JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
He said his group pulled their heads out of their arse and shot lights out, hitting what they were aiming at.
I took it as they had a good year compared to the past.
I took it as they had a good year compared to the past.
JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
I'm more into bow hunting and would have related similar experiences.
Liv4Rut
Active Member
I hunted first season. The weather sucked for natural movement. Way too hot. I had a spider make a web right in front of me. Saw probably 20 does and 4 bucks. Not much hunting pressure. A little bit of banging going on Saturday but wasn't diddly squat sunday. Since it was hot out no deer were moving. I did do two small pushes in an attempt to push a couple to buddies and ran 9 by them the first drive and over 30 on the second. There just wasn't any pressure to get them moving at all so I can't really say how the numbers were.
I wouldn't say deer numbers are down in my area but we are really starting to see the affect of leasing and out of state owned land. After Saturday of first season everything is just gone. Deer know where they'll get shot and where they can lay around all day.
At first I thought our deer numbers were just gone. After a few nights with spot lights checking on our fields we quickly ruled that out. 60-80 deer on a given night. Problem is everything on our west and south is leased out. Makes for a one drive shotgun season.
At first I thought our deer numbers were just gone. After a few nights with spot lights checking on our fields we quickly ruled that out. 60-80 deer on a given night. Problem is everything on our west and south is leased out. Makes for a one drive shotgun season.
JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
This is the next deer management focus, IMO.
Leased and private land that is off limits and wants to grow the herd.
The landowners/lease holders have that right, I totally agree. But it's going to be a topic of discussion going forward. When the state looks at deer damage/car collisions, and such high density deer area enter the equation, is the average hunter going to be happy with the DNR/legislation agenda?
JNRBRONC I totally agree. Along with your points I see it being the end of a hunting era. Groups may not experince this all over the state, but ours sure has. No more "you hunt ours first season and we'll hunt you second season". It takes a certain type of neighbor/farmer to look the other way when they're approached by someone with cash in hand. This is usually small family farms that want to keep the family tradition of shotgun hunting going. Sorry to say that small family farms are out and most areas have two or three large farmers buying everything they can get their hands on. It's hard for them to turn the other cheek when they're offered $10,000+ a year, just for hunting rights to their land.
It's to the point in our area for a lot of groups where you either hunt your same 300 acres into the ground (which is pointless) or they tresspass. My group doesn't tresspass (for the record), but it sure makes for a boring nine days of second season.
It's to the point in our area for a lot of groups where you either hunt your same 300 acres into the ground (which is pointless) or they tresspass. My group doesn't tresspass (for the record), but it sure makes for a boring nine days of second season.
I agree some leased and NR owned land may be the reason deer lay low on those properties but I will make two points. One, there is plenty of resident owned land that permits no hunting and holds many deer. In my area two resident landowners having 600 and 800 acres of good timber permit no hunting and limited hunting by relatives only with no driving. Two, if Iowa would permit NR landowners to hunt their property deer would move. Don't want to start another debate I've been a part of too many over my ten years on this site, but with 20%+ NR land ownership it is an issue. Can't have it both ways. Keep NRs at bay then comment about no deer movement on NR owned property.
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Jdubs, you do have a good point with resident land owners not allowing anybody to hunt (very few in my area though).
As for allowing NR the right to hunt each year, I doubt my areas problem would be solved. Some NR may move deer. Probably 80% would not. Most would drop $5,000 on trail cameras, fly in for the week, shoot boss hawg, n fly out. Again I'm not saying that's every NR landowner. For my area it seems to be though. If that's what floats their boat more power to them.
I will take the time to state again that the problems I see in our area are not meant to be taken as state wide problems. I'm just telling you how I see it in my little ten square mile area where I hunt, grewup, and live.
As for allowing NR the right to hunt each year, I doubt my areas problem would be solved. Some NR may move deer. Probably 80% would not. Most would drop $5,000 on trail cameras, fly in for the week, shoot boss hawg, n fly out. Again I'm not saying that's every NR landowner. For my area it seems to be though. If that's what floats their boat more power to them.
I will take the time to state again that the problems I see in our area are not meant to be taken as state wide problems. I'm just telling you how I see it in my little ten square mile area where I hunt, grewup, and live.
6x6
PMA Member
So your complaint is, others dont push their farms, and your deer that escape the first push go there, and dont come back to be pushed again?
I don't think that is a NR or leased land thing, just a different choice of how a landowner or whoever has the hunting rights wants to hunt.
A different choice that is 95% NR/leased land made.
I'm simply stating that 10 years ago my area didn't have this problem. I'm saying I can see a trending way of the way things are going. What shotgun season could be comming to. How will the DNR regulate deer numbers when everything is leased up or NR owned?
Complaining about shotgun season being changed? I guess I am alittle sad to see it go when I've grown up doing it. Just stating what I see though.
nannyslayer
New Member
I don't see where he is complaining at all.
I think I would try a different method of hunting that particular farm, if all you are getting is a 20 minute hunt off of it all season. Maybe get some food source's in there (I have no idea if you already have them or not), and maybe not push the farm till the last day or so, that way you don't run them all out the first day.
Just a thought.
I agree, I think that waiting until the last day does work better for our farm. Sadly i'm only one vote in the group. Yes we do have food sources on the farm along with thick timber and CRP. It's prime hunting habitat and i'm usually successful during bow and late muzzy season. My concern is just during shotgun. Like I said though that's just how the cookie crumbles. Shotgun season was always more of a time to get together and b.s. with the friends and neighbors anyway.
I'm not trying to pout about not getting deer during shotgun season. Chances are i'm not gunna be the one in fifteen guys that a 160+ runs past. I'm just trying to bring up the topics of A) Is this where group hunting is headed? B) How will we regulate deer numbers if things are headed in this direction (everything leased or NR owned)?
I'm not trying to pout about not getting deer during shotgun season. Chances are i'm not gunna be the one in fifteen guys that a 160+ runs past. I'm just trying to bring up the topics of A) Is this where group hunting is headed? B) How will we regulate deer numbers if things are headed in this direction (everything leased or NR owned)?
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Does anyone else find some of this discussion ironic? Here we have people talking about the lack of deer movement and the NR land that acts like a refuge and no one is pushing the deer out of it. Then we have so many people on here who think that deer drives and party hunting are the work of the devil. This was one of only a couple of years that we have not done any drives at all, because there were only 2 of us hunting this season. We saw very few deer in our area, but possibly could have seen more if we had made a couple of pushes. Just not a quality year for us.
antleraddict
PMA Member
The common theme that i see here is LACK OF DEER! The fact is in most areas the numbers are way down form what they were. And with fewer sightings and opportunities there will be more unhappy hunters and the problem will continue to snowball! And the excuses that go along with it also....weather...all the deer are on the neighbors because they don't hunt/manage....just bad luck...etc. Truth is if most are experiencing poor hunts then its the DEER NUMBERS! Even on these so called managed properties thier numbers are down...and most I know won't be shooting does in Jan. Not a bad idea to leave the doe tags unpurchased/unfilled this late antlerless season!
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Isn't the orange army the work of the devil?:drink2: