Limb Chicken
Active Member
The only thing I could add to Kaare's post is BOLD the word sickness. Well done!
Antler Restriction in Iowa
- Thread starter J Becker
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matchedset
PMA Member
I personaly dont want the restrictions.Rob some young hunter of the first kill.Noway.Everyone can decide for them selves,after all the deer population is at a all time high.There not exactaly on the endangered list.I think as we hunt we move to a different level of thinking.Just my 2 cents
If you want antler restrictions try to convince the people that hunt the farm about QDM and etc... As a whole Iowa doesnt need it.
Everyone has made a good point on here, noted Bonker and Kaare.
Antler restrictions would rob the new guy who is just out to get his first buck no matter what size.
I know i was happy with my little 6 point with half his left main beam broke off as my first buck, a hunt I will never forget.
We have enough private ground and enough escape routes for deer in this state that we will always have big deer, unless disease sets in. As long as they keep rifles away I believe we will be just fine
Everyone has made a good point on here, noted Bonker and Kaare.
Antler restrictions would rob the new guy who is just out to get his first buck no matter what size.
I know i was happy with my little 6 point with half his left main beam broke off as my first buck, a hunt I will never forget.
We have enough private ground and enough escape routes for deer in this state that we will always have big deer, unless disease sets in. As long as they keep rifles away I believe we will be just fine
dbltree
Super Moderator
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Kaare, you just put the icing on the cake! Well said!
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In southern Iowa I think it's becoming more important to figure out how we are going "manage" the ever growing deer population then force someone to take a certain size buck.
The changing landscape as far as land ownership is also changing the way people hunt, the type/size of animals they harvest, as well as the number of animals taken.
People don't spend $2000 an acre to harvest 6 point bucks...or does...
WJS is faced with a challenge in these parts...a challenge for which there are no easy answers...
We discussed some ideas at length some time ago: Proposed changes
I suspect that with the new harvest data system information coming in soon along with a changing political climate...that nothing will be changed anytime soon........
Kaare, you just put the icing on the cake! Well said!
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In southern Iowa I think it's becoming more important to figure out how we are going "manage" the ever growing deer population then force someone to take a certain size buck.
The changing landscape as far as land ownership is also changing the way people hunt, the type/size of animals they harvest, as well as the number of animals taken.
People don't spend $2000 an acre to harvest 6 point bucks...or does...
WJS is faced with a challenge in these parts...a challenge for which there are no easy answers...
We discussed some ideas at length some time ago: Proposed changes
I suspect that with the new harvest data system information coming in soon along with a changing political climate...that nothing will be changed anytime soon........
Hardcorehunter
UL Shelter/Stove Geek
I and my wife both have a practice that if we shoot a buck it better be worth the taxidermy fee. IA already has more Boone and Crocket bucks in the record book than anywhere in North America, so I don't think we need to change anything. One man's trophy might be a spike; it is not my right to decide for him.
gundog870
Premium Platinum Member
Sometimes I dont know how I feel on the subject. Because I hunt because I love it. I guess i kind of got it from my dad. he has had shot many a decent deer that he never even brought the antlers back from the locker. He has always said, he has accomplished his goal, what does it matter. I guess like for example we hunt strickly public ground. we see lots of bucks. this year i passed up 3 8 pts. that would be in the 120's blew an opportunity on a 160 and hade a few incounters with some deer in the mid 40's.
Well it turns out i shot a 90 inch eight pointer to end my season. I had decided that I had an awesome year. I hunted hard. I was ready to shoot my deer. I dont regret any of it and i was proud of my deer. the anters just add to the rack in the garage.
I had an amazing season and loved every minute of it. I will hunt for big buck during muzzleloader, untill the last day.. Meat is Meat...
Some say just shoot a doe. But being young. You know the feeling of satisfaction of shooting a buck. Some day i mayu "mature" haha.
Well it turns out i shot a 90 inch eight pointer to end my season. I had decided that I had an awesome year. I hunted hard. I was ready to shoot my deer. I dont regret any of it and i was proud of my deer. the anters just add to the rack in the garage.
