My friend, Amanda contacted me and asked if I would like to go to Sonora, Mexico on a Coues deer hunt. The ranch we would be hunting on she had already hunted twice before. The amount of deer she told me they had was enough for me. I said yes and we made our plans.
The outfitter is Mexafari (www.Mexafari.com) and the hunt was on a private working cattle ranch of 10,000 acres. From what Amanda had told me about the ranch and the deer that she had taken the year before I could hardly wait. We were to cross in Nogales, AZ to Nogales, Mexico. One of the guides, Temo would meet us in Nogales, AZ with our papers and gun permit. It is different going into Mexico with your own gun and ammo. The outfitter got us our gun permit that had the serial number of our gun, amount of ammo (which is 100 rounds), and your name. The ranch was a nine-hour drive from the border and there were many check points because we had rifles and ammo. Amanda had invited her friend, Ernesto to come with us and he spoke Spanish which was a big help. After a long day of traveling, we finally arrived at the ranch about 8:30 that night.
We unpacked, got settled in and talked about the next day and who was hunting with whom. It was decided that I would go with Temo, 
the guide, and Ernesto. Temo understood English, but did not speak it as well, so Ernesto helped in that department. Amanda was going to hunt with Javier. Javier’s father owned the ranch. I was excited to have morning come so I could see what the ranch looked like and the lay of the land. Our hunt was a five-day hunt starting on Wednesday, January 24th and ending on Sunday the 28th. We picked this time because the Coues deer are in the rut.
First morning, we had a wonderful breakfast and headed out on foot about 6:45 am. It was a bit cold that morning, about 30 degree F and a little rainy and windy. We headed up the dirt road behind the ranch house. The country was beautiful and we could glass the hillsides as we walked. It only took about 20 minutes and we were at our morning spot. We all settled in and started glassing. In a matter of minutes, we were finding deer. I was so surprised. Temo glassed a nice 109 inch buck, which made my heart go pitter-patter. I had never seen a Coues deer buck like that in AZ. Temo said this is just the first day and we will see if we can find better. If not he will be here and we can come back. I reluctantly said OK. We headed back to the ranch house for lunch and after a morning of glassing we had seen 10 bucks and 20 does. That was remarkable to me.
In the early afternoon we went to a different spot. This time we drove, but still not that far from the ranch house. The three of us glassed for quite awhile and we were not seeing as many deer. I changed locations to glass a different hillside and pick up a small buck. I was watching him in my binoculars and then a big buck walked up from beneath him. I almost gagged. I gave Temo and Ernesto the location so they could see him. Then two more buck showed up, one small, another big one and the chase was on. I would see legs and bodies fly by in the binoculars. They never stood still, just running and chasing each other. That was end of the first day and we had seen fifteen bucks and twenty-five does. Not bad.
It was the second morning and we knew where we were going to go. After another great breakfast we headed off to try to find that big buck I had glassed the afternoon before. We went back to the location from the day before and glassed and glassed, and no luck. We moved off the knoll and headed for another location.
It was starting to rain and it had rained most of the night so the ground was pretty wet. With the rain coming down we went and stood under a tree and were watch a herd of javelina. Several had come really close and ran off. They were neat to see so close. Just then Ernesto said “Big buck, big buck”. I looked over and was looking for a full bodied deer and Ernesto said, "Top of the ridge, his neck and head only". I put my binoculars up and said OH ????? He was staring right at us. Temo looked at me and whispered “You shoot now”. I sat down, unbuckled my pack, slipped it off, chambered a round (25-06) and put my rifle up and had him for a split second in my scope and he was gone. I wanted to run over there and find him, but Temo said, "We will sit here". My heart was pounding.
All of a sudden a doe came walking out from some bushes on our side of the ridge. 
I had not seen her before. The javelina were woofing and the doe started walking along the ridge, and then he came running over the top. I was so surprised that he came back over. He stopped, I put up my rifle had him in my cross hairs and he moved. He started chasing the doe. I led him a bit and shot. I thought I made a good hit, but he didn’t stop. He continued to chase the doe. I put another round in, thinking "Did I shoot low or high?" and hoping that I would get a second shot, and then Temo said the magic words,” He is down”. I looked up and saw him fall, kick his legs, and not move again. I was so excited. This was the biggest and nicest Coues deer buck I had ever seen and I had made a good running shot and he was down. We sat for about 10 minutes watching him and then hiked over to where he laid. The shot was right in the pocket at about 110 yards.
Ernesto and Temo took him down by the creek and hung him in a tree. This was my first guided hunt and someone 
else was doing the work. Temo gutted him and then he pulled his legs high up in the tree with his body so the coyotes and mountain lions would not get him. Ernesto took off his shirt and put the shirt next to him to help keep the mountain lions away. Temo said we would call for the Mexican cowboys to come with their horses and bring him back to camp. I thought this is great, no packing out the deer, this was a first for me.
Amanda is an official Boone and Crockett scorer, and when she came in that early evening, from her hunt, she scored my deer. To my surprise he grossed 118 5/8. It takes a net score of 110 to make Boone and Crockett, which he will at about 114.
For Boone and Crockett you have to wait for 60 days after to take your animal for the official score. So in 60 days Amanda will score him again for the record book. Amanda also took a nice Coues deer buck.
This was a great hunt, and not just because I took a record Coues deer. The amount of deer we saw, the ratio of bucks to does the quality, and the different gene pools of Coues deer and the habitat they have. Coues deer are found in parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico. In Arizona we do not see Coues deer in those numbers nor the ratio of bucks to does. This last December, 2006 my husband and I had an AZ. Coues deer hunt and in 6.5 days we saw 65 does and no bucks.
That is why I feel this was a hunt of a life time for me. I am so thankful that my friend, Amanda invited me to share this experience with her.
