Late "Anterless" Season Opinions, ROUND 2!

[risto2351]

I hunt for bucks during bow and muzzleloader season. I used to use gun 2 antlerless tags to fill my freezer but got sick of competition, along with numerous other things involved with being nice enough to take a small group hunting on land I have permission for. I could honestly care less if this season goes away, I think it is time. But it has been nice to hunt it with less pressure than shotgun seasons and my buddies and I have taken dozens of deer not one of which had nuts. To each their own.

+1 I agree totally.

I wish they would of had it in NE Iowa this year also.
Had a good time with friends and we only shot does.

I do see Live's point that they will shoot anything that moves
though seen it first hand a few years back.

Alli can say is call the DNR and hopefully get it changed.

 

[Bowtech84]

I'm planning on making my first trip down south for shed buck season. Can you use an AK with a 30 round nanner? Could bring the ARs but I got them scoped, figured it would be easier to engage multiple running targets with open sights.

 

[JNRBRONC]

Think that's the norm & majority of folks out there?

I can only control what I do.

While we are "banning" this evil shed season, let's slip in an AR ban as well.

 

[IowaChiro]

I can only control what I do.

While we are "banning" this evil shed season, let's slip in an AR ban as well.

One is in the bill of rights...the other was dreamed up by a rich conglomeration known as Farm Bureau.

 

[SaskGuy]

In all seriousness any season in the midwestern states that goes beyond December 31 is a mistake. Minnesota has some very poor seasons, but we cut it off on New Years Eve (most of December is bow only).
.
To be shooting deer (with even a chance of killing a shed buck) is really a bad idea! Another factor is the contiued stress hunters put on the deer in January (really, give em a break). During a cold hard snowy winter, deer should not be subject to be chased well into January.

Nothing good can come from this, the need to reduce doe numbers can be done anytime prior to January

I find this an interesting topic, quite simply to me the idea of hunting deer this time of yr just seems bizarre. I'm not judging anyone that does it of course by I really think the above quoted portion is pretty accurate. Why run the risk, not just of shooting a shed buck, but pressuring deer into this time of year period?

 

[buckill]

People who want to kill deer, and don't care if it's a buck or a doe should do this early in the season.

 

[170]

I find this an interesting topic, quite simply to me the idea of hunting deer this time of yr just seems bizarre. I'm not judging anyone that does it of course by I really think the above quoted portion is pretty accurate. Why run the risk, not just of shooting a shed buck, but pressuring deer into this time of year period?

I'd say Hardwood11 and SaskGuy summed it up pretty well :way: One and half months of gun pressure is plenty.

 

[flugge]

Ya know, if we didnt have the internets harvest report, we would never know how many are shot, and wouldnt be arguing :drink1:

 

[GOARMY]

The whole thing makes me sick. If you cant kill a doe with all the seasons we now have whats it gone to take? Just open it wide and make all the money you want St of Iowa. It needs to be stopped as it has reached its objective. Deer numbers are WAY down due to several factors and now that 'extra' season should be done away with.

A couple more years of no rain, EHD and the nned for the rifle crews to shoot em up and there will be no need for camo or orange. I thought the brain trust at the head shed was dumb until I saw this move.

 

[DWilk]

I'd say Hardwood11 and SaskGuy summed it up pretty well :way: One and half months of gun pressure is plenty.

Yep :way: I absolutely agree. And somehow these three guys managed to voice a reasonable opinion without acting snobbish . Arguments don't have to be done from a high horse.

At the end of the day, I don't care what other people shoot. I try to educate where I feel appropriate (and learn as much as I can because nobody has all the answers) but the fact (IMO) is the seasons are just too long.... too much pressure on the herds.... whether they are shed bucks or does, they still have to get through the same winter and the same people chasing them around.

 

[boonerz]

I don't like the late doe season at all and hope it goes away soon!

Lots of good points in this thread. There will always be the few that want to shoot just to shoot a deer no matter what it is. We will never stop that and to each their own. Someday when they shoot most the deer in their area and begin to see fewer and fewer when they are out they too will adopt this philosophy. But the people that are against it need to stop partaking in it. The DNR can sell as many tags as they want but we don't HAVE to buy them or shoot the deer. We've heard and seen first hand that the deer herd is down in many areas...so instead of making it worse simply don't buy or harvest any more deer. Pretty simple really. The more hunters that adopt this philosophy the sooner this season will go away because sales won't be as high and there will be more opinions heard which may eventually lead to closing the season. But really the only way to beat Farm Bureau is to stop buying the tags and that starts with each hunter. No one has deep enough pockets to compete with FB but we don't have to buy tags and harvest the deer. Get it done from October 1 through the end of late ML and if someone wants to go out and blast rifles in the January snow...shoot coyotes!