I had an amazing season and loved every minute of it. I will hunt for big buck during muzzleloader, untill the last day.. Meat is Meat...
Some say just shoot a doe. But being young. You know the feeling of satisfaction of shooting a buck. Some day i mayu "mature" haha.
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I personally believe you put a bounty on some of the best deer in a herd. Lets say you have 2 bucks that are both 1 1/2 year olds. One is a forky and the other a perfect basket racked 10pt. The 10pt that has the potenial to be boone in 3 years gets wacked and the forky lives another day. Just a thought.
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I would agree with most opinions here despite the fact that I
when neighbors continually shoot small bucks. For years I shot small bucks and had a blast doing it until I lucked into my first mature buck and never looked back.
Emotion aside though, I think IowaBruce makes a great point. Antler restrictions might very well amount to forced high-grading of the buck population and lead to an overall decline in quality.
I personally believe you put a bounty on some of the best deer in a herd. Lets say you have 2 bucks that are both 1 1/2 year olds. One is a forky and the other a perfect basket racked 10pt. The 10pt that has the potenial to be boone in 3 years gets wacked and the forky lives another day. Just a thought.
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I would agree with most opinions here despite the fact that I
Emotion aside though, I think IowaBruce makes a great point. Antler restrictions might very well amount to forced high-grading of the buck population and lead to an overall decline in quality.
Dewy
Active Member
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I don't want someone telling my sons or any first time hunter I can convert "they can't shoot a particular deer", for once upon we all shot a first deer and if it wasn't for that very first one this sickness that is so great wouldn't be part of who we are.
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I can't wait to be there when my boys harvest their first deer of any maturity level. It will be one of the greatest moments of my life when they too catch the sickness.
I don't want someone telling my sons or any first time hunter I can convert "they can't shoot a particular deer", for once upon we all shot a first deer and if it wasn't for that very first one this sickness that is so great wouldn't be part of who we are.
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I can't wait to be there when my boys harvest their first deer of any maturity level. It will be one of the greatest moments of my life when they too catch the sickness.
THA4
A Few Steps Ahead Of You
Well put Kaare, i agree whole heartedly
and Gundog, same to you.
here is my bit
i consider myself a trophy hunter, but the trophy is in the eye of the beholder.
unfortunately, this past year, my wife and i lost over 1000 acers in three different tracts of land to either leases or "grandsons who moved home" i was unabe to spend my summer evenings scouting for a monster that i wanted to kill. i do have some great friends that madde it possible for me to hunt on their land for the season. up till sunday i passed up many small to medium size bucks. i missed a cake shot at a 125" 8 (no excuses, i choked)
but on sunday night i rattled in a small 5.5 pointer. i have to work all week and would not be able to make it back out to the woods before shotgun season started. so i opted to take him. i made a great double lung shot and found him 150 yards later. he weighed in at 120 pounds dressed. absolutely not a giant, and not one you would like to kill if you are ONLY hunting monsters. but to me, he is a trophy, he has a small rack that will be on my wall displayed with pride. (i actually believe i passed him up a couple times earlier in the season)
the point is this.
i didnt have the option to be overly selective this season, but i love every aspect of the hunt. he is the result and i am still jacked about the whole ordeal. it was 430 on the last night prior to shotgun and i made the most of it.
additionally, i believe there is a lot to be said about QDM and letting smaller bucks grow. But i felt the situation i am in didnt allow me to practice QDm. if i owned 500 acres (or so) you can bet you life id be strict about what gets shot. but if an exception needs to be made i guaruntee i would understand if a smaller buck was taken.
so i dont think antler restrictions need to be inforced. the reason iowa has the quality bucks it does, is because the deer are only hunted by a minority of people during the rut. most bucks get a chance to pass on thier genetics, so that ensures more bucks will be dropped in the spring with good genetics.
imagine what would happen if shotgun season started nov 1 and went through dec 1.
scary thought isnt it?
what the idnr is doing is working, so i say keep it up and there will be many more giants in the future
maybe somday ill get to harvest one of my own
-peace
and Gundog, same to you.
