In between the bouts of terror and pain I experience while Coues deer hunting, I actually found some time to hunt. I spent it glassing for hours and hours. Then I used my accurate rifle to shoot across a wide canyon and kill the little deer they call the ‘gray ghost.’ Far from boring, it was one of most exciting and challenging hunts I have ever experienced. Even without all the crashing and burning.
This may well be the most equipment intensive hunt on earth. The deer are on one side of the canyons and you are on the other. You need good optics to see the little fellas, and a very accurate rifle to hit them. My rifle was a Remington Model 700 Stainless Synthetic chambered for one of the greatest long range cartridges to ever be under appreciated, the 7mm Remington Ultra Mag. The gun would shoot 3/4-inch 100-yard groups right out of the box with 160 grain Remington factory loads. It looks like it was dragged behind a panicked horse running through a mine field after that fall down the mountain, but it still shoots just as good as it did when it was pretty.
Optics are crucial for Coues deer hunting. Next time I will make sure I have the best 10X42 binoculars and a high power spotting scope in addition to a high power variable riflescope. I would take nothing but the best and my choices would be Swarovski, Nikon or Leica.
This is also one hunt were a multi reticle riflescope like the Swarovski TDS or the Nikon BDC is almost a must. These riflescope reticles have multiple aiming points and if you do you homework and match them to your rifle’s trajectory and hunt with a good laser rangefinder it’s a lot easier to hit these small deer at the long ranges required..
