I am an avid Coues deer hunter based out of Arizona. The name "Coues" has gotten very popular since the show Meat Eater did a few episodes on these deer going back almost a decade now. Down here, and in Mexico just about everyone who has hunted them a long time simply calls them white tails, or over the border they call them "cola blancas".
I hunt them every year in Arizona and Mexico and it's the hunt I look forward to the most. I scout/shoot/camp/backpack in their habitat year round and have learned quite a bit about their overall habits.
People call them grey ghosts and talk about how difficult they are to find, and mention things they've read on the internet about hunting them. While most of this is true and is good information, one of the main things that new coues whitetail deer hunters always seem to overestimate is their size. They setup to glass and begin looking with a "mule deer" in their head for sizing and spacing. This leads to a lot of guys and gals blowing right on by deer as their perspective is way off. Yes, they do blend in very well, better than most animals, and while this does have to do with their coloring and terrain they live in, it has more to do with their small stature.
I've posted this here before, but figured a dedicated thread would help newer hunters. You are looking for an animal that is closer in size to a Great Dane than a Mule Deer. A mature buck will maybe be 100 lbs, with some having the potential to be larger. This is less than half the weight of a large mature mule deer. A mature coues whitetail buck will stand 30" at the top of shoulder, up to a full foot shorter than a mature mule deer.
Here's a fun photo for a little bit of perspective. Below is a record book coues whitetail buck skull... It fully fits within the inside spread of this Arizona mule deer buck skull that scored 184".
So next time you're out glassing for whitetails down south, slow down, and remember the size perspective. They are HALF the size of Mule Deer.
I hunt them every year in Arizona and Mexico and it's the hunt I look forward to the most. I scout/shoot/camp/backpack in their habitat year round and have learned quite a bit about their overall habits.
People call them grey ghosts and talk about how difficult they are to find, and mention things they've read on the internet about hunting them. While most of this is true and is good information, one of the main things that new coues whitetail deer hunters always seem to overestimate is their size. They setup to glass and begin looking with a "mule deer" in their head for sizing and spacing. This leads to a lot of guys and gals blowing right on by deer as their perspective is way off. Yes, they do blend in very well, better than most animals, and while this does have to do with their coloring and terrain they live in, it has more to do with their small stature.
I've posted this here before, but figured a dedicated thread would help newer hunters. You are looking for an animal that is closer in size to a Great Dane than a Mule Deer. A mature buck will maybe be 100 lbs, with some having the potential to be larger. This is less than half the weight of a large mature mule deer. A mature coues whitetail buck will stand 30" at the top of shoulder, up to a full foot shorter than a mature mule deer.
Here's a fun photo for a little bit of perspective. Below is a record book coues whitetail buck skull... It fully fits within the inside spread of this Arizona mule deer buck skull that scored 184".
So next time you're out glassing for whitetails down south, slow down, and remember the size perspective. They are HALF the size of Mule Deer.
