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Bow usage during Iowa Shotgun seasons

For state that really fights for bowhunter rights, it surprises me that a gun season would shut down a bow season?

Most states allow archery during the gun season, the season does not pause/end?

Many areas of the state (metro properties etc...) some private land are off limits to gun hunting. Great opportunity to be hunting that parcel with a bow.

Also, not sure why it would matter if a NR had a gun tag and wanted to use a bow instead. From a residents perspective that would be a bonus as obviously the effective range of a bow is minimal compared to the range of todays shotguns/scopes!
 
It's more of a safety issue than anything else. With the deer drives and slugs flying...I wouldn't want to be in a treestand with my bow. It's only closed for 3 weeks....not the end of the world.
 
I see this as a potential problem, especially IF bow hunting with a bow license is allowed during the gun seasons. You would have people taking a bow and a shotgun into the stand or blind with them and using which ever is most convenient for the shot. There is a great potential for abuse of the system and harvesting multiple bucks. What then happens if a person shoots a deer with an arrow and he runs up the hill and so the hunter starts shooting with the shotgun? Does he use the bow tag on it or the shotgun tag? If he should kill a deer with the bow and then uses his gun tag to tag an other's deer (party hunt) is that ok, or could he mistakenly put his bow tag on someone else's deer and keep bow hunting thinking party hunting is ok now, or just not caring if it is legal or not? Many hunters don't understand the rules now, so this might only add to the confusion.

There are many bow hunters who say that they stay out of the woods during gun seasons because they are concerned about safety, so why would you want to go into those same woods just because you can now use your bow? Isn't it still just as dangerous? Bow hunters have all of October and all of November and about half of December and almost all of January. The shotgun hunters have EITHER 5 days, 1 shotgun season, or 9 days, 2nd shotgun season, not both to do their hunting. This has been the system for many decades and as a whole this has seemed to work alright, so why change it now? My original thoughts were if a person with a shotgun license wanted to use a bow instead of a shotgun to fill that tag, then fine, but as I thought about it I have changed my mind. We already have too many seasons and too much variety of weapons trying to satisfy every different contingent of hunters. If we were to open this up then how could we say no when some wanted crossbows, which I am not opposed to, and rifles for the whole state for all gun seasons, after all several neighboring states allow them, or allowing baiting like surrounding states or rifle hunting during the rut, or lots of other things that certain groups would advocate? The old saying "if it ain't broke don't try to fix it" holds very true and if we do push for changes lets try to get the extra doe seasons and rifle season removed.:D
 
Bow stand or gun stand exact same safety issue

Altiman94 said:
It's more of a safety issue than anything else. With the deer drives and slugs flying...I wouldn't want to be in a treestand with my bow. It's only closed for 3 weeks....not the end of the world.
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But you would be in a treestand with your shotgun?

Safety issue is irrelevant unless you are saying I do not participate in the gun season then I see your point.

If you choose to sit in the stand with a gun or a bow, slug could hit you either way. Most of the reported incidents in Iowa were on deer drives, and all of them that I read, were one driver shooting another driver on the ground.
 
I think safety should be up to the hunter in this case as he is the one taking the risk. If you see people are party hunting that land, enter at your own risk.
 
That's kinda my point. More and more people are shotgun hunting from a stand and are addressing how safe it is for them to be up there. What makes a difference if you are up there with a gun or a bow??

This is not a suggestion to extend bow season and bow tags through the gun season.. Rather a suggestion to allow you to decide to use a bow with your shotgun tags. Allowing those with a passion for hunting with a bow hunting to do so... Ya, it would be like another short bow season, but so what. It's a choice that each hunter can make.

You would need to follow shotgun season regulations, but a bow could be a valid weapon option.

Now, I'm sure some of my Southern Iowa Brothers would take up party hunting with bows. That would certainly be a sight to see.
 
How in the world do you think the Wentzl brothers gained their reputation? By conducting drives or slow pushes for bow hunters in some of the western states, where it had not been heard of before, so they became famous and then moved to Iowa to continue the same thing in Southern Iowa.
 
I'm pretty satisfied with having the absolute best whitetail archery season in the country. The gunners can have their 14 days. I need a break by the time 1st season opens anyhow. I'm usually as run down as the bucks are. Also, be careful what ya ask for. It might lead to something you don't expect and won't like.
 
Wisconsin allowed bow hunting during gun season for the first time this year and didn't have any safety incidents. I would be in support of this.

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Safelty aside...would a bow be a responsible weapon to use during shotgun season? I'm sure there are some places that see little gun pressure, but the majority of us see party hunting and deer drives on or around the land we hunt (at least on the weekends). Almost any deer I see during the gun season is either going somewhere in a hurry or very on edge, and a nervous deer can jump the string and you would have zero control where your arrow hits.

I think in most areas a bow hunter would see few ethical shot opportunities during the gun season.
 
I had 17 deer around me on public ground for about 10 minutes and could of easily killed any one of them with a bow. It can be done easily. If people want to burn a gun tag using a bow, go for it. Most likely = less deer killed.
 
MadisonB&C said:
Safelty aside...would a bow be a responsible weapon to use during shotgun season? I'm sure there are some places that see little gun pressure, but the majority of us see party hunting and deer drives on or around the land we hunt (at least on the weekends). Almost any deer I see during the gun season is either going somewhere in a hurry or very on edge, and a nervous deer can jump the string and you would have zero control where your arrow hits.

I think in most areas a bow hunter would see few ethical shot opportunities during the gun season.
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I've never seen an irresponsible bow. It all depends on the hands it is in. Their will always be irresponsible people but it isn't the weapon they use that causes them to be that way.
 
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