2025 Iowa Deer Season Regulations Survey

[IowaSportsmansClub]

On our Facebook page (Iowa Sportsman's Club FB) we posted a survey asking:

Which of the following changes do you feel would be the MOST beneficial for the 2025 season, in order to Keep Iowa Great for deer and deer hunters?​

After 2 weeks of open period, almost 1000 people voted. Now I want to hear the reaction from this group on the answers. Agree? Want to voice an opinion for or against any option? Maybe you have another option that you think would make a bigger difference in protecting the resource. Let's hear it!

 

[deerhunter93]

My own thoughts on this: There are so many ways to interpret the question. Is this what is best for ALL hunters and ALL deer or what is best for big buck hunters trying to get bucks fully mature? Because those are two different things in my opinion.

1 - Eliminate shared tags - "party hunting/deer drives" is a huge Iowa tradition and very enjoyable when done safely. I understand why big buck hunters don't like it but I would argue they do more benefit than harm overall for the deer herd and hunters, even with shared tags. I do understand that you can still party hunt/do deer drives without sharing tags (I have done it). Overall I would be in favor of seeing this take place - use your own tag for what you shoot. Guys killing 4 bucks during shotgun season while possession a doe tag doesn't sit right to me.

2- 1 buck state with floating tag - I think this definitely could help but I also think it may limit the number of old bully bucks that get shot. I don't really prefer having a tag taken away but I think I've killed two bucks in one season just one time in 20 years.

3 - A bill for more public land - this is what I voted for. Supposedly hunter numbers are down yet access to hunting ground is as difficult as ever for your "average" hunter. Public land gets hit harder than ever now due to this. Times have changed and permission without paying is very close to being gone completely.

4 - Forest reserve acres - As someone who doesn't own land this one doesn't really affect me but everyone else pays taxes on their ground so I don't see why they shouldn't.

5 - Constitutional right - I think we're good with where we sit on this currently.

6 - Eliminate celebrity tags - I'm definitely down for this but I don't think it makes a significant impact.

7 - EHD studies - Waste of money. How are we going to try and implement any sort of vaccine or cure across the population?

8 - Season ends Dec 31st - I'm down for this but don't know how much of an impact it would have overall. I would imagine less shed bucks would be killed which would be good.

 

[Sligh1]

I’m PERSONALLY for EVERYONE of those things!!! Is that what I think will get passed or what ISC should go for? No. It’ll be picking battles, listening to Hunters & going with the easiest to pass &/or the most imortant/impactful.

I’d deviate from the list of how I rank things just from what I know behind the scenes & thinking a lot more layers down than some might. For example, some might think celeb tags are “minor”. They are a HUUUGGGGEEEE issue!!!! Every year, there’s 8 figure views (that’s over 10m!) PROMOTED across the country (on the best farms) showcasing “how great iowa is”. We repeat this marketing campaign every year. & wonder why we are heading towards a 7 year draw vs 20 years ago being every other?!??!!! Will it still be publicized by some others? Absolutely. But removing the FORCED MARKETING in tens of millions of views… huge!! These celeb tags- you only get them if u reach big audiences… this will relieve huge pressure & eyes on our state & slowly remove some spotlight. My friends get these tags. They show me the essays they write so they get the tag again. They laugh in disgust how stupid this program is but chuckle that they will take the tags. On top of the issue that: those tags aren’t needed or justified & we should never allow celebs to skip the line of other hunters to promote a state that doesn’t need promotion. That one program is putting huge pressure on our state no one realizes. It’s caused a lot of the problems we see today. Why it’s not a minor issue & why, IN MY MIND, is in top 3 for sure needing to go!!!

Ehd research, awareness & cures would be another up there for me. Uniquely more important than the votes show of course. New virus that wipe our herd out. Adjustments to deer tags in counties hammered by it as well.

Im all for the rest for more obvious reasons.

