Iowa deer hunting

[Jim n Iowa]

I have hunted deer in WY, NE, Mo and Iowa, I see that our gun season (shot gun, muzzel loader) is restricted to Dec early gun  5 Days, and second shot gun season 9 days. We have way to many deer, so why do bowhunters start in Oct? We fire arms people Know why the Indians wanted rifles. Our Neighboring states start there deer season a lot earlier, like Oct. Our DNR will let you shoot more deer as in plenty of tags. So after my venting if any DNR people are lurking why is it the bow hunter get prime time? And I don't want to hear about the farmers in the fields. Nebraska and Mo. have high power rifle hunting and their farmers are harvesting at the same time as deer hunting.
Jim

[IATRKYHNTR]

Jim,
I'm in Iowa to, and from what I understand it's kind of like this, Bow hunting is a primitive weapon hunting, so you get more time to hunt, and muzzleloaders are to, so you can hunt early before the regular gun season. I like the December gun season, but I think it is kind of silly to have two short seasons so close, I do understand how that was set up though, they figured if you want first crack at the deer you should have to give up a few days, if your willing to wait, you get a few more.

The thing that bugs me is that if you get a early muzzleloader tag, you can not in any way (other then being a land owner) have a tag for ether of the shot gun seasons. I would like to be able to hut Bow season, Early muzzleloader season, and the shotgun season, along with the special late doe only season. I think that they could make it where you can only have two buck tags for ether bow and muzzle loader, or Bow and shotgun. (I see there point on giving up your chance at a buck in shotgun season if you want to hunt early muzzleloader) But why in the world should I not be able to get a doe tag for shotgun season? There are more then enough deer, and the DNR is whining about us not taking enough any way, let me have my tags and I will fill them! Sorry for the rant.

IATRKYHNTR
Nathan

[Myk]

Archers need more time because the deer need to be close. Archers should be camo'ed out. It's hard to pull a bow when you have to wear five layers of coats to stay warm so late season isn't an option for most. It's hard to shoot with gloves on.
Archers really don't like getting shot by firearm hunters plugging away at movement.

You seem to be under the wrong impression that it's impossible to get a deer with a bow. Many prove that utterly wrong. Archers get prime time so they have more chances at the deer being close. Firearms hunters do not need the deer to be close and have a very open shot so they don't need prime time in order to fill their tags.

I'm also guessing that the timing of the rut has something to do with it. Guns come after the major push because they don't want all the big bucks taken before they have a chance to breed.

Why they don't let you buy the left over tags to go with all seasons, that just sounds like stupidity.

[freddogs]

It sounds like they could lenghten everybody's season and sell left over tags. If they want more deer harvested they should increase hunter oppertunity. :twisted:

[huntsman]

Geez, and I thought TPWD here in Texas has our seasons screwed up! Sounds like we're mighty sensible compared to the mess in IA. When will the folks in charge of game management ever get a clue?

Here where I hunt we are running over with does in one county I hunt. There you can kill only one buck, and you must have an MLD permit to kill a doe. This means your landowner must care enough about management to shell out several hundred dollars for the priviledge of having TPWD tell you him how many deer can be killed on his land, and of what sex. Any wonder my landowner (and hundreds of others) say no thanks? So we can't kill any does when we need to deperately.

In the other county, I own 36 acres of a 800 acre ranch that was broken up into smaller pieces of 36 and 72 acre tracts. There were once a lot of deer, until all the landowners decided they could fill all their tags and invite others to fill theirs also. See, in this county each hunter can kill five deer, no more than two bucks. No MLD permit is required (none needed with this bag limit). So where we desperately need to control the number of deer killed, we can legally kill virtually every deer on the ranch.  I haven't actually hunted there in three years because I don't really need to and I want to protect the population (like my 36 acres matters!) as best I can. I feel for the folks who bought land to hunt on and now have nothing to hunt.

TPWD needs to wake up and smell the roses. Hunters hunt where the deer are. License limits need to be the same across the state for every hunter except the counties where the populations are determined to be too great, and there they need to offer random drawings for extra permits for hunters to be used in that county only. If a dud like me can figure this out, why can't those who are supposedly trained to do this? ($$$$, I think!)

Good luck with the IA hunting. At least you guys have some monster bucks to keep your blood flowing.

