Coues Rodeo: A first-timer gets a shot at a monster Coues deer

By Nate Remington

Coues whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus couesi) is a subspecies of the eastern whitetail that live in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Their name comes from Dr. Elliot Coues, an Army physician who was the first to scientifically describe the subspecies, which is why they are called the Coues deer. This subspecies is not known for giant racks or massive body size. They are very small in stature, often not more than 30” at the shoulder, and normally under 100 pounds in weight. These small deer have captivated the minds of hunters, who sometimes describe them as the hardest big game animal to chase due to their skittish nature and how well they blend into their surroundings.

Generous Offer

I’ve been enamored with Coues deer from a very young age and have wanted to hunt them for just as long. I work in the hunting industry, and through work, I met a man named Blaine Mathews and his son, Brandon Mathews. Blaine lived in Arizona, and every time he came to my workplace we talked for hours about hunting, more specifically Coues deer. When Blaine and his sons were not hunting, they were helping guide for G3 Outfitters in Arizona and New Mexico. He very generously offered to take me out if I ever drew a Coues deer tag, so I started applying and gaining points to take him up on the offer.

Unfortunately, Blaine passed away in an incredibly tragic accident in 2020. Kyle Mathews, Blaine’s oldest son, reached out to me to give me the bad news and to let me know the offer was still on the table if I wanted to come down and hunt with them. Knowing how incredible Blaine was, I knew that his family would be just like him in their generosity, kindness, and overall love of hunting. I talked with Kyle for a while and told him that I would stay in touch, and when I draw a tag, they would be the first ones I called. It finally happened this year; I drew an Arizona Coues Deer tag, and one of my dream hunts was officially on the calendar. Brandon and Kyle were ecstatic, and we began planning dates and areas where we would hunt.

First Look

When my plane landed in Arizona, it hit me that my dream of hunting the “Grey Ghost” was becoming reality. It was finally here. The first morning, we headed to a great glassing knob and I had no idea what was in store for me. It was around 9 AM that I finally glassed up my first Coues – a doe and two fawns. I quickly set my spotting scope and took a picture; my excitement was through the roof. Over the next few hours, we found a few more does and fawns but we were yet to find a buck. Kyle, who had been glassing a different area, relocated to where Brandon and I sat. The moment he sat down he found two bucks over a mile away. I frantically searched the area through my binoculars to try and see my first Coues buck, but I couldn’t find them for the life of me.

After Kyle elaborated further on where they were at, I was finally able to spot them, and I was in awe of how truly hard they were to find. Later that day, Kyle found a few other bucks, one of them big enough to make a stalk on. Brandon and I took off to see if we could get in range, but we were about 30 seconds too late, and the buck topped out over a ridge. We stayed there until dark, but nothing else developed. I was smiling the entire hike back, for I couldn’t believe I made a stalk on a Coues; it was all surreal to me.

Coues Rodeo

The next morning, we hiked up to the same glassing knob as the day before. Kyle quickly picked out the buck from last night in the same area, and the hunt was on. Brandon and I took off again, following a different route that would put us a bit closer to where the buck was. We snuck up to a prominent rock and climbed up to the top, finding a perfect place to lay down and set up for a shot. After a few minutes, we couldn’t find the buck we were chasing. However, Kyle, from 1,000 yards behind us, was watching three bucks come over the ridge in front of where Brandon and I were set up. Quickly, Kyle texted us and let us know that there were more bucks to the left of where we were looking originally.

In that time, the bucks bedded before Brandon and I could locate them. After dissecting the area, we found a smaller buck and the shine of an antler behind it, and the wait began. Laying on a rock in an uncomfortable position, in the hot sun for over an hour, looking at a bedded buck describes how crazy and die-hard Coues deer hunters are. After what seemed like forever, the bigger of the three bucks stood up. My rest was perfect, I had already dialed my scope to the yardage, and I let the first shot go – miss… Brandon was also in an awkward position, and couldn’t see where the shot hit, so I shot again – miss…

At this point, we knew the buck was giant, and I started panicking. I shot again, missed, and the buck moved down and out of sight. Thank goodness Brandon was there, for I was out of my mind with what was happening. I couldn’t believe I had missed the shot. Knowing the buck would move back into sight, Brandon set up his tripod so he could see where the shots were hitting. After a short pep talk, the buck stepped out back into our field of view, and this time he was about 50 yards closer. I re-ranged and moved the scope two clicks down, then I got back on a perfect, dead rest.

I asked Brandon where I should aim because I had no idea where the gun was hitting. Brandon instructed me to aim behind his shoulder and that he’d watch where the bullet hit so I could quickly get another shot off. The buck stopped, and I let another shot go. He went down immediately. Brandon grabbed my calf and told me that he dropped, and I thought he was lying to me. I asked him multiple times if he was pulling my leg, and he continually kept saying, “He dropped.”

In Shock

Meanwhile, Kyle saw the buck go down, so he gathered all his gear and the gear that we left with him and made his way up to us. During that time, Brandon and I moved closer to the buck so we could have eyes on him while we were waiting for Kyle. After watching the buck not move for about 30 minutes, he stood back up, and I went into a full panic. I laid down and got prone once again, putting two more shots into the buck until he was down for good. A few minutes later, Kyle got to where we were waiting, and together, we all made our way to the buck.

Walking up to him was everything I dreamed of and more. He got bigger as we got closer, and the realization of how truly giant he was set in. Brandon, Kyle, and I all reminisced about the rodeo it was to get this deer while staring at him for a few minutes. We talked about how Blaine would’ve had the biggest smile on his face and how much he would’ve enjoyed this hunt and having me come down and hunt with him and his family. We took a few pictures, and got him out of there; then we met up with a few other friends and guides for G3 that wanted to see him.

We all sat around the buck that night for a few hours. All of us were in shock, and some had never seen a Coues deer that big with their own eyes, including me. When I first dreamt of experiencing a Coues deer hunt, the result was nothing close to this. This hunt ended better than I could’ve ever imagined and was more than I deserved. I know that this buck didn’t just walk into our lap without some other force being at work and my fourth shot finally connecting, so I know that Blaine had things working for us from above. I consider myself incredibly blessed to be able to experience a hunt like this, and I can’t thank Brandon and Kyle enough for letting me come down from Utah to hunt with them. I also would like to thank G3 Outfitters for letting me steal two of their guides during hunting season to take me out! I will forever be indebted to them all!

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