Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

antlerless quota

JRudd

Aim small miss small.
Idk how eveyone stands, but I do know most want the quota dropped including myself.. Any ideas when the quota for '14-15 will be available? If they keep it like is for too much longer, the future of whitetail hunting in Iowa as we know it is sure to crash.
 
Idk how eveyone stands, but I do know most want the quota dropped including myself.. Any ideas when the quota for '14-15 will be available? If they keep it like is for too much longer, the future of whitetail hunting in Iowa as we know it is sure to crash.

I believe July. Big changes have past the mustaches desk, but farm bureau is trying their hardest to put a halt to all the changes.
 


This is the latest on the NRC site. These are proposed changes and as said have to be approved.
 
More important IMO than the doe quotas is the recommendation to end the late January season.

I will disagree with the more important part, but important yes. January is but a small fraction of the harvest state wide. Is it not? The quota limiting the number of extra tags available for harvest on all seasons is where we'll see the biggest impact.

if referancing the rifle useage, there's more to Iowa than Southern 2 tiers.. Thinking from a state wide perspective. Save S IA, and you got a sliver of deer, reduce in most if not all the counties, and you have a state.

I like the proposed changes posted. Hope they go this route at least.
 
How does the reduction compare to the number of doe tags that were actually sold, years past though?
 
The counties I hunt were sold out. I personally think, in a perfect world, they should reduce to a number below what's sold and or harvested from the past year(s)- the average of the last 3 maybe?
 
I will disagree with the more important part, but important yes. January is but a small fraction of the harvest state wide. Is it not? The quota limiting the number of extra tags available for harvest on all seasons is where we'll see the biggest impact.

if referancing the rifle useage, there's more to Iowa than Southern 2 tiers.. Thinking from a state wide perspective. Save S IA, and you got a sliver of deer, reduce in most if not all the counties, and you have a state.

I like the proposed changes posted. Hope they go this route at least.

I see the elimination of the late January season as more impactful than the lowering/changing of the quotas...but that is coming from someone that hunts in SE Iowa. I can see where someone would feel differently from other areas of the state. This is a many faceted issue and there are multiple viewpoints that can be valid, dependent upon local factors IMO.

Shed bucks are taken at a far higher rate in the late, late season, regardless of the number of antlerless tags. Just eliminating that season will also reduce stress on ALL deer. Who knows, perhaps there is an effect on all of the deer when we are hunting them for 5+ months straight, up to and including their most stressful time of the year.

I tend to think that eliminating the late season will have a side effect of hunters self selecting to harvest as many antlerless deer. So regardless of the # of tags available, I suspect that the harvest will drop.

I would totally agree though that the best thing to have happen is to eliminate the late season AND reduce the tag #'s, but if we can pick just one I would prefer the elimination of the late season. But again, I can see why someone in another area of the state would see that differently.
 
It is my understanding that the quota numbers that the DNR recommended and the NRC approved were for 10,000 less tags than what was sold last year. While I believe the quotas need to be reduced further, I think the DNR and the NRC should be commended for taking a step in the right direction on this front and for their recommendation to put an end to the late season.
 
January season needs to go, but the aforementioned comment about the importance of the drop in quotas in all of the other counties is much more Important on a state level....however, even though I am a landowner I believe we desperately need to drop the LOT priviledge for extra doe tags. Waaaaaaaaaay too many people are abusing the amount of extra doe tags that land ownership allows. I agree with having an extra buck tag but not all the doe tags that dont count towards the quota.
 
If they wanted to keep a rifle season maybe they should consider to move the dates up before the bucks shed so bucks aren't shot by mistake and the doe are thinned out.
 
You know what, I'm not sure people have a f**king clue they are talking about! They bitch that the Jan season kills too many deer.... there's not that many people the hunt it! All you hear about is shed bucks
.. yeah,some drop b4 or during the season, but very few that aren't injured, or sick! Hell, I've had 2 different bucks shed in shotgun and muzzy seasons for my group... both had arrow wounds from previous seasons! Both shed after they were shot! People bitch that the population is too low... news for ya: shed bucks don't have fawns!!!! All bucks do is plant the seed! And another fun fact.... doe harvest is what got us to where we are at!!!! Does drive the population.

