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NR party hunting to be eliminated

There’s a PILE of laws & regs that were not clear in the regs. Some will like or hate many of them. Many don’t have anything to do with deer hunting. Governor requested all laws that were not spelled out correctly, get corrected So
Not a chance in hell that they'll get them all written in stone. They'll pick and choose. Should we be waiting for a yardage on mineral licks before they consider it baiting? The DNR lives and breaths on stuff like that. A working farm before you get a LO tag? Come on man :)
 
I'll believe it when I officially see it in writing.

If true, I believe that stating NRs can't party hunt at all is better than stating that they can party hunt, but that they are required to fill only their own tag(s). Too many times during party hunts, the same guy gets all of the mature bucks in front of him, and only him. It would be a liability to me and the rest of my party to have restrictions placed on who in the party can shoot what sex deer and number of deer, based off of their personal tags in possession. That's what makes it party hunting. The ability to pool and fill tags as a collective group.

A dude that only has a doe tag, that only he can fill, won't be hunting in my party, because the chance a nice buck walks 20 yards in front of him is extremely high, and he won't be able to shoot it. It would be like having a teammate standing under the basket that's only allowed to shoot three pointers. You're better off not even having him on the floor. He's more of a liability than a benefit.

Screw with the ability to pool / fill party tags and there's no incentive to group hunt.

I'm personally a strong supporter of the party hunting practice. It's been around much longer than solo hunting practices.
Please call the Iowa DNR 515-250-6886 and express your concerns. I spoke with them today and they are getting a lot of calls .
 
1983, really, pick a state. He watched all the Iowa video stars shoot their deer and has been told legally he can come hunt with me when he’s ready. People like you have habitat businesses that grow Iowa deer, post them all over the web further show casing the state. Oh , but don’t come here. What bullshit. You’re a total hypocrite.
You didn't acknowledge or address the part about him applying for a buck tag. He can come hunt bucks here as soon as next year.

No one is saying "don't come here"
 
The definition and way "party hunting" is being used varies so much. Think about these two scenarios - both of which are legal party hunting.
1. Non-resident comes to Iowa with a doe tag and shotgun hunts with a big group of resident friends and family. They all fully participate in the hunt and anyone can legally shoot a buck if it presents a shot, or shoot or doe, or even multiple deer as long as their group has proper tags available. I don't think too many of us would think that is an abuse of the system too dramatically.
2. Non-resident comes to Iowa to hunt and pays a perfect stranger to go to town and get a shotgun buck tag and then sit quietly in the corner of the blind while non-resident "party-hunts" and kills a buck, tagging with the residents buck tag. This is happening a lot as I know people who have been paid to do this - they agreed it felt wrong but it was legal and the money was good. Seems like a lot of the outfitters are doing it this way so their clients can hunt every year.
 
Let’s remember - this group is probably 90% on the same page of issues. No “side” in this debate on either side had anything to do with this. So- realize, we are on the same side here & to cast stones on THIS issue is not fair (or productive) as no side had anything to do with this. If we want to debate party hunting in general and how the laws should change going forward- all good. But this is not a battle that someone fired a shot amongst the hunters here or in the state. Like this or hate this- this is due to legal complexities. I implore all to keep in mind - those on here u are not at fault & there should be no tension among hunters. If folks wanna call dnr or work on changes to laws- those are absolutely discussions we can have.
 
I hear you. I’ve never heard of a NR paying a stranger. Too uncertain. Not saying you havnt , but that’s stupid when you don’t know the guy.

NRs who build relationships with neighbors , farmers etc. All day. The NR shoots the deer and uses the resident tag. Yep. No party hunt. Happens thousands of times every year. But, the goal is harvest numbers. Just so there’s a valid tag on the animal the dnr didn’t care. Why now. I’ll pound this til I get an answer.

Some dnr guy at his desk didn’t decide one day that a decades old practice may have been mis worded. This was directed some how. In the big scheme it’s BS.
 
I hear you. I’ve never heard of a NR paying a stranger. Too uncertain. Not saying you havnt , but that’s stupid when you don’t know the guy.

NRs who build relationships with neighbors , farmers etc. All day. The NR shoots the deer and uses the resident tag. Yep. No party hunt. Happens thousands of times every year. But, the goal is harvest numbers. Just so there’s a valid tag on the animal the dnr didn’t care. Why now. I’ll pound this til I get an answer.

