I thought the same thing, even once a week during hunting season.
Giant Deer of Iowa are rapidly becoming a past memory
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booneriverbucks
PMA Member
If we really wanted to do something that’d help we could push to ban all in season trail cam use.. I doubt many would support it.
I think the number of small parcels being bought is right there with cell cams. What used to be 400 acres hunted by a family can now be hunted by 10 or more families. We land from a 200 acre break up. We bought 30 acres, neighbor 15, next neighbor 7, and another has like 27. Than a 47 and a 40ish more or less on the numbers. The one with 7 acres will shoot more bucks in 5 years than I will in 20. Especially now that he has kids.
I still refuse to use cell cams. I also don't sit in a blind but am not as opposed to that. I would also limit cross bows to a shortened non rut season. A one buck limit is necessary also IMO.
YtailFreak
Active Member
Something no one has mentioned are thermal scopes. I'm guessing its not huge numbers, but I suspect they do more damage than we all know.
What's that old saying...Nothing good happens after midnight.
What's that old saying...Nothing good happens after midnight.
I posted this befo
I posted this thought earlier on the thermals. Are there bad apples that are shooting deer, 100%. I have killed a pile of coyotes with a thermal and have saw 1000s of deer. It would be difficult (not impossible) to target mature deer with them. So I ask, are the boogy man poachers taking all their oopses with them? Or do you see carcasses with heads cut off? At some point we have to pick the lesser of the two evils. Is it good that we are killing coyotes (deer killers) with thermals or are we afraid of the poachers using thermals? I think thermals save more deer by helping keep coyote numbers in check than we lose from poachers. A poacher is gonna poach until they get caught. I am not naive that some deer get popped after midnight but if thermals were not legal more people would be pointing to coyotes.
yeah I agree. Not sure it was mentioned in this thread or a different once but it's a concern for sure.
One good thing about thermals is the poachers and dopers aren’t the only people out there after midnight anymore. There’s actually some reliable witnesses driving around now.
Hardwood11
It is going to be a good fall!
Cell cams have slowed down trespassing as well .
This is 100% correct from a high grading standpoint and the fact that we have 1/2 the deer herd that we had in mid 2000’s. Remember we cut our population from an estimated around 750,000 in mid 2000’s to 350,000 today. Going to a one buck system will only magnify the high grading. Think about it. Nobody will waste their only buck tag on a cull regardless of his age. Nobody. Every year a cull gets passed degrades the gene pool. I also agree that we don’t have an age class issue because there are plenty of older age class bucks sporting 130” racks.
I believe with better food plots, better habitat, less pressure/intrusion on most managed farms the higher end deer are not leaving, roaming or getting pushed off onto neighbors as frequently. Couple this with decreasing CRP and habitat loss across the landscape the deer roam even less. If they leave their home frequently for whatever reason do they don’t make it past 4 years old. No regulation will fix that. As parcel sizes decrease and there gets to be more hunting pressure per square mile the bucks chances will continue to decrease without hunters using self control (trigger finger management). If your area has increasing pressure and you want to keep the better genetic bucks from getting pushed off, you better kill the older bully bucks. In a one buck State you loose that management tool. Just think about a 5-6 year old bully 8 with short tines that scores 130”. He can jump about any fence and roam by multiple hunters without being killed. However, the first time a 160” three year old 10 jumps the neighbor’s fence, down goes Frazier! It is the definition of high grading. It happens every day and going to a one buck State will only intensify the high grading.
How many times have you heard a guy talk about this big old buck stayed in this tiny core area. Guys, all the big ones do that or they don’t get big, unless it was just by dumb luck or because dedicated neighbors are working together that allow them to survive. Iowa doesn’t have an age structure problem in most areas. We for sure have a high grading problem in all areas and that goes back to the 1990’s with the big buck craze. It has only gotten worse with social media. How many times have you heard the “celebrity” guys saying. “We haven’t hunted this farm for 3 years because we didn’t have any we wanted to shoot”. Translation: no 180”-200”+.
How many mature “sub par” bucks were breeding and living on that 400 acre farm loaded with food plots and the best habitat Iowa has to offer? This also hurts the buck quality in a neighborhood just as much as shooting that 3 year old 160” ten. Both increase the potential of poor genetics being passed on.
The sky is not falling, but most hunters do have unrealistic standards that they set by watching tv, youtube or social media. The reality is there are bigger deer being killed every year across this State. There are 200” deer being killed every year in Iowa. Many you never hear of. As a matter of fact, now when you hear of a 200” deer it is like, oh that’s a good one. Twenty years ago that was cover material for North American whitetail. I know of two young men that killed mid 180” deer in NW Iowa in the last two years. I know the county they harvested them in and killing a 185” was unheard of just twenty five years ago. The only reason I know about these deer is because I know the family. People just don’t advertise what they are harvesting anymore.