& ya- the amount of bucks a dude can shoot…. 3 for LO + an urban buck + infinite party tag (sharing of tags)…. Not that many do it BUT…. It’s insane. It also fuels the outrage of NR’s that complain they can’t get one tag “while residents can shoot 50 billion bucks each”. Ya- IMO- 1 or 2 bucks max & 2-6 does a person…. I think anyone could SURVIVE on that !!!!

 

[deerhunter93]

Thanks for more information about the celebrity tags Skip. I didn't know much about them so that helps change my viewpoint. Getting rid of those sound like a good idea to me.



Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk

 

[Ishi]

That a great list to start working on! I have a hard decision when I voted!
Celebrity tags for myself came in second. I sure wish I could have picked two items.
What makes a so called celebrity better than any other non resident that applies to hunt our state??
A few years back the celebrity tags were cut in half and they went to wounded veteran's if I remember correctly! I think this would be an easy sell to get rid of these tags along with the top vote getter.

 

[sep0667]

I dont remember what I voted for. Its tough to pick one of those and give just 1 vote and leave the others blank.

The EHD one would be great to fix, but if a cure/rememdy is found how on earth would that every get implented across an entire state, and how his that being funded? I really doubt the average Iowa taxpayers would be happy with the state curing deer of a disease, most are probably happy there is something to killl more deer. Just doesnt seem feasible.

Im not sure cutting celebrity tags would have that much impact. Even without them there is plenty of non celebrities posting on youtube and pages etc promoting the state and talking about magical iowa. Its not a secret and doubt the demand would decrease much without celebrity tags. I will say seeing morgan wallen hunting with the drurys last year made me want to puke.

My top three would be maintain forest reserve and increase funding/incentive for more habitat, 1 buck state, elimante the sharing of tags.

I think they are all good and would give them all a nod.

 

[Pops]

I’m PERSONALLY for EVERYONE of those things!!! Is that what I think will get passed or what ISC should go for? No. It’ll be picking battles, listening to Hunters & going with the easiest to pass &/or the most imortant/impactful.

I’d deviate from the list of how I rank things just from what I know behind the scenes & thinking a lot more layers down than some might. For example, some might think celeb tags are “minor”. They are a HUUUGGGGEEEE issue!!!! Every year, there’s 8 figure views (that’s over 10m!) PROMOTED across the country (on the best farms) showcasing “how great iowa is”. We repeat this marketing campaign every year. & wonder why we are heading towards a 7 year draw vs 20 years ago being every other?!??!!! Will it still be publicized by some others? Absolutely. But removing the FORCED MARKETING in tens of millions of views… huge!! These celeb tags- you only get them if u reach big audiences… this will relieve huge pressure & eyes on our state & slowly remove some spotlight. My friends get these tags. They show me the essays they write so they get the tag again. They laugh in disgust how stupid this program is but chuckle that they will take the tags. On top of the issue that: those tags aren’t needed or justified & we should never allow celebs to skip the line of other hunters to promote a state that doesn’t need promotion. That one program is putting huge pressure on our state no one realizes. It’s caused a lot of the problems we see today. Why it’s not a minor issue & why, IN MY MIND, is in top 3 for sure needing to go!!!

Ehd research, awareness & cures would be another up there for me. Uniquely more important than the votes show of course. New virus that wipe our herd out. Adjustments to deer tags in counties hammered by it as well.

Im all for the rest for more obvious reasons.

& ya- the amount of bucks a dude can shoot…. 3 for LO + an urban buck + infinite party tag (sharing of tags)…. Not that many do it BUT…. It’s insane. It also fuels the outrage of NR’s that complain they can’t get one tag “while residents can shoot 50 billion bucks each”. Ya- IMO- 1 or 2 bucks max & 2-6 does a person…. I think anyone could SURVIVE on that !!!!

I’d

I’m PERSONALLY for EVERYONE of those things!!! Is that what I think will get passed or what ISC should go for? No. It’ll be picking battles, listening to Hunters & going with the easiest to pass &/or the most imortant/impactful.

