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evan
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Should this be considered a canned hunt, given it will be surrounded by a high fence?
Ammunition Plant
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Liv4Rut
Active Member
I don't know is a deer trapped in a 34.375 square mile cage a canned hunt? If you think it is, I would love to see you try to hunt it
It is one of the hardest places I have ever hunted, the deer are so pressured they are on pins and needles. I know a few people that have actually seen deer jump those high fences
Shredder, ask Ogz how easy a 150 class is with a gun
cornfield
New Member
No, it is not a "canned" hunt, but anyone who says it is no different hunting there than it is anywhere else is saying it for one reason....they don't want anyone else in there. It is not like hunting the average farm ground. A lot of folks like to talk about the big buck they shot, but want to leave out the fact it was shot on a place such as the ammo plant or a city hunt. With that being said, I have nothing against hunting in places such as the ammo plant. They need to keep the herd under control in those places and what better way to do it than with hunters. To say that it is the same as hunting a regular old farm is far from the truth.
Liv4Rut
Active Member
The difference between the ammo plant and the normal farm ground is that ammo plant is so big you can't gain that much access on regular farm ground. If you could pic any section in Iowa that you wanted to hunt and the surrounding 34 miles it would be no different than the ammo plant guaranteed. There are no bigger bucks there, and there are no more there, you can simply hunt where they are. With 100 other bowhunters. The problem why 90% of people don't kill monster bucks is because they simply can't hunt where they are in my opinion. I have hunted that plant for the last 5 years and I've never killed a really big one. In fact I don't even bowhunt it anymore, I simply have spots that are much better
I'm not worried about others getting in there because you can't. They have the full amount that they want in there, it's just simply people that think the place is a guaranteed monster buck. If alot of people were ambitious enough they could get on just as good ground and not have to face the pressure of others, again why I don't bowhunt there anymore
cornfield
New Member
Hey Liv, don't take it personal. You are correct in the fact that if you took most any piece of ground of that size and limited the amount of pressure it would be better than the surrounding area. Just because you haven't killed a "big" one in there with a bow doesn't mean it isn't any easier.
I know guys that have hunted in there a lot longer than you and they seem to have a different story. Anyway, it is very hard to get in there....and that my friend is going to change. Right now it is somewhat of a "who you know" application process. Preference is supposed to be given to veterans and service personnel. There are those who might see it as a easy street hunt, but I don't. Your chances at a mature buck do seem to be better in there though. As for to much pressure. Well, that is part of hunting. Like it or not, everyone that abides by the law and loves the outdoors has the right to be out there whether you like it or not. Many of us are ambitious enough to go out and find spots. Some of us have lots of spots. I know you were ambitious enought to "go through hell" to get your buddy in there this past season. All for a place that isn't even that good.
Shredder
Life Member
I am just going by what a few guys from the SE IA area have said about hunting up there. I have never been on the place other than prior to my entrace in the army...not hunting by any means. Not my words, just what I have been told....(nearly all I have met bowhunt the place....maybe just another "If I would have had a gun....I could have killed a booner"
I can tell you it would likely be much easier to kill a mature deer there based on sheer numbers of mature bucks than it is in my neck of the woods that is pounded by the December gun season with deer drives.
I can tell you it would likely be much easier to kill a mature deer there based on sheer numbers of mature bucks than it is in my neck of the woods that is pounded by the December gun season with deer drives.
Liv4Rut
Active Member
Im not taking it personal, its a good spot to hunt. I'm just saying for those who can't hunt in there that there is many places that are just as good elsewhere, and from living in southern Iowa last year, I could tell you public spots that are. The only reason my buddy got in there is because he got an application from them, anybody could of done it. I had no say in it. Anyhoo, you would just have to hunt it for yourself to make an opinion of it. Nobody will believe what I have to say about it anyways. If you ever get in, let me know.
Ghost
Life Member
The beauty of the Middletown plant is not so much that it is a high fenced area. (Which, has already been addressed, it has lots of open borders.) Canned...no way!
It is an area that is managed, a big freaking area that is mangaged.
Joe blow and his thirty man group can't go through there during gun season and smoke a bunch of dinks.
So, what we are left with are a select bunch of die hard whtetail hunters that must harvest does and keep the herd in ballance and the age structure intact.
My final thoughts are this,...it is no different than a properly managed piece of private ground anywhere in the mid-west. Canned hunt NO!
The entire state could be the Ammo Plant with the proper management! Some farms are much better as LIV4RUT stated!
It is an area that is managed, a big freaking area that is mangaged.