[Jim n Iowa]

Myk
I understand the needs of bowhunters. Our neighboring states give them their time, and allow rifle or firearm hunters their time at an earlier time ie: oct, nov. We hunt shotgun in Iowa dec 6-10 1st season. Archery started Oct 1 until shot gun starts and then resumes after 2nd season shot gun. This is BS when states around us accomodate the fire arm people alot better, and we use shotguns, not high power. Now Iowa is begging hunters to take a x-tra doe for a mere $11 ea. The whitetail are living in town but this 60 yro hunter has to wait on bowhunters.
Jim

[Drop it with a .50 cal]

I also live in Iowa and most people around the places I hunt don't complain about the seasons but about the number of deer, that there is way to many and not enough big bucks(wall Hangers), but these are the same hunters that I see shooting the button and spike bucks instead of shooting the does.
I am only 20 years old and have been hunting since I was 12 and last year I shot the biggest deer I have ever seen in real life a 14 pointer that grossed 174 B&C.  The biggest deer a lot of people have seen in the area I hunt.  I never dreamed of taking an animal of that size and before I shot that buck I was just like the rest of the people around here that shoot anything with any sign of an antler just to say that they shot a buck but now I realize the important role of leaving the smaller bucks and taking does.  
But management does nothing unless more people get involved with it.  So I encourage you to take part in shooting does, I mean the last time I checked they all taste the same.  This year the group that I hunt with along with other groups that hunt nearby propertys are holding a Biggest Doe competition.  We will be measuring the distance between the ears when spread and the dressed weight to determine the winner.  Hopefully in a number of years the (Wall Hangers) will be more plentiful and the herd will be in better shape(size-wise).

[ahunter55]

I am (now) a resident of Iowa & born & raised in Ill. (1/2 hour from my home now) & have hunted Wis. since the late 50s-ALL with a Bow.
Iowa has it a little better than Ill. for shotgun-they only get 3 days & 4 days split plus Iowa gets fewer non-residents.  Ws. is a whole new story & have several changes this year-earn a buck & a few others on Doe harvest.  Bow season (from what I remember) has always been longer & b/4 most gun seasons & I think that is mainly due to the percent of success in a long bow season compared to percent success in the shorter gun season.  We all know the Doe situation is getting out of hand & it doesn't come down to who hunts with what BUT what to do to controll the Deer numbers.  Myself, I would like to see a shoot a Doe 1st & then you get a chance at that Buck.  Probably not the best, BUT, Does would not pass as they do now.  Since I only bow hunt I have done as others-let ALL the Does & young Bucks pass trying for a Big Buck on my single tag.
Now, with the bonus Doe tags, I will try to thin a couple this year as will other Bowhunting only members of my family.  We plan on donating the meat to needy familys after keeping a small portion for our own familys.
I guess all we can do is give the DNR our input & hope some better ideas prevail.  Good luck this season.  I have gone Deerless the past 2 seasons BUT am sure I will get a chance at a big fat Doe since I passed on more than I can count the past few seasons.

[Selmer]

I too live in Iowa, but was deported by my wife from South Dakota where I grew up.  Eastern SD is not a whole lot different demographically or population-wise that NC Iowa where I live now, and we all used rifles to kill our deer.  I now have a little used .308 and .30-06 because I can't use them in Iowa.  They forced me to buy a TC Encore to pistol hunt deer with a .454 Casull because it needs to be a straight-walled case, I'm real broke up about having to buy a new gun, but I think it's pretty stupid that you must use a shotgun, muzzleloader, or pistol to shoot deer. Farmers are in the field when we're hunting in SD, and you can do just as much damage with a slug gun by being careless with your shots as you can a big rifle.  Anyway, just thought I'd chime in.  I also bowhunt, and I killed two deer with my pistol last year.  If you're looking for more seasons with one gun, go with the pistol, you can hunt late shotgun AND late muzzleloader with the pistol, that's what I did.
Selmer

[scruffy]

I'm probably in the minority, but I like Iowa's shotgun seasons.  But, I'd be dead right now if the guy that shot a slug that hit a fallen tree I had dove behind had shot a 300 win mag or something along those lines.  I have friends that would pull out their 7mm mags.....  You can do a lot more damage alot farther away with a rifle than you can with a slug.  I hunted coyotes with 100gr .270 loads for years before switching to a 223 so I'm well away of where I can shoot and where I can't and how close the houses really are.  When your carying a slug gun the houses seem alot farther away....

As far as hunting earlier, a week or two earlier wouldn't be bad, but I prefer my gun season after the corn is out.  I don't know how you hunt but if your like most Iowans (atleast central/southern Iowa) you drive and post.  The corn being out saturates the timber with deer so deer drives work.  Timber surounded by corn doesn't work...  So having an early deer season with the corn in doesn't do most Iowa deer drivers any good.

I don't drive/post anymore after being almost shot, I prefer being up in a tree.  It's cold in December, but I like it that way.  Gets the deer up and out of their beds.

later,
scruffy