I’d deviate from the list of how I rank things just from what I know behind the scenes & thinking a lot more layers down than some might. For example, some might think celeb tags are “minor”. They are a HUUUGGGGEEEE issue!!!! Every year, there’s 8 figure views (that’s over 10m!) PROMOTED across the country (on the best farms) showcasing “how great iowa is”. We repeat this marketing campaign every year. & wonder why we are heading towards a 7 year draw vs 20 years ago being every other?!??!!! Will it still be publicized by some others? Absolutely. But removing the FORCED MARKETING in tens of millions of views… huge!! These celeb tags- you only get them if u reach big audiences… this will relieve huge pressure & eyes on our state & slowly remove some spotlight. My friends get these tags. They show me the essays they write so they get the tag again. They laugh in disgust how stupid this program is but chuckle that they will take the tags. On top of the issue that: those tags aren’t needed or justified & we should never allow celebs to skip the line of other hunters to promote a state that doesn’t need promotion. That one program is putting huge pressure on our state no one realizes. It’s caused a lot of the problems we see today. Why it’s not a minor issue & why, IN MY MIND, is in top 3 for sure needing to go!!!

Ehd research, awareness & cures would be another up there for me. Uniquely more important than the votes show of course. New virus that wipe our herd out. Adjustments to deer tags in counties hammered by it as well.

Im all for the rest for more obvious reasons.

& ya- the amount of bucks a dude can shoot…. 3 for LO + an urban buck + infinite party tag (sharing of tags)…. Not that many do it BUT…. It’s insane. It also fuels the outrage of NR’s that complain they can’t get one tag “while residents can shoot 50 billion bucks each”. Ya- IMO- 1 or 2 bucks max & 2-6 does a person…. I think anyone could SURVIVE on that !!!!

Some interesting and sensible thoughts are being presented.
Not mentioned, but I think reducing use of cross bows and rifles is a worthy additions to the list.
Also, addressing EHD is huge!

 

[CottonwoodCanyon]

I think this poll got a lot of great discussion going. Just an idea for next time, but a ranked choice poll would create a better data set for this type of question on a survey. Something to consider for future polls. I'd also volunteer to word-craft the questions if ISC is interested, I did a bit of survey-based research in college and professionally.

In my mind, #1 is ensuring gun seasons never come in before December and crossbows are never allowed in archery season for able-bodied people and
2. is maintaining/increasing the habitat in Iowa (forest reserve, habitat incentives on private land, and increasing/maintaining quality public land) and
3. would be a 1 buck state. I think this would increase not only the quality and healthy of the herd but also increase the potential for access on private land to non-landowning Iowans.

I'm also a huge fan of making muzzleloader seasons more primitive (blackpowder only, open or red dot sights) and keeping centerfire rifles out of all Iowa deer seasons.

 

[seven twenty]

One other choice to be considered:

No open seasons in November.
You could keep the early seasons that are there but shut down all hunting during the rut. There is no question whether or not the older/mature bucks are hammered more in this time frame. It may also help with the “poaching” issues some. Joe poacher won’t be able to say he arrowed it from the road.

The guys that are strictly archery/primitive still get almost 3X as many days as the gun crowd. Which also brings up backing off on the allowable “muzzleloaders”. Maybe something closer to our western counterparts.

 

[Ishi]

I dont remember what I voted for. Its tough to pick one of those and give just 1 vote and leave the others blank.

The EHD one would be great to fix, but if a cure/rememdy is found how on earth would that every get implented across an entire state, and how his that being funded? I really doubt the average Iowa taxpayers would be happy with the state curing deer of a disease, most are probably happy there is something to killl more deer. Just doesnt seem feasible.

Im not sure cutting celebrity tags would have that much impact. Even without them there is plenty of non celebrities posting on youtube and pages etc promoting the state and talking about magical iowa. Its not a secret and doubt the demand would decrease much without celebrity tags. I will say seeing morgan wallen hunting with the drurys last year made me want to puke.

My top three would be maintain forest reserve and increase funding/incentive for more habitat, 1 buck state, elimante the sharing of tags.

I think they are all good and would give them all a nod.

I agree with you on the celebrity tags that it wouldn’t make a big difference I just want them shutoff for spite and have them wait there turn like every NR has to do!