The answer is simple. Hunt for mature deer. Let the young better genetic bucks go and try to fill one of your tags on a cull if there is one on the property you hunt. Over a several year period you will get your chances to hunt higher scoring deer. Thinking you will hunt 170”+ deer every year is unrealistic in most areas of Iowa. Even in the most intensely managed areas they are not plentiful.
No regulation will change that fact.
If you can regulate yourself (trigger finger management) by selective harvest of both bucks and does. You can help improve the population and genetic potential of the deer in the area you hunt. That will do far more than lobbying for some change you hope will help.
Ask yourself…am I helping improve the population by holding off shooting does? Am I helping improve the genetics in my area by removing poor quality bucks and letting younger better genetic bucks go? Or are you just hunting for the highest scoring bucks you can shoot each year. Be honest with yourself. Would you shoot a 160” three year old 10 or a 140” five year old 8 if both are standing under your stand. If you’re shooting the 160” you’re not managing for top end bucks.
Managing for top end bucks starts and ends with you. That is really the only thing you can control…yourself.
Now I don’t personally care what anyone shoots if it makes them happy and supports our sport. But if you shoot younger better genetic deer don’t complain about top end buck quality declining in your hunting area. Same with don’t complain about not seeing enough deer and then go out and shoot a bunch of does.
Good luck to everyone. Hope you cross paths with your target buck!
booneriverbucks
PMA Member
^^^^Well said!^^^
100% accurate IMO. Was going to post this comment earlier but held off but follows what you are saying. The “if I didn’t shoot him the neighbor would have” saying goes along with high grading. If an individual complains about no high scoring mature deer but shoots every 160” 3 yo because the “neighbor will if I don’t“ then that persons goals are not in line with their actions. It stings, I get it, when you see the neighbors FB post with the deer you passed but there is no chance that buck gets super high scoring if you shoot him. SLIM chance he gets by in today’s world but IF you let him walk and if your goal is to harvest a true giant you have to give him that SMALL chance. I also agree there are low scoring 5+ yo deer out there with most never having what it takes to get BIG. My thoughts are manage the deer that don’t seem to have high scoring characteristics by the time they are three not to influence the genetics but to make space and promote those bucks that do have what it takes to MAYBE get high scoring by 5+. Like your comment on the 170” bucks! They just aren’t around every tree and never have been but with half the deer population there will be half the high scoring deer right from the start.
We don't have to speculate about the positive benefits a one buck rule would bring. All we have to do is look at other states. No guessing here.
booneriverbucks
PMA Member
I don’t disagree at all that becoming a one buck state could/would increase trophy quality in general..even with potential high grading issues. My issue with becoming a one buck state is that it creates a golden opportunity to increase non-resident tags which would further limit access to residents. If people think access is tough/expensive now just wait until the non-resident quota is doubled or trippled.
Did anyone ever come up with the number of people that fill 2 or three antlered tags in any given year?
deerhunter93
Well-Known Member
I think there are many reasons for the decline and every one above has some type of impact - the percentage of impact, I have no clue. The ones that I think have the most impact are:
-Lack of effort/skill needed to consistently kill high scoring deer - buy a property, hire someone to set it up with blinds/plots/habitat improvement, trail cameras - and just sit in your blind on a manicured food plot, 400 yard gun, with bulletproof entry/exit and tada, you have a darn good chance at killing the highest scoring deer in the area. There is zero skill in that. (I'm not bashing habitat managers/consultants - I get a lot of enjoyment out of habitat improvement projects and think there are huge benefits)
-Social media/the amount of trophy hunters/the hunting industry - guys that may have been perfectly fine shooting a 120 inch buck now have pressure to kill a 150+
-High grading - tied in with above
-Cell cameras - and even trail cameras in general (I use both) - tied in with above
-Lower deer population
-EHD
-Neonicotinoids
-Fragmenting properties
I'm sure there are many more that I'm forgetting and stuff we don't even realize is having a big impact.
-Lack of effort/skill needed to consistently kill high scoring deer - buy a property, hire someone to set it up with blinds/plots/habitat improvement, trail cameras - and just sit in your blind on a manicured food plot, 400 yard gun, with bulletproof entry/exit and tada, you have a darn good chance at killing the highest scoring deer in the area. There is zero skill in that. (I'm not bashing habitat managers/consultants - I get a lot of enjoyment out of habitat improvement projects and think there are huge benefits)
-Social media/the amount of trophy hunters/the hunting industry - guys that may have been perfectly fine shooting a 120 inch buck now have pressure to kill a 150+
-High grading - tied in with above
-Cell cameras - and even trail cameras in general (I use both) - tied in with above
-Lower deer population
-EHD
-Neonicotinoids
-Fragmenting properties
I'm sure there are many more that I'm forgetting and stuff we don't even realize is having a big impact.