If your worried about population, it starts with the quota. End of story. Rifle season follows the same quota as every other season for any other damn county in Iowa. But, the need to harvest a deer with a rifle is gone. Our population has taken a hit statewide and I'll tell you that the hillbilly toothless bastard from appanoose county shooting gpas lever gun didn't have any affect on the deer population in Marshall county...so the statement of "more impactful" is a selfish view point, and very very ignorant response when discussing state wide deer population.


End rant
 
Ending the January season would be a big plus. Rifles in January...very bad idea, even if----not that many take part. Leads to other problems and stresses the deer.
 
Attending the meeting this late winter the DNR hosted.... It's a major combo of both "too few deer" and "too few mature bucks". The low #'s are obvious but also talk around to the average guys on what they see for good bucks in the last few years.... It's not anything compared with 5-8 years ago. We've gone downhill bad. The shed buck season has played a big role in that in several ways.... 1) More deer being killed period 2) More button bucks being killed 3) Many shed bucks are gunned down and from what I've seen from lockers & the backs of pickups - it's shameful.
No doubt both Antlerless quotas and the Shed buck season have played huge roles into our spiraling hunting quality - whether it's for #'s of deer or quality of bucks - both have taken huge hits. Unique to my areas - the #'s have been ok (because we have some control & neighbors don't allow a lot of the above craziness to happen) but even in the great areas, older bucks are far fewer in #. EHD has some role as well but our bad regulations have caught up with us.
 
You know what, I'm not sure people have a f**king clue they are talking about! They bitch that the Jan season kills too many deer.... there's not that many people the hunt it! All you hear about is shed bucks
.. yeah,some drop b4 or during the season, but very few that aren't injured, or sick! Hell, I've had 2 different bucks shed in shotgun and muzzy seasons for my group... both had arrow wounds from previous seasons! Both shed after they were shot! People bitch that the population is too low... news for ya: shed bucks don't have fawns!!!! All bucks do is plant the seed! And another fun fact.... doe harvest is what got us to where we are at!!!! Does drive the population.

If your worried about population, it starts with the quota. End of story. Rifle season follows the same quota as every other season for any other damn county in Iowa. But, the need to harvest a deer with a rifle is gone. Our population has taken a hit statewide and I'll tell you that the hillbilly toothless bastard from appanoose county shooting gpas lever gun didn't have any affect on the deer population in Marshall county...so the statement of "more impactful" is a selfish view point, and very very ignorant response when discussing state wide deer population.


End rant

Hey Pal - No need for a juvenile rant with profanity, name calling and aspersions, an adult reply, combined with some reading comprehension would suffice. Perhaps you have not learned how to politely disagree with someone and/or share a differing point of view. I welcome opposing viewpoints and perspectives, however, I will not tolerate someone replying to me in the manner that you did.

I qualified my answer carefully with acknowledgements that my perspective may well be influenced by the region that I hunt in, where I do have a pretty good idea what is going on and what factors will lead to more/better deer hunting. I did not in any way call into question your perspective/opinion, I in fact understand, and wrote, that there may well be differing, yet valid, points of view based upon one's location. (I even wrote that twice, please see the reading comprehension reference above.) I would appreciate the same respect from you in the event that you see things differently.

As far as having a clue about what I am talking about...I have spent quality time on the ground in at least four separate counties in S or SE Iowa just in the past three months, to say nothing of the past many years, on some of the very best deer properties/neighborhoods anywhere. I have also spent time with and/or talked with many very knowledgeable property managers and serious deer hunters across a fairly wide area of S and SE Iowa. So frankly, I resent your insinuation that I don't have a clue, etc.

If I am way wrong on this, then I guess so are an awful lot of people who are very dedicated to deer hunting and property management and I suspect have a much stronger resume on the subject than either you or I do. FWIW, I have a very good understanding of the state of the deer herd in the region of the state that I frequent.

What you may not be able to digest though is that factors may differ in importance between different areas. Regarding the late season, you indicated that, "there's not that many people that hunt it." That may be true where you are, I don't know, but it is not true where I am. While there may be a lower raw number of hunters present in the late, late season, it is common for one hunter to purchase many tags, perhaps dozens, in some cases over 100 tags per hunter. So the actual # of hunters is less important than how many deer are being shot...and plenty are being shot in the late season. So I guess I don't care if one guy is shooting 100's, or 100's of guys are shooting one, dead deer are dead deer.

