mplane72
PMA Member
I'm glad to hear that but think you may be the exception. You know they cut the tags in those counties this year too and they always sell out.
I'm glad to hear that but think you may be the exception. You know they cut the tags in those counties this year too and they always sell out.
Ishi
PMA Member
Yes so true I forgot to say that. It only looks like they were lowered thanks for the clarification
150 Class
Well-Known Member
No, and yes. I will respectfully disagree with the first part of your argument, many counties, probably most, have a very real reduction in doe tags available, but I will agree that there may be a few counties that in the end, do not have any reduction at all in tags sold.
sureshot
The Hunt Never Ends....
Thanks for the clarification. That was just what I was told from a close friend who works for the DNR. I didn't look into it to verify. I would be curious to see what the numbers cut were in the bottom two tiers of Iowa when compared to how many were not sold last year.
moosehunter
PMA Member
We can't outspend the big lobbies for favorable support, our numbers are just to small. As a group we have to police ourselves and manage the deer herd as best we can without relying on elected representatives that clearly have other interest's to protect. Just because the legislature refuses to listen to the experts and reduce the tags doesn't mean that hunters need to buy them.
BJohnson
Well-Known Member
In my two county area, no doe quota tags issue this year versus 100 in each county for the past few seasons. Also, first shotgun is antlered deer only, second allows for shooting of does (my understanding but I do not gun hunt so I may be slightly off).
While I agree with Perry that we have to police ourselves, I also am realistic enough to know that the past 5-10 years has created an expectation or past experience of being able to "shoot a deer" during most guns seasons, be that a nice buck or a doe. My concerns in our area now is that many small bucks will be shot during first season that otherwise would have gotten the pass for a doe in prior seasons. Unfortunately, I think the past regs kinda backed the DNR into a corner and the "no doe" first season is probably better than continuing to shoot more does than our area can reasonably replenish.
Bottom line - it's still going to be a multi-year replenishment battle to see deer numbers in my two county area that were common 4-5 years ago.
While I agree with Perry that we have to police ourselves, I also am realistic enough to know that the past 5-10 years has created an expectation or past experience of being able to "shoot a deer" during most guns seasons, be that a nice buck or a doe. My concerns in our area now is that many small bucks will be shot during first season that otherwise would have gotten the pass for a doe in prior seasons. Unfortunately, I think the past regs kinda backed the DNR into a corner and the "no doe" first season is probably better than continuing to shoot more does than our area can reasonably replenish.
Bottom line - it's still going to be a multi-year replenishment battle to see deer numbers in my two county area that were common 4-5 years ago.
Daver
PMA Member
I agree with you that as hunters we are not likely to outspend the lobbies from Farm Bureau and insurance companies and so forth and also that we as hunters ultimately need to manage the resource appropriately. However, that is where I get a little concerned, as I see HUGE differences between hunters in terms of recognition of the issues and also responses to them.
Some hunters are very tuned into the lower deer population situation and will self regulate and reduce their harvest patterns accordingly. Others will shoot as many deer as they can get tags for and then complain about low numbers. There is a real dichotomy among hunters.
Fishbonker
Life Member
The reason I gave this thread a bump wasn't to start the whole tag reduction debate again. I had heard a rumor about Mr. Litchfield and his responsibilities with the DNR. I thought I'd shake the IW tree and see what fell out.