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

Des Moines Register Governor Tags Article

I think the IBA should support dropping the celebrity tags but not make a big deal about it. There are much more important issues than that.

The problem with those tags and what gets people all worked into a lather is who they go to and why. A majority of the tags go to people associated with hunting show's or the outdoor industry. Most of the time those people have hunts all lined up for them when they get here. And that's all for the benefit of thier interest's, not Iowa's.

Our NR friends have to wait thier turn to get the points and tags I think it's only fair to ask those select few to play nice also.
 
A good friend from the East bought his little piece of Iowa Heaven. He only bowhunts so he knew it would take years to draw a tag. He hired a local company to plant food plots, apple trees, cedars, did TSI, weed tree management, repair washed out roads,fix fences,etc. Worked two jobs to pay for everything. Has an 11 year old son that he would love to hunt with........finally drew a tag after 3 years...kinda sucks when ya see all of the celebs jump to the front of the line.....would be nice if there was a way for a NR landowner to be guaranteed a tag every 2nd year.....just a thought
 
Most of the time those people have hunts all lined up for them when they get here. And that's all for the benefit of thier interest's, not Iowa's.
Click to expand...

I agree. Maybe if Gov tags are going to stay they should pay triple price. It should cost extra to move to the head of the line and promote themselves using our natural resources.
 
Sell your bows, sell your arrows, sell your camo.... Deer hunting is forever ruined from here on out...

:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
Yeah, I'd rather keep the 75 governor tags and not increase the NR's, but the governor tags are a big part of why theres such a demand for the NR tags. I agree with others on the fact that if I was a NR that I would just stay in my home state and hunt unless you have access to great ground. This all relates back to the tv shows and videos by the Lokowskys, Drury's, etc. who keep saying, "Iowa, Iowa, Iowa" and your aveage tv viewer out there who doesn't realize that these shows are from top notch farms or outfitters and if they are drawn for a tag that they really have no better chance at a big deer here than their home state. The media is ruining it.
 
Can anyone give some reasons for continuing and justifying these? At a bare-bones minimum- these programs have to justify themselves (beyond all the large amount of reasons this program is damaging, problematic, unfair and all the problems it creates). Is there anyone that can justify this program????......
 
Sligh1 said:
Can anyone give some reasons for continuing and justifying these? At a bare-bones minimum- these programs have to justify themselves (beyond all the large amount of reasons this program is damaging, problematic, unfair and all the problems it creates). Is there anyone that can justify this program????......
Click to expand...

It will not go away because it is such a marketing bargain. The people selected for the tags each year must show that they are producing results. The applicants must offer the numbers to show how many people they are reaching and the is the criteria uised to select the ones who get the tags. The Primos and Realtree guys for example get them often because they get resutls.

Bottom line is that it woulds cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for Iowa tourism to get this much bang for the buck if they were buying it, but since they are offering 75 tags, it costs almost nothing. Look at how much increased revenue this has brought in through all the preference poiints and increased cost of nonresident tags!!!

That's why this cash cow is happening and it is not going to change. It's an unbelievable bargain!
 
NR

Iowa1 said:
It will not go away because it is such a marketing bargain. The people selected for the tags each year must show that they are producing results. The applicants must offer the numbers to show how many people they are reaching and the is the criteria uised to select the ones who get the tags. The Primos and Realtree guys for example get them often because they get resutls.

Bottom line is that it woulds cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for Iowa tourism to get this much bang for the buck if they were buying it, but since they are offering 75 tags, it costs almost nothing. Look at how much increased revenue this has brought in through all the preference poiints and increased cost of nonresident tags!!!

That's why this cash cow is happening and it is not going to change. It's an unbelievable bargain!
Click to expand...

I don't disagree with you, but so what if the Primos and Realtree guys are effective? Does it help the state of Iowa tourism? Not really, the buck tags are capped. If they promote turkey hunting, then maybe, as the NR turkey tags do not sell out. As mentioned before allocate the tags to NR Youth Tags. Film the kids shooting a nice buck, and memories for a lifetime.
 
I am opposed to governors tags based on priniciple. I think the laws/regulations/ordinances that we are subject to should apply to ALL people, not just me and you with some select group getting a special exemption. What the heck is a celebrity anyway? Someone that happens to be able to sing better than I do, etc? Who defines what constitutes a celebrity?

Do we allow 75 "celebrities" to attend one of our state universities at a discount each year? Do we allow 75 "celebrities" to go 10 miles faster than the rest of us on the roadways, etc?

No, the rules/laws should be applied evenly to ALL of us IMO.

Secondly, what does the fact that there are even "hunting celebrities" say about us? Why do some even feel the need to follow "celebrities"?
 
Hardwood, I remember when Iowa first offered nonresidents the opportunity to hunt Iowa. I was only for it at the time because of reciprosity, which opened doors for me, an Iowan, to hunt other states. It wasn't that long ago. It is NOT ABOUT THE NUMBERS OF NONRESIDENTS THAT DRAW A TAG IT IS ABOUT THE DOLLARS! Get the nonresident tags out of your mind, it is not about attracting nonresidents, we have already done that. It is about the revenue the applicants generate.

Daver I hear what you are saying but I really think the word celebrity was used in these articles to cast a bad light on the whole process. The writers of these articles saw an opportunity to create some controversy and get some attention.

I am not saying the process is right or wrong, I am just sayin that it isn'rt going to go away because it makes a lot of money for Iowa.
 
