Daver
PMA Member
It's not greedy to agree to limiting the take of bucks...for everyone, with the hopes of better quality...for all.
Iowa One Buck Rule
- Thread starter thecreedeer
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It's not greedy to agree to limiting the take of bucks...for everyone, with the hopes of better quality...for all.
bigbuckhunter88
PMA Member
While I agree with you, not everyone's "quality" is shooting a giant buck or mature buck. Some "quality" experience might be filling both anysex tags. Or some may ne party hunting. If people or landowners want to impose a 1 buck limit for themselves or on their own farms their is nothing stopping them from giving it a go.
I totally get your opinion. & the reality of “if it’s legal- folks should be able to do it”.
This isn’t to argue against u - just in general.... this mentality that has most states “ruined” for management & age structure. In most states “1.5 year olds are legal” and that’s what the vast majority of hunters shoot with how many hunters there are, when gun season is, weapons allowed & buck tags available. They literally shoot the 1st buck they see & most will say “if I don’t shoot it, the next guy will”. And long story short, the hunting is “ruined” & vast vast vast majority of those guys hunting there say “ya, hunting here sucks!!” But they continue to do it to themselves because of the laws & the overall attitude- “it’s all legal so I need to take advantage of what I can”. That attitude & system has ruined countless neighborhoods, counties & STATES. I’ve been in whole counties in other states (where I grew up) where almost no one I knew even SAW a deer 2.5 or older. Didn’t even see one the whole season. If u saw a 1.5 - u shot it. It was sad & horrible. It was “legal” that folks shot every 1.5 that walked. It was legal to “let one go” too but no one did & it spiraled down hill. I’m a conservationist conservative when it comes to regs - this is one area the government needs to keep it “tight & conservative” or it will go to crap. It’s shown in all parts of our country what poor but legal regs can do.
bigbuckhunter88
PMA Member
I get what you are saying and feel we have the same viewpoints on a majority of topics. My main question I guess is why is this even being brought up. IMO we have much bigger issues to oppose rather than worry about the 1 buck rule. When they finally pass the laws allowing shouldered cartridges I will be all for a 1 buck rule because every Joe Schmo will be cracking off at deer 400 yards away and that will be a bad deal in the majority of the state.
Ishi
PMA Member
I know exactly what you’re saying if it legal then why not do it.
I know many guys that were deathly against straight wall cartridges but when they became legal they ran over anything that got in there way on the roads speeding all the way to buy one!!
One buck rule bring it on!!
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Anybody else remember when 'Antlered Buck' was about the only tag the state would mail you? Not many years ago. Today THIS is actually being discussed?! They're deer, not unicorns. If you're shooting and losing deer on a regular basis, then you may want to take up a new hobby. If you successfully and legally harvest 3 bucks in one year, congratulations! I've done it a few times and it's awesome! The DNR already regulates how many types of each tag that they sell annually. It doesn't matter if 10 bucks are harvested by 10 people or by 1. They're still 10 dead bucks to the DNR.
thecreedeer
Member
I do realize that not all of us are Trophy hunters and that "Trophy" is subjective, but there would still hunting opportunities for antlerless deer. I am throwing this idea out there just to hear some feelings from some other deer hunters.
I was just seeing opinions I dont feel it was Greed related, wanted to hear opinions only. I do think Greed may be a factor. I cant understand the need for party hunters to tag multiple bucks during deer drives.. I know a group that claimed they shot 70 Deer. I understand "To each their own" but I belive their is hunting and there is killing, and that to me is difficult to understand. How much is enough?
I was just seeing opinions I dont feel it was Greed related, wanted to hear opinions only. I do think Greed may be a factor. I cant understand the need for party hunters to tag multiple bucks during deer drives.. I know a group that claimed they shot 70 Deer. I understand "To each their own" but I belive their is hunting and there is killing, and that to me is difficult to understand. How much is enough?
If they had 70 tags, then what's the issue? Iowa shotgun season fills a lot of Iowa freezers.
Tim Hull
PMA Member
THE DNR DOES NOT REGULATE how many types of each tag they sell annually. They will sell as many Any sex tags as there are citizens. There is no limit to any sex tags for any season except Early Muzzleloader limited to 7500.
Well, this is news to me. IF this is the case, then the DNR obviously isn't concerned about too many bucks being harvested and this entire discussion is completely pointless.
JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
I have done the three bucks in a year before, not interested in that anymore. Personal restraint at one, maybe 2 now. If someone wants to do the 3, who am I to say no? At that point they obviously own land and can decide if they are helping or hurting.
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So, if 3 million people went to buy 2020 archery statewide anysex tags in IA, the DNR would honor and sell all 3 million tags? I find hard to believe the DNR doesn't set tag limits that wouldn't allow this, but if I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Does anybody know where I can find this in an official statement format?
I'm not out to harvest 3 IA bucks annually, but it's nice to have it as an option if/when the opportunity arises. It keeps me hunting and spending my $ in IA, instead of other states.
mplane72
PMA Member
I am aware of no cap on the total number of resident any sex tags that can be sold. If there is it's buried in the code somewhere deep. I'm sure some bean counter runs the statistics of total likely hunters and success rates. Those numbers go to the biologists and they decide it's OK for our tag and season structure to continue as is.