Some dnr guy at his desk didn’t decide one day that a decades old practice may have been mis worded. This was directed some how. In the big scheme it’s BS.
I have communication from “high up”.. (this person knows or cares about zero regarding hunting issues)….. “this was not done because of this one issue. Or deer hunting. Governor wanted all laws cleaned up. There’s countless others that have been clarified that folks will notice changes on. There’s no “side” to this issue - it’s a clarification of existing laws & how they are relayed to the public. Any state, lawyer, legislator on any issue would want the laws to be clearly reflected in any regulation on any activity”.
 
Sounds like a canned explanation. Very convenient. So each department , and agency in the department, re read every law pertaining to every issue in their jurisdiction. That would take forever. Who’s doing the reading ?? You need lawyers. Can’t see that many lawyers on staff. I’m not arguing. I don’t buy it. Sorry for being difficult.

Some group went to the dnr and said you claim that NR tags are only at 6k. But really if you total the number of NR doe tags over each county , that’s your real number because most of these guys are shooting bucks party hunting. That’s how this was sold. That was the pitch.

Limits NR access, saves some trophy bucks and hopefully drives land prices down. Politics at its best by people who bash politics. lol
 
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Sounds like a canned explanation. Very convenient. So each department , and agency in the department, re read every law pertaining to every issue in their jurisdiction. That would take forever. Who’s doing the reading ?? You need lawyers. Can’t see that many lawyers on staff. I’m not arguing. I don’t buy it. Sorry for being difficult.

Some group went to the dnr and said you claim that NR tags are only at 6k. But really if you total the number of NR doe tags over each county , that’s your real number because most of these guys are shooting bucks party hunting. That’s how this was sold. That was the pitch.
Call and ask. They really arent being too shy about this. I honestly thought about the sneaky way that someone flipped the switch & why they might do it. I was dead wrong & the above explanation makes a lot more sense in reality. Here’s where the truth will come out…. We can or will see the law as it was written all those years ago. Or have details on it… why laws got clarified or “tweaked”. If that’s how the law was written - then this makes sense. Maybe there’s more to this but I sure don’t think so. Most at government (unfortunately) don’t know or care that much about deer hunting. That’s changing due to ICS & IBA but any lobbying group had zero input on this. On other side .. there’s probably a far more complex explanation here & it’ll have to be explained by lawyer. Which no one likes…. “Lawyers” ….. I’m sure not one so I am sure I have some of this goofed up.

I’ve been on both sides of these things too. Woke up one day “late shed buck season in place”. “Straight walls legal”. “Increase antlerless quotas by insane amounts”. On & on. We all have experienced things we don’t like. The overall goal is: 2 steps forward, 1 back. I personally am focused on not seeing Iowas deer hunting exploited & ruined. & yes, if I had a “vote” on only “would u eliminate R party hunting now?”…. I personally would be a YES vote on that. But as of yet…. Not on the table.
All these things will never be perfect & we can have discussions on what needs changed.
 
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There’s a driver. Cleaning up the law is the bs you’re being fed for the change. I feel like I’m being talked to by the Biden campaign. Don’t be naive. Nobody wants to answer why now? There’s a reason. It’ll come out.

My CO responded to me saying this is a done deal. No NR party hunting. Will be published in the regs around the end of the NR application deadline.

This could have been driven by the CO’s themselves. Many CO’s saying the “NR party hunting” is getting out of hand the last few years. Non residents hunting areas that their doe tags aren’t good for and “claiming” I didn’t know. I know one CO said most of his tickets last year were written during shotgun to non Residents

You can probably thank THP for bringing such a spotlight to the loophole the last few years as well.




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When I spoke with the DNR today the guy seemed a bit nervous to even discuss the issue.

He said the punishment this year will be a warning, and next year will be a fine ? Maybe they should have thought about this late rule change and had public forums on it ? :rolleyes:
 
Not a chance in hell that they'll get them all written in stone. They'll pick and choose. Should we be waiting for a yardage on mineral licks before they consider it baiting? The DNR lives and breaths on stuff like that. A working farm before you get a LO tag? Come on man :)

Pretty sure there was a bill on this topic this year as well


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They need to grow some sacks.

With the split in politics, NR vs resident and trophy hunter vs occasional hunter...this has been very calm and collected for a legislative forum.
Agree. It’s been calm because the right people grew some sacks & fought for our resource.

the view needs to change…. I HATE these “sides” of deer hunting in any of those terms. The debate needs a completely new premise….

