Thermal Hunting Regulation Ideas, Poaching, all groups- SOLUTIONS!

[Sligh1]

Hey guys…. When I’ve said I want to hear from others …. I have & I meant it. I’m not a coyote hunting expert or even mid level- I’m novice at best. I truly believe we need to hear from your average deer hunter to the landowner with poaching problems. We need to account for areas with massive coyote populations. We MUST account for what CO’s need to better enforce the laws. On & on. Finally - we need practical solutions that truly move the needle & have a chance to become law. My thinking on this is different every day & this is an issue we all need to walk through as a whole. Guys have to be able to listen to the other POV’s or guys at the table - no matter who. For example - I’m the deer nut that also wants every coyote dead. I also have massive poaching issues. One thing I will just say about the world I live in 24/7 …. There’s way more poaching than anyone understands & when it’s discounted or dismissed - it’s not accounting for vast regions & MAJORITY of good deer areas where it’s still out of hand. It is a HUGE issue that occurs often every year in most “good deer areas”.

NOW…. How do we help the issue?!?!?
Here’s where my discussions with all groups have gotten me to TODAY, February 6, 2026. These are the most likely, IMO, practical & agreeable issues I believe we can implement & why….. some of these will catch you by surprise & this is a longer discussion than just the post…. This will butt hurt a few but not really if you flush it through….

1) Coyote hunting DURING DEER SEASON for NON RESIDENTS: that 4 month window is eliminated. This does 2 things: 1) the large amount of guys (yes, they exist!!!!! Plenty in every decent county!!!!!) that come from out of state to “coyote hunt in November”…. Done. NR’s can coyote hunt 8 months out of the year. We owe no special privileges to NR coyote hunters & this closes the massively abused loop hole they drive up to do. & sorry- you drive from Louisiana to iowa to coyote hunt in Nov …. Sorry guys, they are hot here for coyotes. You don’t see em as they get the motels & become vampires…. Only out @ night & very quiet. When they know they Cannot coyote hunt in deer season & no valid claim when stopped - many won’t come. 2) happening all over iowa…. “When I don’t draw my tag- I’ll just “coyote hunt”. BIG game being played all over. November with archery. Or gun seasons. Sorry- NR coyote hunting isn’t open in deer season- countless guys are now cooked. It’s a huge # of guys doing this. This issue fixes most of the abuse there with no real outcry as you have 8 months to come here & coyote hunt as a NR

2) thermal license to hunt iowa. How much it costs & where those funds go, TBD. Maybe it’s $2. Maybe it’s $100. Maybe it’s little but weeds out some of the lower tier scumbags & any CO knows if xyz plate has their deer tag (like now) or if they have their night hunting permit. More to this. Since poaching is an issue & we lack law to enforce it- maybe some of these funds are allocated for more enforcement activities or tools. Lot more to unpack here: why, how, etc but this could have some easy & impactful upside here.

3) EGREGIOUS POACHING FINES…. Extremely punitive & more so than today. You thermal or NV rifle a buck or rifle bucks out truck windows…. 10 years loss of hunting, 2nd strike is life. There is no reason the scum that does that should have the right to hunt. These are not hunters. If we could put this is as a felony conviction (this is a lawyer discussion) for those egregious violations - needs to be on the table. shoplift over $1k - felony in most states. U steal the states resource we actually can value at $20-40k (fact, i can explain) - it should be SEVERE. All gear & vehicles in this crime are taken. NR’s who get ONE egregious poaching violation are never allowed to hunt iowa ever again, PERIOD. We have some heavy fines now but it needs some more teeth & better verbiage/enforcement. Like: u rifle a buck out truck windows, it’s $20k. No ?’s asked. You can’t pay- like any fines on crime, any $ u get, if you do…. You pay back.

4) no drones for scouting & hunting of deer. Period. Just like KS law. Next: this is harder & I have some digging to do…. U see a drone on your farm- there should be a way to see what license is flying that & an app or a way to say “ok, drone XYZ just flew over this air space”.

5) night coyote hunting during deer season…. Something along the lines of: written permission where you hunting. Need to chew on this a bit more. The aimless driving, Cruising & scanning of every farm for bucks…. I mean coyotes …. There has to be a way to say “this unique & new form of hunting with propensity for abuse, needs this bit of extra criteria to weed out the endless drifters that just cruise all night”. This is harder to poach if you need you license to be doing it and valid permission where it’s happening. How this works, some tweaks or feedback… I’m interested. PUBLIC LAND: guys, out public is blown to bits. All over. Any season. It just is. Some relief, Possibly????…. Maybe we don’t allow night hunting on public during deer season?? Deer hunters already have daylight pressure that’s insane. & technology (cell cams) littered on public. I personally believe, since we have so little public & it’s pressure HARD- we soften the pounding of our public. THOUGHTS??????

6) I would concede that if we eliminated any night hunting - do it for a shorter time- not all deer season. Maybe 30-45 days. Otherwise- if we get above…. This could be enough to really just go at the bad guys.