If hunter numbers were to climb significant enough to require a cap on total tags that would happen to protect herd health and I would support it.
If hunter numbers were to climb significant enough to require a cap on total tags that would happen to protect herd health and I would support it.
JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
Well, 3 million is about the population of Iowa, so yes, if every resident wanted to buy a deer license, they could buy one. Then, they would need to find a place to hunt, which wouldn't happen, so it is kind of a moot point. I sent an email to the DNR via their webpage contact link a couple of months ago, asking about slumping harvest totals for this past season. They said they are seeing deer license sales trend downward that last couple of years, so the sky is not falling.
This attachment will speak for itself. Think of this... we can “restrict” fishing & “positive outcomes are seen” for the public & the resource. More folks enjoying better fishing, better trophies & a better managed ecology. Why can’t these same principles be followed with deer?!???! On occasion they are but 9 out of 10 times- the exact OPPOSITE approaches & propositions are what we see. Irony. Just an interesting example that could/should make any deer hunter think.
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No reason to limit buck harvest to one in my opinion. Every year more and more people are practicing QDM. More people are planting food plots. Overall heath of the deer is improving except for the areas hit with EHD. Party hunting groups are decreasing in both the size of the group and the number of groups. This will continue to decline due to loosing access to tracts big enough to run large groups on. In my opinion we would be better off with the regulations we had 10-15 years ago prior to the late rifle season. However, we are not going to turn back that clock. Moving forward I would like to see the regulations simplified. Bow season remains the same. Early ML is for muzzleloaders only, 1 and 2 gun seasons are for shotgun and straight wall. I would like to see party hunting ended during 1 and 2 gun seasons. Late ML season becomes “alternative weapon season”. So Bow, ML, cross bow (residents only), handgun and straight wall rifles. That would allow people who want to hunt with straight wall rifles the ability to choose late ML. They already allow straight wall handgun during late ML so why not allow straight wall rifles. That may decrease pressure during gun 1 and 2 by allowing a guy who wants to hunt with a straight wall rifles the opportunity to avoid party hunting and the orange army. Plus kids could use the straight wall rifles during late ML. As I said before, if I had my wish we would eliminate all the changes and go back to the regulations we had 10-15 years ago but that’s not going to happen. The decrease in license sales is the result of decreased deer numbers due to increased doe tags along with decreased access. As people loose access they quit hunting. No amount of weapons changes, season changes will change the fact that hunter numbers have been declining for 30+ years and will continue. I could go on a three page rant about decreased duck and pheasant numbers just in my lifetime. My dad says ”if you think it was good when you were a kid you should have seen it when I was a kid”. That is due to habitat loss. I think the deer quality is a direct result of personal choice on what to shoot. Those who manage the ground they hunt see the benefits and continue to practice QDM. Those who don’t won’t ever realize the potential of the deer herd they hunt. Pretty simple. Decreasing buck tags won’t change people choices. Those that manage will only take mature bucks from their herd. The majority of young bucks killed are more than likely the result of deer drives and killing bucks on the move on ground that is not under management. That won’t change until party hunting is eliminated or the owners of the ground require management. The majority of deer harvest occurs during shotgun 1 and 2. Most of those hunters are not buying tags for bow season. So the party hunting allows a few guys in say a 10 person party to shoot several bucks to help fill all the tags the group has available. Many groups still only kill bucks regardless of size. Some try to manage and not shoot young bucks or try to take some does so I am not grouping everyone who hunts shotgun in the brown it’s down category. Regardless, as access decreases for large parties and QDM continues to spread we should see quality slowly improve. Unfortunately, those in charge at the DNR and Iowa legislature have to manage for the dedicated deer manager, the average joe, the farmers, and the insurance industry. As the saying goes...you can’t please everyone! One thing is for sure. We need to quit adding more seasons and weapons every year thinking it will recruit more hunters. Access is the number one factor affecting hunter recruitment and retention. Anyone who thinks it is because someone can’t use x, y or z weapon or that adding this season or that season will change the direction of hunter numbers is sadly mistaken. That is my personal opinion but would say the stats tend to back it up. Despite adding all these seasons over the last several years the license sales and hunter numbers continue to decline. Again, I wish we could go back to the way it was but there are to many special interests groups pushing the management agenda.
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More folks enjoying better fishing, better trophies & a better managed ecology. Why can’t these same principles be followed with deer?!???!
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The answer is, because the fish aren't running across the road getting hit by vehicles insured by Farm Bureau!!
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The answer is, because the fish aren't running across the road getting hit by vehicles insured by Farm Bureau!!
I get to keep fishing and catch 100+ more walleye, musky, trout, etc. after I've caught my bag limit. I just can't keep them. Since we kill the quarry that we hunt, this type of fish management practice can't be applied to hunting. How much fun would it be if you caught your bag limit on your first cast and then you were either forced to stop fishing all together for the rest of the season, or you were forced to stop fishing in any manor that you 'might' catch another one of those particular fish? Anybody can go sit in a treestand anytime of the year and 'watch' deer. You don't need a hunting license or tag to do that. It's called hunting for a reason. If you tell me, well, you can always shoot does after you shoot your buck... That's like telling a musky fisherman that they can always catch chubs after they've caught their musky bag limit, (and even then, they still have an opportunity to hook into another musky). Not an apples to apples comparison.