WHAT’S BEST FOR THE RESOURCE? our deer herd, other hunters, future hunters & ecology of system.
NOT: what’s best for ME ME ME ME ME ME ME.
Part of the resource is a BALANCED AGE STRUCTURE!

The next “VS” debate: do u want to exploit iowa for your own special interests or do you want to see it enhanced for the betterment of the hunters, state, ecosystem, etc.

I could care less if someone is a NR or a “causal hunter” or whatever “group” they wanna claim… I care what people wish, do & act on to be respectful & caring about our resource for the betterment of everyone & our state. I don’t want to see our state be guided by every stupid idea & emotion that’s ruined most the others. U want to exploit our state? Won’t happen. U want to degrade the quality of the herd- we gonna fight it. It’s that simple of a debate… are you FOR THE RESOURCE or are you ONLY for your SELF & other selfish desires & motives? It’s one or the other & it’s the only defined line in the sand that hunters can unite behind. The second the debate is ANYTHING ELSE - the stupid ideas and horrid policy will steamroll the system.
Any argument to the contrary…. Example…. “It should just be about population control”…. Ok, let’s have year round hunting with any weapon then til quota met. Any other argument, path or premise will get the special interests foot in the door…. They are knocking.
WHAT’S BEST FOR THE RESOURCE? What’s best for the everyday hunter? What’s best for the future generations? What’s best for everyone else beyond ME?
 
So- here’s loose explanation I got so far…. There’s a PILE of laws & regs that were not clear in the regs. Some will like or hate many of them. Many don’t have anything to do with deer hunting. Governor requested all laws that were not spelled out correctly, get corrected So- I don’t think this deer hunting one was actually a target or had a push behind it. There’s a huge pile of laws that have been on the books & not written right. After I heard this - makes me think there very well might not be a hidden agenda here. The list of other laws clarified is pretty large. If someone wanted “someone to blame” …. Based on this- it would trace back to when party hunting got legalized. The verbiage way back then was for R’s only. We are now taking countless laws that did not get implemented correctly & had a governor ask to update & correct them. I suppose u could fault the governor but it was not this topic that triggered the request for clarifications.
This is how I understand the “how & why” thus far.

I agree with anyone’s statement as to debating or asking “what’s best for the resource?” & that is a debate we can have. IMHO- if the NR can’t party hunt, I personally would like to see it go to the Residents as well. Our herd or resource is degraded substantially vs 10 or 20 years ago. How we go about fixing it is a long discussion of course. On this issue- I fully empathize with any view on it & id simply ask that u try to understand how & why this happened so it doesn’t pit us against each other when both sides had zero to do with this outcome. No one is to blame: good or bad. Period.
Also, was told by a very reliable source that this is only the beginning. Another ‘BIG’ one, as he put it, will be coming out with the 24 regs as well. Curious how long the cell cams will last.

Also heard the exact same explanation - governor wants all grey area cleaned up - which we have a ton of in our regulations.
 
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What’s the big one ? Is it a matter of national security.
Haha. Must be! It sounds like more to come. Curious to follow no doubt.

Agree on the social media side of things - many many folks have been talking about it all over podcasts and such over the past year, bring publicity to the ‘loophole’.
 
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Also, was told by a very reliable source that this is only the beginning. Another ‘BIG’ one, as he put it, will be coming out with the 24 regs as well. Curious how long the cell cams will last.

Also heard the exact same explanation - governor wants all grey area cleaned up - which we have a ton of in our regulations.
Trump & his folks called me a bit ago ;) ….. laws are getting cleaned up on public lands….. only thing u can leave on public overnight is a treestand. Blinds, cameras, decoys, etc all have to be removed. Silly little things…. Can ride horses on Public if coon hunting - which is year round. All stuff that was in original law or clarified by administrative actions. The list goes on & on.
 
Also, was told by a very reliable source that this is only the beginning. Another ‘BIG’ one, as he put it, will be coming out with the 24 regs as well. Curious how long the cell cams will last.

Also heard the exact same explanation - governor wants all grey area cleaned up - which we have a ton of in our regulations.
I heard party hunting will be eliminated and Iowa will be a one buck state by 2025. No exceptions. If you have a speeding ticket you can’t hunt, and all elevated blinds will be illegal!
 
Gotta “clean it all up” Lol. I love the projection on the Governor. Don’t hate the DNR, any group behind it, the state legislature etc. It’s the Governor. Total joke. I was born at night but it wasn’t last night. If the Governor did ask for clean up, who directed the dnr to this issue??? There’s a ton of issues but this one was targeted.
 
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