JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
Are we going to top last year's harvest? My money says no. 25,000 more deer in the remaining seasons? I hope we don't.
2025 Harvest numbers
2025 Harvest numbers
seven twenty
PMA Member
Doesn’t sound very good in my area. Saw less than 2dz deer total all wkd. Others I talked to didn’t fair much better. I didn’t shoot last year and probably won’t again this year.
Oddly just looked at that today too- and I can’t imagine we will get that many more deer. Watched the neighbors push again next door, walking my fence row, not kicking anything out of any fence rows/brushy draws. They never fired a shot today (talked to them) and they have a youth that’s try to get her first deer (not youth tag). Told them they could sit in my place since I have 30ish does/fawns here nightly- I haven’t seen anything over 80 inches of antler since the end of November. They have struggled to find deer second season they said
Bucksnbears
Well-Known Member
Haven't seen this years #s where I'm at in nw mn.
But what I've seen over the last 10 or so years is..., the annual D.N.R. report will ALWAYS blame some kind of weather event for the downwards trend.
To wet, to windy, to cold, to many standing cornfield, add nauseam.
Real 100% reason is lack of acsess!. (Someone seen a huge buck)!
But what I've seen over the last 10 or so years is..., the annual D.N.R. report will ALWAYS blame some kind of weather event for the downwards trend.
To wet, to windy, to cold, to many standing cornfield, add nauseam.
Real 100% reason is lack of acsess!. (Someone seen a huge buck)!
Stoney
Active Member
Me too. And when I see a nice doe, the calculator turns on & I start thinking that she is probably pregnant with twins and has a fawn that may or may not survive if I shoot her. Then I think about what the impact of shooting just one doe is & what that means for next year. So I don’t.
seven twenty
PMA Member
Anybody from one of the counties that have 2-3000 antlerless tags want to chime in? What are you seeing? Like I said above, I’ve seen fewer deer in total than what we’d see in a single push 5 yrs ago. Another thing, not a lot of guys saw much for EHD kill-off. Maybe it was there, but nobody found much.
A couple guys used their Statewides on does (not that I agree, not for me to judge tho either) but we didn’t see a mature deer. I don’t even think anyone saw a 3yr old.
A couple guys used their Statewides on does (not that I agree, not for me to judge tho either) but we didn’t see a mature deer. I don’t even think anyone saw a 3yr old.
iowavf
Well-Known Member
We didn't shoot any doe the last two years and won't thins year either. If I use my tag, it'll be on an older buck, or what I consider a lesser quality buck. Odds are, I won't shoot anything again this year, just sit and watch the deer. I saw plenty last year, just not what I'd consider to shoot.
Some interesting numbers. The number of available tags seem historically high. (no data, just my perception)
| Allamakee | 3800 | 1247 |
| Appanoose | 2500 | 688 |
| Clarke | 2100 | 797 |
| Decatur | 2200 | 1031 |
| Madison | 3300 | 1138 |
| Monroe | 2250 | 919 |
| Van Buren | 2300 | 677 |
| Wayne | 2450 | 1244 |
sep0667
Land of the Whitetail
I haven't shot anything this year yet. Not planning to shoot any does off my 80 acre farm. There's a couple mature bucks, but the stars have not aligned to get a crack at one. Its the fourth hunting season I have had it, first two years lots of deer, it was awesome. Then we had EHD end of 23', I found about 10 dead deer along the creek winter of 24 shed hunting and I know the neighbor found a few too. Last year and this year have been noticeably lower #'s compared to the first couple years. Have had some disappointing hunts this year, but this year I saw better #'s than last. The back half of November I started seeing better #'s than oct and early november and trail cams pics picked up as well, seems maybe more deer filtered in later into the season. I'm optimistic for next year there.
South central Iowa here. We will be shooting ZERO does across a couple thousand acres of managed farms.
Deer numbers and quality are as low as I've seen them.
