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wjs
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Iowa’s deer management program is designed to provide hunters a variety of choices in the way they hunt. There are two shotgun seasons, an archery season and two muzzleloader seasons where hunters can pursue a buck and antlerless only seasons to help control doe numbers. Each season is designed to provide a different experience for Iowa’s hunters. There are even special seasons just for youth and disabled hunters to be out in the field.
The shotgun season is the traditional season where Iowan's get together and hunt with friends and family. Most shotgun hunters are very effective at killing deer with deer drives. The drives push deer to people who are waiting to shoot. Since deer are unpredictable, one shooter sometimes has the opportunity to kill more than one deer and can do so with a weapon that fires multiples shots. So party hunting makes sense from a practical standpoint. This is the only season where party hunting is legal. (Party hunting is defined as allowing someone to fill another person’s tag.) This is legal during the shotgun season because it matches the way the majority of the people hunt during this season.
Bow hunting also has a long tradition in Iowa but is done in a different manner. Shooting a deer with a bow requires that a hunter get close to deer. Hunters do not push deer to each other, rather they scout for the best places and wait for deer to come close enough to kill. Some very skilled hunters stalk close enough to kill deer. Most of the time hunters only get 1 shot and they want it at an undisturbed deer. Party hunting using drives would make it harder to kill deer if many hunters were pushing deer and making them spooky. So party hunting does not match the way most people prefer to hunt.
The muzzleloader seasons were initiated for hunters who said they wanted to hunt deer with a firearm in a one-on-one experience. These hunters did not like hunting during the shotgun seasons because the drives kept deer disturbed. The late muzzleloader season was created in 1984 and an early season was added in 1987. Both seasons are designed for hunters to hunt deer using techniques similar to bow hunting so party hunting is not legal during these seasons.
There has recently been some interest in making party hunting legal during the archery and muzzleloader seasons. I do not believe this change should be made. I think it would reduce the quality of the experience for those who hunt during the archery or muzzleloader seasons. I believe that a hunter who wants to party hunt can choose to do so during the shotgun season or antlerless seasons. However if they want to hunt by themselves during a time when deer are less disturbed they should be able to hunt during the archery or muzzleloader seasons.
I would like to hear from the readers of this forum, do you think party hunting should be legal during the archery and muzzleloader seasons?
Thanks!
The shotgun season is the traditional season where Iowan's get together and hunt with friends and family. Most shotgun hunters are very effective at killing deer with deer drives. The drives push deer to people who are waiting to shoot. Since deer are unpredictable, one shooter sometimes has the opportunity to kill more than one deer and can do so with a weapon that fires multiples shots. So party hunting makes sense from a practical standpoint. This is the only season where party hunting is legal. (Party hunting is defined as allowing someone to fill another person’s tag.) This is legal during the shotgun season because it matches the way the majority of the people hunt during this season.
Bow hunting also has a long tradition in Iowa but is done in a different manner. Shooting a deer with a bow requires that a hunter get close to deer. Hunters do not push deer to each other, rather they scout for the best places and wait for deer to come close enough to kill. Some very skilled hunters stalk close enough to kill deer. Most of the time hunters only get 1 shot and they want it at an undisturbed deer. Party hunting using drives would make it harder to kill deer if many hunters were pushing deer and making them spooky. So party hunting does not match the way most people prefer to hunt.
The muzzleloader seasons were initiated for hunters who said they wanted to hunt deer with a firearm in a one-on-one experience. These hunters did not like hunting during the shotgun seasons because the drives kept deer disturbed. The late muzzleloader season was created in 1984 and an early season was added in 1987. Both seasons are designed for hunters to hunt deer using techniques similar to bow hunting so party hunting is not legal during these seasons.
There has recently been some interest in making party hunting legal during the archery and muzzleloader seasons. I do not believe this change should be made. I think it would reduce the quality of the experience for those who hunt during the archery or muzzleloader seasons. I believe that a hunter who wants to party hunt can choose to do so during the shotgun season or antlerless seasons. However if they want to hunt by themselves during a time when deer are less disturbed they should be able to hunt during the archery or muzzleloader seasons.
I would like to hear from the readers of this forum, do you think party hunting should be legal during the archery and muzzleloader seasons?
Thanks!