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Windlooker
Well-Known Member
You just described what every Iowa video star does. Zero skill? Idk about that. The decline, I’ve said this for years and you touched on it, is video and social media tech telling the masses to hunt Iowa. The result is crazy pressure and outside money buying property many times in fragmented form for affordability.
This was started in the early 2000s by the Drurys, Kiskys, Winke and continued by the Lakoskys, Bomars, Lindsey’s etc. It’s been two decades or more of constant advertisement.
Unfortunately it can’t be undone. Those with large controlled tracks will still hunt big deer while those with smaller tracks will struggle.
Also, eliminate the NR doe tag. Even though party hunting is now illegal there’s no way most are paying $400 to shoot a doe.
This was started in the early 2000s by the Drurys, Kiskys, Winke and continued by the Lakoskys, Bomars, Lindsey’s etc. It’s been two decades or more of constant advertisement.
Unfortunately it can’t be undone. Those with large controlled tracks will still hunt big deer while those with smaller tracks will struggle.
Also, eliminate the NR doe tag. Even though party hunting is now illegal there’s no way most are paying $400 to shoot a doe.
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DMarley83
DMARLEY83
All
Something that would be very cool is if more of these iowa shows and there's a lot, would show guys targeting Old low scoring deer intentionally.....
Then explain why.
You see it occasionally , but not very often!
Anyone with a cheap camera could do it.!
Hardwood11
It is going to be a good fall!
Northwest MN produces some nice bucks, but not as many as the past . Poor regulations is one reason … but this doesn’t help 
The argument that other States went to one buck and it made a difference so Iowa should is flawed. Let’s use Indiana because that State often gets brought up as an example. Well Indiana has 35,868 square miles of land versus Iowa at 55,857. Indiana’s deer population is around 700,000. Iowa’s is 350,000. So Indiana is ~ 35% smaller with twice as many deer as Iowa. Indiana’s deer harvest in 2024-2025 was 126,183. Iowa’s deer harvest in 2024-2025 was 101,278. I’m sure buck quality did improve for Indiana when they went to one buck. But they have 700,000 deer. Let’s get our population up even with Indiana at 700,000 and see if anyone is complaining before we take away opportunities from our resident deer hunters. As far as Kansas and Ohio, they both have deer populations between 650,000-700,000. Again, both States have twice as many deer as Iowa.
I consider myself a trophy hunter/manager and don’t support going to one buck. My reasons are buck harvest doesn’t affect population trends. I do believe going to one buck will result in more does being harvested which will affect the population trend. It also doesn’t allow the trophy hunter/manager to cull bucks. Resulting in high grading the herd and negative long term consequences.
Most importantly I don’t want to see resident hunters have opportunities taken away solely because of my lust for antlers or anybody else’s. People pushing for one buck try to frame it as wanting a balanced age structure. That is a false narrative, let’s call it what it is…antler lust. Our buck age structure is fine. If you’re not seeing as many 5, 6 and 7 year old bucks sporting 170”+ as you want. It doesn’t mean Iowa’s deer herd age structure is not balanced. It means you and your neighbors are high grading the herd. Going to one buck won’t stop the high grading. It will intensify it. Quit shooting the good genetics bucks and cull the poor bucks. Everyone should take a step back and set their trophy agenda to the side and ask yourself what is best for all resident deer hunters, the kids and our sport. I don’t think taking away a residents opportunity to hunt for a buck with bow and a gun if they chose is in the sports best interest. Iowa has all the right regulations already in place. We just need to get our population back up to get us closer to where we were in the mid 2000’s.
We need to remember. Not everyone cares about big antlers. We also need to remember that not one hunter (trophy or meat hunter) in the State of Iowa was complaining about our deer herd back in the mid 2000’s when our deer population was 750,000.
Let’s focus on what will actually make a difference versus dividing us. We need every single one of us to be on the same page. That page is getting the population back up. That is the message we need to be pushing. That is a message all of Iowa’s deer hunters can and will get behind. That is the message that will actually improve everyone’s hunting. Both meat hunters and trophy hunters. That is the message ISC should be pushing. Not pushing for a one buck State.
If you choose to shoot one buck, two bucks, no bucks, cull bucks or trophy bucks. It all comes down to you. You can’t control what the neighbor shoots and no regulations will either.
I will say it again…
Managing for top end bucks starts and ends with you. That is really the only thing you can control…yourself.