Deer numbers and quality are as low as I've seen them.
Allamakee- we have shot zero does. Won’t shoot any on our pieces. Shot 2 younger bucks (youth) but that’s been it. Nothing super mature running around.
My home farm- shot one doe that was wounded from first gun… otherwise not shooting anything else even though they added tags in this county this year
My home farm- shot one doe that was wounded from first gun… otherwise not shooting anything else even though they added tags in this county this year
JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
I can't remember the last doe I shot, been 5, maybe 10 years? Last buck taken was 2024, before that 2020. Probably not punch a tag this year. Haven't even bothered getting antlerless tags, even the landowner ones.
On the bright side, I saw lots of YOUNG deer this year, both buck and doe. Not sure where all the mature deer went, maybe EHD. Did find some dead heads this past spring that I attributed to it. Cedar/Johnson Counties.
On the bright side, I saw lots of YOUNG deer this year, both buck and doe. Not sure where all the mature deer went, maybe EHD. Did find some dead heads this past spring that I attributed to it. Cedar/Johnson Counties.
I just got back from hunting 3 days of 2nd season. I'm a nonresident hunting on several family owned properties in Madison County. Last time I hunted was bow season in 2020, and gun 2019. These farms have great habitat and generally hold a lot of deer. My observations would suggest that the population is roughly half the numbers we had 5 years ago.We saw very few fawns and significantly less does. This is generally a meat hunt and it is normally pretty easy to fill doe tags but it was a bit of a struggle to get 5 does. We did see pretty good numbers of bucks, so the ratio seems to be pretty good. We passed 4-5, 3-4 1/2 year old ten points so the future looks bright on that front. We aw very few other hunters out, and heard significantly less shooting, but the cold and wind may have been a factor.
I agree with your observation in my area as well. Interesting part is if I am reading the spot light surveys correctly DNR made observation that population is “consistent with counts since 2018”. And if you look at the survey data there are more sightings now that there were prior to the big die off in 2012. Consensus here with boots on ground suggesting that deer numbers are significantly lower. Again makes me question motives and direction of DNR when it comes to population.
Daver
PMA Member
Just one data point from one area of the state...as late as mid-summer 2023, we were preparing to "hit 'em hard" on the does because of persistent high numbers, etc. (FWIW, to that point (2023), this area was still high to very high pop, even though other areas of the state had been reduced significantly as I understand things.) Well, EHD showed up a month later (August 2023) and took A LOT of deer...I would estimate 50%'ish, with a little higher percentage of bucks, harrumph.
The numbers are climbing back up since then, but kind of slowly. Buck numbers, particularly 3+ year olds, have cratered, due also to subsequent harvest at "normal" levels per year. Some guys just can't not shoot a buck every year and with fewer bucks out there...they just adjust their acceptable targets to younger/smaller deer v. waiting a year or two and letting things "catch up".
I don't know what the DNR thinks is going in our small area of the state, but it is A LOT different there all of a sudden than it used to be and there are no regulation changes that I can think of that would appear to be adaptations due such a high mortality (EHD) now two years ago. If anyone feels like the population is "consistent with prior counts..." in our area then they immediately disqualify themselves in my mind as to having a meaningful understanding of the actual facts.
As has often been shared on this forum, many times by Skip himself, while we Iowans have enjoyed a strong, healthy deer herd with good age structure for years...it is ALSO a fragile state and there are no guarantees that we will always enjoy such a good situation in the future. IMO, we are experiencing a noticeable decline in the overall condition and health of the herd in out state and while EHD is a big part of the story in many places, we as hunters have also contributed to the decline in significant fashion by allowing/adopting advanced technologies, continued harvest pressures, etc. We are not guaranteed good deer hunting and we need to look seriously at changes that give some "space" back to the quarry before things get worse and possibly stay that way.
scottonbuck
Well-Known Member
A lot less antlerless tags available in most areas.