This program had absolutely nothing to do with tourism marketing. Nothing. Since when did Iowa not fill the nonresident quota? This was purely a political favor done for some legislator's buddies like so many other pork barrel bills flying around. Exact same as Rossi getting appointed in Alaska thanks to Don Peay-to-Play, then directing 30% of their governor's tags to SFW as political payback. That's how scum flows in government.

This program won't get expanded nor cancelled due to what is right or wrong. Any changes will have to do with politician's influence for their buddies.
 
Last edited:
"bang for the buck". "getting more tourism"??? We limited the "deer tourism" to 6000 tags. If we're beyond maxed out and have triple the demand vs supply- what's it matter??!?!? We don't need to spend a dime on marketing Iowa deer hunting - it needs NOTHING! We don't need to weigh cheap vs expensive marketing because we need zero. This program makes no sense. Folks in gov have said these programs must b justified. This program cannot do that- thus should b considered for ending and running its course. It can go away and with dozens of reasons it should- the reason of cheap marketing (which isn't needed) - doesnt hold up
 
"....Harrison, the former DNR staffer, said the country had 40 to 50 hunting shows when the program started, and now upward of 2,100. The attention Iowa gets is “special and valuable,” he said.
He has a ready answer for critics of the celebrity hunts. “My response is that (TV hosts) have an audience of half a million people. What can you do for the state?”....."

Well what I would say to Harrison is that I have friends, who know friends, who know more friends and so on...and that tallies up to over 2 million or more friends of friends of friends who contribute to the sport of hunting across this great country...so when you ask me what have I done for Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, is a whole lot more than you will ever know you (IMO) Arrogant Prick!!

Entertainers are no different than the common out of state person who comes to Iowa to spend money. Except that the commone out of state person probably does more for the local economy than those celebs. We spend money on your hotels, resturaunts, stores, gas stations, ect. The majority of those celebs are staying at huge ranches with outfitters where everything is paid. You think the people that come to hunt with Lee and Tiff and stay there contribute more than the common out of stater? I think not. Not to say that celebs are hunting with Lee and Tiff all the time and that they are getting those tags every year, but it sure seems like Miranda and the boy are there just about every year.

Sorry for babblinig. I dont think Iowa needs to increase the NR tags at all, just think the celbs need to be on same playing field and wait their time to get the tags as well. Fair is Fair.

Done....I need some venison jerky now to cool down....lol
 
Sligh1 said:
That's awesome!!!
I tell you what (and this is coming from a guy who has had friends get these tags!).... What really bugs me about this program, or rather- what really should bother Non-Resident's on the draw.... It used to take NR's every other year to get tags for bow. Some areas were almost every year draw. That was not that long ago.... While there was a WAITING LIST for NR's to get tags- they have this Governor Tag program to "Promote Iowa Deer Hunting"!!! Well, what happened.... The regular guy that's a NR that was waiting to come here and hunt got put on a much bigger waiting list because of all the publicity we didn't need. The publicity of this program worked and the program did what it was supposed to do- create more interest and publicity. Then, the Joe-Schmo gets screwed because instead of his 1 year wait- it's NOW 2 or even 3 years to wait for a tag.
The NON-RESIDENTS are being hurt very badly from this and they don't even realize it. They are the ones that should also support this program being discontinued. There's a lot of other reasons this program needs to go away as well. It's not needed is a very big start and it's a bunch of crap these folks get special privileges. Program needs to go away in a hurry. I kinda wish publicity about Iowa would quiet down for a few years too.
Personally, I think the TOP 2 blunders of the DNR, etc is the: LATE ANTLERLESS SEASON & GOVERNOR TAGS. We have an amazing state and the hunting here is spectacular BUT these 2 things are not good and could ultimately jeopardize our great state & hunting & opportunities for the "regular guy". The "regular guy" or "little guy" need to speak out on this and do something about it (write in, email, etc). NR's should also being writing in, emailing, etc to DNR, newspaper, Governor, legislature, etc.
Click to expand...


Couldnt agree more Skip!!
 
What I want to know is who decides which people are considered "celebrities"? Some of these guys are a complete joke! I agree with whoever said to give the tags to wounded soldiers or make-a-wish organizations if you think there is still a need to promote the trophy potential of the state.
 
Iowa1 said:
Here is my take on this. I did this short article and you are certainly welcome to disagree with me, but if you look at the big picture, this I hope explains it pretty well:
http://barringer.bowhuntingroad.com/2012/01/25/iowas-governors-tag-controversy/
Click to expand...

Iowa1 - I appreciate your point of view and I think you present it well in your linked article. I also do not wish to degrade to an argumentative back and forth, but I simply see this situation differently than you do.

I think you are right that it will be hard for some to let go of governors tags, that is pretty much true no matter what governmental program is out there. Once something is started it is quite hard to reverse field because somebody is going to start crying, etc.

However, to me the big picture is equality and fairness and I do not support government programs that allow politicians to reward others with favors, benefits, privileges, etc, that are not available to the rest of us. It's really that simple for me.
 
Please check out my new post NR Review, the $$ number are all there and it might give insight into this argument.

Iowa DNR has lost revenue in the past few years due to increased cost of tags. Fewer applicants means less money from preference points.

Does that mean that the Governor Tags are working/not working, look at the numbers and then decide.

Of course, it doesn't mean that Governor Tags are a good idea from a fairness standpoint!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom