Windlooker
Well-Known Member
The maybes need to make a call. After careful thought which way are you voting?
Slick
Well-Known Member
This was Skip his first week in Iowa after leaving Michigan 20 some years ago and seeing an over priced piece of land. Obliviously a little thinner and a lot more hair. Time sure can change a man!!!
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jflournoy
Active Member
Having lived in Ohio for 15 years and now being an Iowa resident I can say that Ohio is one of the better hunting states in the U.S. for whitetail, but it does not compare to Iowa. I see better bucks on public land on average in Iowa than I did on private ground in Ohio. Don't get me wrong, there are some studs in Ohio, and I killed a few. But even with the 1 buck limit, it doesn't compare to Iowa. Gun season is 1 week closer to the rut than in Iowa, tags are over the counter, and Ohio has a population of people almost 4 times larger than Iowa, so way, way more hunting pressure. I will agree with you on your last statement that Iowa would be off the charts if it went to 1 buck. Iowa deer management already gets so many other things right, making that one change would make a huge difference. But I doubt it will have any chance of happening any time soon.
Every state has some regs that can be improved on. Some states are disasters, some “do it better” …. The ones that are “great” - there’s no doubt in my mind we can list things could change that would in FACT make them a state that had a higher ratio of deer that got to maturity.
The best ones: IMO, what I’d change if I were deer dictator & I was tasked with making the overall herd better……. ****and, I’ll argue with every ounce of my core…. U improve hunting in the Midwest, increase age class, dial things back…. The amount of new hunters that are QUITTING RIGHT NOW - Will be reversed & stabilized. I’ll argue this forever- these ruined states are hemorrhaging new hunters. Making the Midwest great would stop this & reverse it!!!!
OHIO: get rid of crossguns during archery. Since I’m the dictator I wouldn’t even reserve them for their own short season- which would be the more political move. No bait. 10,000 tag limit on NR’s. End season Jan 1.
KS: no bait. No crossbows. Reduce NR tags 50%.
Iowa: 1 buck. As dictator I’d probably be rid of party hunting (oh man- I’m gonna get lynched for saying this! Yikes!!). Jan 1 end date of season. Keep rest of regs the same. Oh- I would cut all doe tags in about 60% of counties: counties in N iowa that have very few deer.
IL: one buck. NR maxed to 10,000. Move gun back 7-10 days. Before Lori Lightfoot is out - she will be confiscating all crossbows door to door.
WI, MN, MI: one buck. December gun & short gun season. No bait. Oct 1 to Jan 1 season. No Xbows in archery.
MO: 1 buck, NR cap of 10,000. No xbows in archery.
IN: move gun season back 2 weeks. No xbows, 10k limit on NR. Revert back to shotgun & even straight wall & get rid of high powers.
U probably get my point here. Repeat in about every state!
. One buck. No guns in middle of rut, No bait. No xbows except seniors & disabled & prioritize R over NR in every state. If Trump or desantis gets in for 2024…. I have been offered the roll of DEER DICTATOR!!! Benevolent Dictator!!!
Spysar
Well-Known Member
Nebraska as of last year finally put a cap on non resident bow tags, at 5,000 .
SD has increased license fees and now has a time limit for getting non res tags. If you don't buy your bow tag before april, you can't hunt public land.
2 states that are doing a little something.
SD has increased license fees and now has a time limit for getting non res tags. If you don't buy your bow tag before april, you can't hunt public land.
2 states that are doing a little something.
Also- you can’t hunt public until Oct 1 in South Dakota for deer (unless they changed that this year?) so it gives the residents a month to hunt deer first. Some of the locals I talked to when I was antelope hunting said it wasn’t “fair” non residents could come out and shoot their deer. Weirdest conversation ever.
mplane72
PMA Member
I voted need to think about it.
Just skimmed through the responses. Some interesting takes.
There would be no need to think about going to 1 buck tag if we weren't doing everything possible to ruin what was once a good thing.
I don't really worry about Iowa's "trophy" status as much as I do access for residents. If going to one buck tag means more opportunity for NR or NRLO I'm a hard no. I expect that would be a result of reducing resident opportunity.
I am not a landowner. I have only killed 2 bucks in one year once and that was on my bow tag and then a city buck tag. All my deer kills have been with a bow. I do like having a late muzzy tag and enjoy going out but have never got a shot at a buck worthy of being my first gun kill of a deer.