Killing a doe this late while the herd is already at its lowest for the year is dessimating on the population. For each doe you are killing 2 if not 3 deer for next year. If we want the population to come back to more huntable levels that people seem to want...stop killing them now while they are carrying more deer and potentially a nice buck that you could someday shoot.

If you are one of the few that have insanely high numbers get deprivation tags and start killing them September 15th and through the normal season. Even if you have high numbers, they will eventually spill out into other areas once competition gets too heavy.

 

[Bowtech84]

Killing a doe this late while the herd is already at its lowest for the year is dessimating on the population. For each doe you are killing 2 if not 3 deer for next year.

So make sure they are shed bucks?

 

[boonerz]

So make sure they are shed bucks?

If you want to ensure your opportunity to shoot a mature buck in years to come is less and less and that is your personal goal then by all means go for it. Doesn't really hurt me at all.

 

[IowaChiro]

So make sure they are shed bucks?

So make sure not to go. There isn't a good science based reason for this sason to continue. In fact it was ridiculous to start with. If people wanted more does shot, sell a shotgun season after labor day, doe only. However, at this point..we don't need numbers reduced.

 

[Sligh1]

Here's an example (repeated all over) of good guys going out for a "good time" but like many examples, hurts the area.... A buddy of mine lives towards NC iowa. Does stuff like part-time sheriff, emergency medic, etc- group of sheriffs & medics know several land owners in Wayne & Appanoose counties. Most, like my buddy, like to rabbit hunt, squirrel & duck hunt. Now this is another "blast em" type of hunting for them. *& I do appreciate ways (wish it was oct 1-jan 10) to get new Guys hunting. So- they have several farms about 12 guys who r connected through their jobs- travel down to once a year. They group hunt & shoot anything & everything. Last year they got roughly 20 deer- 4 were shed bucks and 2 were button bucks. The year before was very similar. They didn't think or care one bit about the shed bucks or button bucks. They come once a yr and makes zero difference to them. I am glad they hunt & have a good time but it's a often repeated example of guys out for "fun" but doing great biological damage every year & those impacted r not them- it's tw Guys who hunt those farms oct 1-jan 10 each yr.

 

[bowmaker]

I believe that this season need to end, but not because of the issue with shed bucks. Currently there have been only 650 shed bucks reported. That means the next year herd will be lower by those 650 deer as well as the 10,600 button bucks. Then if you look at the number of does already killed, 49,606, and know that those does would possibly be able to replace those 11,000 bucks it seems unsustainable to me for the long run. I have said for several years that we are over harvesting the does that will keep our deer herd and deer hunting strong for the future. This is crazy to me. Think what would happen if after the January 10th end of pheasant season, if we then had 2 or 3 weeks of hen pheasant only season because that would leave more food and contribute to a higher rooster count for the next season. Not the same thing many will say, but pretty much the same to me. Our deer herd is in serious decline and here we are killing off the only source for stability. You tell me that that is not crazy.

 

[Thinkin Rut]

" At this point it is as damaging to kill does as it is shed bucks".

Could you elaborate more on this statement?

Yes...it is time to abolish the late antlerless season because of the deer population in general and not just because of shed bucks. The does are the source of tomorrows bucks.

 

[Bowtech84]

If you want to ensure your opportunity to shoot a mature buck in years to come is less and less and that is your personal goal then by all means go for it. Doesn't really hurt me at all.

Well it doesn't matter to me my county doesn't have shed buck season but always wanted to shoot a nice big bodied shed buck. I have a set of sheds I would like to mount on top of him.

 

[Rich77]

some of you guys must hunt some areas with terrible deer numbers. we will be taking 3 more does off of our personal farm. lucky for us In our area there are still high deer numbers.
Not what they were 5 or 6 years ago but still what I would call high.
last Friday night before dark we counted 137 along a 2 mile stretch of riverbottom. it's up to the landowners to manage the land to keep deer on the property. deer will not stay where they are constantly harassed and run into the ground. Be it shotgun season or coyote hunters.
I consider myself very lucky to have the resources that I do, but it doesn't come easy. we have benefited from this late season since it opened and I will partake again this season.
I honestly would like to see it go just because of all the other jackwagons that hunt just because they can use a rifle and can buy a tag. It's the crazies that will never visit this sight that we need to control.

 

[SEIowaDeerslayer]

I personally hope the season never goes away just so I get the entertainment of reading these threads every year!

In all seriousness, I think the season needs to go, but we have a much bigger problem than shed bucks getting shot and that is the overharvesting of does and the county doe quotas. Killing a shed buck is killing one deer, but shooting a pile of does does damage to a herd in a quick manner and cuts down on future buck herds.