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Screwed over in the Davenport City Hunt

mplane72

mplane72

PMA Member
A little rant and a heads up for others that may find themselves in the same boat.

I've been participating in this hunt for about 5 years now. Last year the flyer the city put out stated a hunter had to shoot and register 2 does to earn their buck tag for the following season. That is a change from prior years when it was three. I figured they were making it easier since the deer numbers have been dropped and they have been losing hunters.

Anyway, I contacted the hunt coordinator the other day about getting my buck tag and he responded with this...


[FONT=&quot]Last year you would have had to shoot 3 does and according to our records and DNR’s you only shot 2…….[/FONT]

I responded that there must be some mistake. I still have a copy of the info flyer from last season and it clearly states 2 doe. Then I sent him a picture I took of it.

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That got me a phone call from the guy. He gave me a bunch of crap about not knowing how that could have happened, it was 3 does. I said it was a little late for that. I followed the published rules in good faith and now 2 weeks before the season opens your telling me I'm screwed. He said he would talk to the biologist that over sees the hunt.

Yesterday I had a long phone call with Gregg Harris-DNR Biologist. I won't rehash all that. Suffice to say I'm SOL.

I know it's just a deer but I hate this feeling of getting screwed over and starting my season on a sour note. If I knew of anyone else to plead my case to I would. Anyone have any ideas?

FYI. If you participate in this hunt it's 3 does again this year. If B&B gave you a copy of last years regs, like they did me, they are incorrect.
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Greg harris runs the program, same as here in Muscatine. If he says you are out of luck you are out of luck. At least this year in Muscatine we don't have to shoot a doe this year to get our any sex tag that we earned from last year.
 
It's not his fault. He could make things right if he wanted but he does not want to.

I shouldn't be surprised the City of Davenport screwed this up. This town's government is a joke. I'd probably give it up but it's the only place I hunt on a regular basis that I feel good about shooting does right now.
 
Not that my 2 cents are even worth 2 cents in all this but I think that Mplane (and anyone else who was mislead) ought to get his/their buck tag. False advertising is illegal regardless of who does it, govt or private entity.

It isn't like this supposed typo would be obvious as such i.e. a 2015 F-150 for 310.00.
The only way I would side with the offender (DNR/city) is if they advertised correctly everywhere else and the shop where Mplane got his info made the mistake in their redistribution of the info.

I feel for ya man. Good luck this year anyway.
 
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I doubt Gluba even knows we have a deer hunt. Somehow this city goes on in spite of it's government. I know my little problem is nothing compared to a lot of other issues the city faces but it really has me chapped.

The DNR guy tried giving me all kinds of half a$$ed reasons I should have known it was still 3 doe. All his city hunts are for three deer and i should know that, like I know or care what the rules are for another town. He told me it would never change and I should have known something was up. His words the rules dont change. Then he proceded to tell me how he changed it so you dont have to shoot another doe in the next season before they give you your tag. I hope he hits one the next time he's in town.

If I'd have known I needed 3 I don't expect I would have any problem doing it. Only reason I stopped at 2 was because my little one started wrestling and I coach my oldest ones basketball team.
 
Bummer, you will stay plenty busy watching your son wrestle. And at the end of the day it's only a deer. Not like having that tag in your pocket would change your life.
 
Your right it doesn't change my life but it does change my season. I also coach my wrestling son and help coach the youth program he is in. That makes me one busy dad. Bow hunting is pretty much the last thing that I have held on to and the city season makes that possible.

I have worked hard to have good ground to hunt here in town and now it's ruined because of someone else's screw up.
 
I know what Id do but it wouldnt win a popularity contest here on IW. Raise a little more hell and try to get a tag, but if you dont, well you earned one in my eyes if you know what I mean.
 
So dont throw me to the wolves for this... but does this mean you wont shoot anymore does this year? So you are a trophy hunter? Only want the buck but dont want to shoot a doe? Just trying to get my grasp on it. I know it sucks, and the bent ya over without the lube...just seems like to me, you can still hunt??? I dont know much about city hunts at all, so again, just trying to grasp it in my mind (which clearly my opinion does not matter)
 
Flugge, I will still hunt does in town. My family likes venison. Unless I can find some time to get down to one of my friends places that has a healthy population of does the city is the only place I will shoot them this year. The other areas I hunt are in Clinton county and they get raped every year. I will let my sons shoot a doe there but not me.
I wouldn't call myself a trophy hunter but I do like to try for a mature buck. I have permission on farm ground that has always been hunted but since they started this city hunt it falls under those rules. Having a buck tag makes the hunt more interesting plus you can bow hunt the city during shotgun season. I have seen my best bucks then.
I would like to walk away from the whole thing but that won't accomplish anything. If I don't get satisfaction this year there's always next year.

Andy, I have reached out a little higher to make my case. I have also been in contact with a few others that do the city hunt looking for guys in the same boat as me. I appreciate your comments but I won't do it.
 
Thanks for explaining! It makes sense to me now and now I REALLY get why you are frustrated!
 
I did the davenport hunts for a few years before I moved away and understand where you are coming from. I would be mad too! It seemed like the years I didn't have a buck tag in my pocket I saw the biggest bucks of my life at 10 yards broadside sticking their tongue out at me
 
That's what I'm feeling is going to happen. A couple years ago I shoot my first doe of the year on a morning hunt. I went to get my buck tag and could not get it because the tags were locked in a safe at the Rivers Edge and no one there could get into it. I went out that evening and grunted in a giant old 6 pointer that I had passed the year before because he was all broke up. Had him at 15 yards broadside and couldn't do a thing.
 
To me it would mean that he would like to hunt for bucks, followed what he thought was the process to earn the right to do so, and then had the rug pulled. Hows about you go to Canada on a fishing trip with 40" pike and large Walleye common, and because of a technicality you are told to bobber fish for sunnies for the week. You still get to fish right??? Smile and be happy?
 
Altiman94 said:
Precisely why I don't hunt city hunts.
Click to expand...

Yeah I hunted the urban hunt at Living History Farm one year. The following year they reduced the number of hunters significantly and I was SOL. The hunt coordinator enjoyed having his own little buck preserve and didn't want more hunters.
 
I would be upset too. Sounds like the government though, their miscomunication, their fault but they turn it around on you. I think most cities have a lot of unnecessary regulations and sometimes it's crazy how far into the country the city limits actually go.
 
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