If we became a 1 buck state I would only be OK with it if that tag could be filled in any legal season. I have backed off deer hunting some in favor of water fowling with my kids. I have reservations about making them into die hard deer hunters like I was for a while as I think it's setting them up for disappointment in the future.
Just skimmed through the responses. Some interesting takes.
There would be no need to think about going to 1 buck tag if we weren't doing everything possible to ruin what was once a good thing.
I don't really worry about Iowa's "trophy" status as much as I do access for residents. If going to one buck tag means more opportunity for NR or NRLO I'm a hard no. I expect that would be a result of reducing resident opportunity.
I am not a landowner. I have only killed 2 bucks in one year once and that was on my bow tag and then a city buck tag. All my deer kills have been with a bow. I do like having a late muzzy tag and enjoy going out but have never got a shot at a buck worthy of being my first gun kill of a deer.
If we became a 1 buck state I would only be OK with it if that tag could be filled in any legal season. I have backed off deer hunting some in favor of water fowling with my kids. I have reservations about making them into die hard deer hunters like I was for a while as I think it's setting them up for disappointment in the future.
I'm going to argue that those "deer dictator" rules would have very little effect on the decreasing hunter numbers. Most new hunters are excited to shoot a deer period. They can't tell you a 2.5 year old 120" 10 pt is smaller than a 4.5 year old 160" 10 pt unless they are standing right next to you.
Having access to somewhere to hunt is the biggest issue. Your rules would increase age structure and improve the big buck numbers, but would do little to improve access.
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Having access to somewhere to hunt is the biggest issue. Your rules would increase age structure and improve the big buck numbers, but would do little to improve access.
Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk
Buckscrape
Well-Known Member
Being from Saskatchewan (which has a one either sex tag limit for whitetail), I really don't understand why the hate on bait.
Dude, if we could legally bait in Iowa, I wouldn't even consider it hunting.
Buckscrape
Well-Known Member
Wow, you sound kinda elitist ...
Bwahahaha. Whatever you say Karen. LOL
Disagree with both. Here’s why….
1) almost all of the states u can think of that are “opportunities for everyone” (which is their magic selling words by politicians & special interests)….. crossguns all over, bait, 2 buck tags, wide open NR access…. They are hemorrhaging NEW HUNTERS & HUNTERS at a far higher rate. For example, MI…. Allows everything!!!!! Ground is so dang locked up, leased & “no way, u cannot get permission to hunt here” they are losing hunters at vastly higher rate than iowa. They have lost 1/3rd of their deer hunters in 25 years!!! 1/3rd less hunters & access actually keeps getting WORSE, often times by the remaining hunters trying to insulate their hunting from the insane regulations! Replicate that across most the other states which “we let anything go”. States that have liberal regs they claim they are against “elitists” but actually define what elitist, sell-out, special interests are & do to these places. The data- which I can back up, mainly has less hunter declines in 1 buck states &/or states which limit how much the NR can compete with R. Anecdotally, I’d argue the younger/newer hunters want to hunt places with balanced age structure…. hunting the states that get destroyed discourages them. ***and, sends a pile of them to little old iowa waiting to hunt a state that isn’t ruined like theirs!!!
2) “ELITIST”, IMO, is selling out to special interests for $ that remove & limit access to resident hunters & new hunters. Add all these crazy bills & further LIBERALIZE & SELL OUT iowa- we will by definition expedite our path of being like other states. Which now have all the crazy things the “deer dictator” proposed to remove. They have them & the ground is locked up stone cold & the “elitists” are the only ones with access to quality land. New hunters have no where to go & public land is an unmitigated disaster… they quit.
3) I would argue dialing things back - which generally impacts the guys who have hunted a long time - would free up some space. IMPROVE ACCESS!!!! Would allow more bucks being passed & also free up some land because some guys tag out. Access is our #1 issue on why we are losing hunters and new hunters. Poor laws destroy kids future hunting. Standing up for that group gives them more opportunities in reality & is the opposite of elitists. Elitist only care about themselves. Exactly what these special interests are that ruin these states.