For some, it is a big attraction to shoot deer with a rifle, so they head to S Iowa during this late season and shoot many, many more deer than they otherwise would in a year...no matter how many tags are offered elsewhere in the state.

I know of one farm where the neighbor had an actual bus load of guys come down from central Iowa one year and in just one weekend they took home 72 deer. Not surprisingly, the short story is that there were many fewer deer, does and bucks, in the neighborhood the next year. This was an area that in normal years/seasons would probably have 15-35 deer harvested total...not 70+ in one weekend. This was before the EHD strike in 2012 and 2013 too. Take away the "thrill" of the rifle kill and I doubt that 1/3 of those deer would have otherwise been taken that year. Again, does and bucks.

There are many other similar stories that I could share just about like this one...but the theme is, some hunters will choose to shoot many more deer per year than they otherwise would just because they can get them with a rifle. AND...it so happens that all of them are being shot in S Iowa because that's where the rifle is legal.

Take away the rifle season(late season) and quite a few people would suddenly shoot many fewer deer per year...at least in S Iowa. This goes for does and bucks, be they buttons or sheds.

Now I don't pretend to know what is going on in Marshall County, but I also have enough sense not to criticize your opinion(s) about your area that I know nothing about. I doubt you know a fraction of information that I do as it relates to the counties and areas that I frequent. So I would suggest that you be more careful about calling someone "selfish" and "very, very ignorant" until you have a better understanding of the situation. Thank you!
 
I'm not sure but... I think there were more tags still available at the end of the seasons last year than what they may reduce the tags by in the counties that I hunt this year. Anyone have a list of the leftover tags from last year?
 
Reading comprehension my friend. . . Reading comprehension. Practice what you preach!!!

Before you get your feelings hurt. Realize what your trying to argue. And what I'm telling you.
I will change my view of your opinion as "selfish" and "very very ignorant" once you comprehend what's being said. Which is highly doubtful.

Your statement of which is "more important" already has you sunk when we are talking about the population state wide...

Does "state wide" mean anything to you?

I agree, the Jan season needs to be gone...which is also what I've said.. but more or most important for the "STATE" ? I now change my view of your statement to "extremely ignorant opinion" since your defending it even more so.

Let me rephrase and help you comprehend.. reducing the antlerless quota AND taking out the January antlerless season, would both be beneficial to our state. Not one area, not 1/4 or 1/3... the whole state.

You see, your view and mine aren't soo different. Your view is selfish to your area.. mine is not because I'm thinking for the entire state. And FYI. I tend to be in your neck of the woods more than you may think.. so don't assume I don't know what's going on down there;)
 
I'm not sure but... I think there were more tags still available at the end of the seasons last year than what they may reduce the tags by in the counties that I hunt this year. Anyone have a list of the leftover tags from last year?

https://jc.activeoutdoorsolutions.com/iowadnr/app/locFindPage.do?licnYear=2013&lottery=5

I looked a while back and I think all but a couple counties that failed to sell out last year, have a cut below the number sold. Someone else can spend the time to calculate the actual cut for all counties if they feel the need.
 
Last edited:
I'll tell you that the hillbilly toothless bastard from appanoose county shooting gpas lever gun didn't have any affect on the deer population in Marshall county...so the statement of "more impactful" is a selfish view point, and very very ignorant response when discussing state wide deer population.

Its sort of funny that the same guy that states because someone lives in Appanoose county that they are a "hillbilly toothless bastard" has the nerve to claim someone else had a " very very ignorant response", but I guess I was born in Missouri and grew up in Van Buren county so maybe I just am not smart enough to understand. Especially since I thought I understood the points that both you and Daver had made, up until you went off on him.

Anyway back to the topic, hopefully both the quotas will be reduced and the January season will be removed.
 
Its sort of funny that the same guy that states because someone lives in Appanoose county that they are a "hillbilly toothless bastard" has the nerve to claim someone else had a " very very ignorant response", but I guess I was born in Missouri and grew up in Van Buren county so maybe I just am not smart enough to understand. Especially since I thought I understood the points that both you and Daver had made, up until you went off on him.

Anyway back to the topic, hopefully both the quotas will be reduced and the January season will be removed.

Your right, you had to be there to understand. Not a generalization, but a specific person I'm referring to. Thanks for your input
 
Top Bottom