who stay in glass longer see more deer. Learn whether you need to scan quicker or whether you scan slower. Just stop and look. No glass is clear enough for you to see a Coues flick an ear or a tail if everything else is moving in your field of view. Move and scan, move and scan. Check the open areas. Scrutinize the shadows. Everything is a coues until you can prove it isn’t—that’s a mental game I play to stay positive, because it is actually true sometimes.

You are looking for recognizable bits of a deer. Rarely will you see the whole deer, and except first and last light.

 

[LearningToHunt]

Great advice above from @AZ_Hunter_2000

The coues bucks I’ve seen lately both down south and up north did not currently have antlers. Many of them seem to have gone nocturnal during the latest extreme heat, I did catch some coues deer moving early morning on north facing slopes last Friday down south.

Activity is unit dependent and is currently reliant on water tanks, both from fish and game and cattle leases.

We had basically zero winter rain this year and haven’t had summer monsoon for the last two years.

Feel free to shoot me a PM for more details.

I drew my tag in 35A ok the fort huachuca. Any knowledge over there? This will be my first ever deer hunt

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

I drew my tag in 35A ok the fort huachuca. Any knowledge over there? This will be my first ever deer hunt

Look at the G&F site for that unit as it provides enough info to get you started. If you

Assuming you are not hunting on-base, avoid the NE portion of the unit like the plague Friday-Sunday.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

I drew my tag in 35A ok the fort huachuca. Any knowledge over there? This will be my first ever deer hunt

I do, but unit specific post information is not allowed on Rokslide (which is a good thing).

Especially when it’s within your first 10 posts as a member here.

I love to help new hunters and folks new to the area so send me a PM. I will not give you “spots” but I can help you come up with a plan.