here is my bit
i consider myself a trophy hunter, but the trophy is in the eye of the beholder.
unfortunately, this past year, my wife and i lost over 1000 acers in three different tracts of land to either leases or "grandsons who moved home" i was unabe to spend my summer evenings scouting for a monster that i wanted to kill. i do have some great friends that madde it possible for me to hunt on their land for the season. up till sunday i passed up many small to medium size bucks. i missed a cake shot at a 125" 8 (no excuses, i choked)
but on sunday night i rattled in a small 5.5 pointer. i have to work all week and would not be able to make it back out to the woods before shotgun season started. so i opted to take him. i made a great double lung shot and found him 150 yards later. he weighed in at 120 pounds dressed. absolutely not a giant, and not one you would like to kill if you are ONLY hunting monsters. but to me, he is a trophy, he has a small rack that will be on my wall displayed with pride. (i actually believe i passed him up a couple times earlier in the season)
the point is this.
i didnt have the option to be overly selective this season, but i love every aspect of the hunt. he is the result and i am still jacked about the whole ordeal. it was 430 on the last night prior to shotgun and i made the most of it.
additionally, i believe there is a lot to be said about QDM and letting smaller bucks grow. But i felt the situation i am in didnt allow me to practice QDm. if i owned 500 acres (or so) you can bet you life id be strict about what gets shot. but if an exception needs to be made i guaruntee i would understand if a smaller buck was taken.
so i dont think antler restrictions need to be inforced. the reason iowa has the quality bucks it does, is because the deer are only hunted by a minority of people during the rut. most bucks get a chance to pass on thier genetics, so that ensures more bucks will be dropped in the spring with good genetics.
imagine what would happen if shotgun season started nov 1 and went through dec 1.
scary thought isnt it?
what the idnr is doing is working, so i say keep it up and there will be many more giants in the future
maybe somday ill get to harvest one of my own
-peace
Lots of good points made above and I vacillate between whether restrictions would help or hurt. In the end, I do not think regulated restrictions will work and would probably backfire to a degree based upon the primary hunting method in IA gun seasons: the deer drive. In my opinion, a deer drive is not generally conducive to making good harvest selections. Sure, there are some "no brainer" big deer but the average hunter is not going to be able to consistently field judge an animal (either points and/or width and/or score) in the often split second you have when a buck busts out on a deer drive as to whether to shoot or not. I think this would result in a number of bucks that were killed but did not meet restrictions to be left in the field thus defeating the purpose of the restrictions. For a variety of reasons, I am not a fan of deer drives but, let's face it, it is how probably 60+% of the deer in IA are killed each year.
That leaves education as the primary tool to convince hunters to self impose "regulations" on themselves and their hunting companions. As such, the burden falls upon us to provide this education and win others over - one person at a time! Just my $.02 worth....
That leaves education as the primary tool to convince hunters to self impose "regulations" on themselves and their hunting companions. As such, the burden falls upon us to provide this education and win others over - one person at a time! Just my $.02 worth....
nannyslayer
New Member
An antler restriction would be a good idea, but after living in a state where there is a restriction (Arkansas), it really didn't help the maturity of buck being killed. alot of the six pointers that were killed were only 1 1/2 years old. Educating hunters is the best key, or a restriction bigger than a six point may be a good key. I agree, i wish all hunters would harvest a doe instead of young buck
I believe D&DH magazine did an article on this a couple months ago. If you want more and bigger bucks, decreasing the number of buck tags was the best. Give no more than 1 antlered tag per year to hunters. Young hunters and weekenders can shoot the buck they choose, but total pressure on antlered deer is reduced. Seems to be helping buck numbers and quality in Indiana 4 years into the one buck rule. Got extended to 2012 this year. I am passing many bucks, but didn't hesitate to let my 9 yo son shoot a button buck for his first deer this year.
J
J Becker
Guest
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i wish all hunters would harvest a doe instead of young buck
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well said
i wish all hunters would harvest a doe instead of young buck
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well said