 

[sep0667]

I agree with you on the celebrity tags that it wouldn’t make a big difference I just want them shutoff for spite and have them wait there turn like every NR has to do!

absolutely

 

[Rous14]

I’ve kinda wrestled w the idea of allowing the DNR of any given state to acquire more land for public access idea. I think at the surface it sounds like it helps w the access problem but assuming they are buying private rec ground is it really doing anything to improve access? Say they buy a decent 300ac piece. 99% chance there’s a family, friends or some group of hunters that have been hunting it that now a different group of public land hunters will be hunting. Was there any real net gain? I’m not real sure there is. I suppose if you say there was 5 people hunting it prior, and now because it’s public 10-15 people will be hunting it that you just improved access. But then the quality of the experience isnt very good. Just not sold on there being any real good answer to solve the access issue

 

[tall@wide]

I'd like to see a 1 buck limit and making muzzleloaders more primitive again. One thing I'll add, if a law is already in place, it is EXTREMELY difficult to change that law or make it more restrictive. Look at the trail cam issue on public this year or banning bait in Kansas for examples. The key is keeping current laws in place like no crossbows in archery and no guns in the rut just to name a couple. If a current law can be changed to become more restrictive, even better.

 

[newfarmer]

One other choice to be considered:

No open seasons in November.
You could keep the early seasons that are there but shut down all hunting during the rut. There is no question whether or not the older/mature bucks are hammered more in this time frame. It may also help with the “poaching” issues some. Joe poacher won’t be able to say he arrowed it from the road.

The guys that are strictly archery/primitive still get almost 3X as many days as the gun crowd. Which also brings up backing off on the allowable “muzzleloaders”. Maybe something closer to our western counterparts.

then only fall turkey seasons?

 

[seven twenty]

then only fall turkey seasons?

Not sure what you’re asking here. We are talking deer regs.

 

[newfarmer]

Not sure what you’re asking here. We are talking deer regs.

Well you’re talking about closing deer season when they are breeding- let’s do it to turkeys. While we are talking it- a gun can shoot 2-300 yards, a bow in most hands 40 yards. There’s your November difference ‍ clearly you can understand why bow hunters get longer, it’s simply harder versus a gun.

 

[newfarmer]

Not sure what you’re asking here. We are talking deer regs.

I’d also argue that late muzzy over a food plot is FAR deadlier than a bow during the rut.

 

[hillrunner]

I’d also argue that late muzzy over a food plot is FAR deadlier than a bow during the rut.

I read this opinion on here all the time. I do both, and that's just not what I have seen at all. For myself, and any of the guys I know who hunt both, success in late muzzleloader season isn't even close to bowhunting success. I'm speaking of mature buck hunting only. Killing young bucks or does can be extremely easy with the range of a muzzleloader.
On the rare year that we get severe winter weather during late muzzleloader season, it can be very deadly for killing mature bucks if you have the preferred food. More often than not, you don't get that weather. I'm sure there are situations where late season hunting is actually that easy, but I don't think it's reality for most hunters.

With that said, I'm not opposed to eliminating scopes for muzzleloader seasons. I think that makes sense for a primitive weapons season.

 

[tall@wide]

I’d also argue that late muzzy over a food plot is FAR deadlier than a bow during the rut.

I see every buck on my farm in late muzz over the corn and bean plots. VERY easy to kill them if I used a muzzleloader. Some may 200-300 yards away but I see all the bucks I have on camera late season.

 

[booneriverbucks]

The poll is poorly designed. Two controversial topics (one buck and banning party hunting) were placed next to a bunch of topics hardly anybody cares about or even knows about. Now ISC can sit here and say see all our members want this and this is what is important to our members. It was obvious before the results were out what the top two choices were going to be and it seems like that was by design. It’s a self serving poll. There are lots of people that are not going to join ISC if they are going to push for some of this stuff. I honestly wish I hadn’t signed up if this is where it is going. It’s obvious all the “members” are going to want xyz. Anybody that disagrees with some of these positions knowing that ISC supports them sure is not going to sign up and participate in a poll.