Joe blow and his thirty man group can't go through there during gun season and smoke a bunch of dinks.
So, what we are left with are a select bunch of die hard whtetail hunters that must harvest does and keep the herd in ballance and the age structure intact.
My final thoughts are this,...it is no different than a properly managed piece of private ground anywhere in the mid-west. Canned hunt NO!
The entire state could be the Ammo Plant with the proper management! Some farms are much better as LIV4RUT stated!
G6
Active Member
Thanks for setting things straight Ghost. I think the people that think the Plant is any easier to kill a big buck off from are also the guys that buy all the gimmicks to try to kill one. There's nothing easy about it and all the guys that hunt there are basically hardcore bowhunters and pass up the 130 inch ones. Another thing is it's great habitat that is managed like Ghost said. If you were to take that many acres outside there with the same kind of habitat around the state I bet there are just as many or more big bucks killed on those acres also. I have been in there 8 years I think and have killed 2 bucks that go 160 typ.( one bow one gun) and the one I shot this year that goes 189 ntyp., I think I can count on one hand the number of other big bucks I saw and didn't kill in those 8 years. BTW everyone has just as much of a chance to get in there when there are openings, it's not a WHO YOU KNOW thing. Why do I really go back down there 140 miles one way? I go back because I have a place I don't have to go beg to get on to hunt pure and simple.
T
TPS
Guest
Ghost is right on. But you also need to factor in all of the areas within the Plant that are not huntable. It creates a bunch of nice little refuges where deer can get a way from the pressure and survive to the 3+ age class. I would equate it to a well managed 19,0000 acres, with a number of closed areas. Yes those deer get in and out of those closed yards. It is a unique place with lots of nice habitat, and I consider myself lucky to have a chance to hunt there. I believe there are a better than average # of mature deer in there. Liv is right about the pressure though. Seems like every good set up you find already has someone hunting it. Kind of like hunting a big public place. I think the fence is a big waste of our tax dollars. If a bad guy wants to get in there I don't think the fence is going to slow them down much. I also worry about the effect it could have on the herd without the free flow of deer in and out?
R
Rae
Guest
I don't think that the Ammo Plant will have any regular fences anymore. They began this year putting up high fences where all the lousy fences were. It has to do with security etc.
I wonder how many sheds they found when they cleared the timber to put up that new fence?
I wonder how many sheds they found when they cleared the timber to put up that new fence?
cornfield
New Member
I know what you mean G6 about not wanting to beg to hunt a piece of land. Thats why I went out and bought a farm of my own. Me nor my family and friends will ever be without a place to hunt.
As for gimmicks, I don't buy 'em. It's usually pretty easy to see through the bull.
The "who you know" comment came from a guy that told me if it wasn't for his buddy he would have not gotten in there. Just going off what he said. Do any of you guys that hunt there get to shed hunt it?
I do not hunt there but I do know that they get 2 differant weekend to shed hunt. Someone can correct me if I am wrong. I dont care about hunting there but would love to shed hunt in there. There is just to many hoops and rules for me to ever want to hunt there. I'm content on hunting the ground that I own. There my not be a booner behind every tree but there is not a hunter in every tree either...
Liv4Rut
Active Member
We do get two saturdays to shed hunt, but honestly its a major cluster. The first thing that happens is guys are in there rabbitt hunting every weekend storing away alot of sheds
Then you have the employees constantly eyeing the fields, and making the rounds on the 4-wheeler etc. It is like a big easter egg hunt though, about 30 guys running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to cover all that ground not knowing where anyone has been and where to go in just one day. The last two years haven't been to productive on sheds in there for me, I think it has to do with mild winters and they are spread out all over the place. One year we had a rough winter and we actually found a few because you could find where they were yarded up.
Now if a guy could go in there every weekend and not be pressured to cover ground really fast, it would be awesome but as of right now, I am holding onto a bottle of Ibupofen the next morning after the shed hunt craze
The reason I wouldn't want to hunt there is from what my friend told me about the place. He told me he got escorted to his treestand and when they gott there it was gone. That's when the fun started for him. They took him and started interrogating the heck out of him saying he came in and took the stand when he wasn't supposed to. But to make a long story short he got his permit to hunt there pulled for that.
Sorry but like liv and ghost said I think there is just as good ground elsewhere with a lot less headaches.
I also heard that they shot like 800 deer out of there this year and the deer sightings went way down because of it.
Sorry but like liv and ghost said I think there is just as good ground elsewhere with a lot less headaches.
I also heard that they shot like 800 deer out of there this year and the deer sightings went way down because of it.