4) & if we discuss “1 buck” as one example - in iowa this still means: 1 buck regular season, 1+ during party hunting, an urban buck tag & a landowner tag if someone wanted. On top of that- the amount of does someone can shoot with our current regulations if they will go to counties with leftover tags- is limitless. With any reduction to “1 buck” - a guy could easily still shoot “2 bucks & 20 does”. How that isn’t enough is perplexing. & when we know there’s a lot of kids who don’t have access to even shoot 1 buck, I personally feel like we do need to think of those younger hunters with no access. Or declining access & see if there’s options that will help the situation. I feel strongly that more limited seasons, weapons & bag limits give MORE OPPORTUNITIES to new hunters.
Bucksnbears
Well-Known Member
I'm as guilty hell.
Or (was).
Just 2 words "Big Bucks" has effed up more opportunities to the future of deer hunting then anything else.
There IS no easy answer!
I think that the HUGE majority of people that hunt just wanna enjoy the time and shoot a deer.
Mostly, I think shooting a big buck is nothing but an ego boost (guilty myself)
And the more prime ground you have, the easier that can be accomplished.
I've never shot a monster buck but at the point in life I really don't care. (Oh, I've screwed up on several)
Quit a few actually
Yep, I still want to have a few spots to myself but have given up many 100"s (well over a 1000) of prime acres I used to have so others have a place to hunt.
To the point of GIVIN BACK.
Or (was).
Just 2 words "Big Bucks" has effed up more opportunities to the future of deer hunting then anything else.
There IS no easy answer!
I think that the HUGE majority of people that hunt just wanna enjoy the time and shoot a deer.
Mostly, I think shooting a big buck is nothing but an ego boost (guilty myself)
And the more prime ground you have, the easier that can be accomplished.
I've never shot a monster buck but at the point in life I really don't care. (Oh, I've screwed up on several)
Quit a few actually
Yep, I still want to have a few spots to myself but have given up many 100"s (well over a 1000) of prime acres I used to have so others have a place to hunt.
To the point of GIVIN BACK.
I don’t “hate bait. “. I actually empathize more with folks in Saskatchewan…. Especially the heavily forested areas. So vast & so many miles of timber - it’s far harder to find deer. Far fewer hunters than in the Midwest as well. Though many can do it without bait….. I can see the draw in those vast wildernesses with very few hunters and less deer than farm country.
The reason I don’t like bait in the Midwest is 5-ish reasons….
1) we have too many people in the Midwest & where baiting happens - it just becomes a competition with your neighbors.
2) it’s abused. Farms that have little or no reason for deer to be there- folks go overboard on stacking piles of bait against farms that the deer live in. Which folks can do what they want but I’ve seen way too many cases that bait is used extremely “distastefully” - which is my opinion & view when I’ve seen it.
3) in Midwest it’s very doable to pattern deer in smaller amounts of forest & tons of breaks with AG. I personally feel like bait creates “lazy hunters”. Woodsmanship or guys that spend years improving the habitat substitute all that with bait in many cases. In many cases - it’s a 10 square feet PILE with a cell camera on it. If that’s what folks wanna do- I guess that’s their thing but I’d be for leaving bait out of our season here
4) no real benefit to it. Other than an easier way to hunt. Deer Health & habitat aren’t addressed. & how tiny bait piles are, disease transmission of any type would be more common with bait vs plots or AG fields or properly managed forests
5) bait actually hurts deer…, temporary & when season ends & it’s cold & huge amounts of deer have been pulled into that bait- hard on deer & browse when that food source stops being put out. Also problems with digestion & health for guys throwing out things like corn or high carb bait. From a biologist stand point- bait is an overall detriment to deer.
Where the “deer dictator” can rule with an iron fist!
. He would say that he wants more people hunting in slightly more difficult situations (having to pattern or find travel areas for deer & picking the right spot on terrain). Hunting skills will improve without bait. Habitat will be far more enhanced when folks have to come up with other sustainable methods to give deer year round habitat & nutrition with proper forest management & diversity of plantings. Less dudes throwing out piles & less conflicts with neighbors. The deer dictator thinks the life of “hard knocks” is good for hunters. The difficulty sharpens their skills! But, all this is subjective & why the deer dictator gets to over rule all & stomp down any views opposing his. (Having fun here with the deer dictator in case anyone thinks I’m at all serious). I get the reason folks wanna do bait. I get why folks don’t want it in their states too. I’ve hunted states where it was all over & states where it’s allowed ZERO. IMO- the states without bait offer far better hunting & a better management system for all hunters…. Again, in my experience & IMO.