7) last- off topic….. somehow, some way, we need a CO per county in our high violation counties. Sorry- se iowa has more complexity & game than north central iowa. 3-10x the game & violations in reality. How to fund it????? Maybe it is through violation revenue. & more co’s will also mean more violations are ticketed as well. So, a “$150k package” for a CO (making that up) …. I’ll bet they can pay for themselves in the extra violations we actually catch. We also could get it started from other funding sources which I can get into - it would not be that hard. In reality- we probably need around 20 more CO’s to start. There’s a lot of ways to do this. & yes, we need more enforcement to do stings like robo bucks & now heated robo bucks.


Not all are the solution of perfected. Clearly. I had some help from some guys on here & thanks to the countless others I’ve chatted to as well. About a dozen CO’s or in enforcement. Coyote groups & crazed coyote killers. Thermal gurus, etc. We need all sides of views expressed on this.

THOUGHTS?

 

[Hawk32]

I heard last week we have gone from approximately 90 COs to 60. A lot are covering 2 or 3 counties. That's an impossible task and this needs to change.

 

[CottonwoodCanyon]

I do agree that something needs addressed. I've always been one of "less government intervention" but I do believe it's gotten out of hand. I hope to make it to the DNR meeting or two in my area and press for more COs and addressing drones and thermal/NV/IR.

I think there's a lot to be said about the need for higher populations but there's also a sizeable piece of the "giant bucks are a thing of the past" that has to be attributed to high tech, organized poaching

 

[Matthewfox_45]

Totally on board with making the fines absolutely ludacris! If you want to poach, trespass, etc, fine the absolute shit out of them, confiscate vehicles, weapons, and jail time. Loss of hunting privileges doesn’t do anything in my opinion.

Not on board with yet another license to buy to hunt at night. I already buy a ton of licenses to hunt, fish, and trap as it is.

 

[iowavf]

Hitting where it hurts, the checkbook.

 

[booneriverbucks]

It’s all tough!! I wish the guys that wanted to just go out and blast coyotes, coons, etc had it easier from a regulation and access standpoint. Don’t know what the solution is! Deer hunting and hunting in general could potentially see a lack of public support in the future if the trophy aspect gets too magnified. We’d all benefit from additional predator control too! One of those things we all kind of agree on in general but it’s pretty hard to legislate and keep all sides happy. Will freely admit I’m lazy after deer season too! If anybody wants a little additional land to whack predators on after deer season let me know!

 

[Matthewfox_45]

It’s all tough!! I wish the guys that wanted to just go out and blast coyotes, coons, etc had it easier from a regulation and access standpoint. Don’t know what the solution is! Deer hunting and hunting in general could potentially see a lack of public support in the future if the trophy aspect gets too magnified. We’d all benefit from additional predator control too! One of those things we all kind of agree on in general but it’s pretty hard to legislate and keep all sides happy. Will freely admit I’m lazy after deer season too! If anybody wants a little additional land to whack predators on after deer season let me know!

I’d take you up on that!

 

[booneriverbucks]

Cool! Most of my land is in Webster co. Some in Hamilton/wright too if you are close to that area!

 

[seven twenty]

First thoughts without overthinking it:

1: why limit it to coyote hunting? No NR hunting sunset to sunrise. No grey areas at all

2: looks/sounds like a fundraiser. Really no valid reason other than to raise funds

3: YES, make it unaffordable. Zero tolerance. No plea bargains if it’s a B&W case. 5yrs/5k 1st offense, subsequent offenses carry real jail time

4: sounds good but how do you enforce people on there own or permission ground. This aspect sounds like it’s geared more towards “trespassers”. It needs shutdown completely.

5: by eliminating ”night hunting”, you’re also including the coon hunters. Probably not a good hornets nest to stir.

6: see above, you’ll basically be cutting the fur harvest season in half

7: let’s push harder for the IWiLL funding. Instead of raising the tobacco taxes, push for something that would benefit everyone. We’d only get 3/8 of a penny but that would probably be a cpl hundred million in the end. That’s quite a few officers along with a good chunk to spare.

 

[booneriverbucks]

7: let’s push harder for the IWiLL funding. Instead of raising the tobacco taxes, push for something that would benefit everyone. We’d only get 3/8 of a penny but that would probably be a cpl hundred million in the end. That’s quite a few officers along with a good chunk to spare.

Yes! Please leave my Tucker Carlson endorsed/owned Alp’s alone! Everybody needs the occasionally boost of energy/concentration! I won’t mess with the math on what would cost me more $ in taxes!

 

[Sligh1]

First thoughts without overthinking it:

1: why limit it to coyote hunting? No NR hunting sunset to sunrise. No grey areas at all

2: looks/sounds like a fundraiser. Really no valid reason other than to raise funds

3: YES, make it unaffordable. Zero tolerance. No plea bargains if it’s a B&W case. 5yrs/5k 1st offense, subsequent offenses carry real jail time

4: sounds good but how do you enforce people on there own or permission ground. This aspect sounds like it’s geared more towards “trespassers”. It needs shutdown completely.

5: by eliminating ”night hunting”, you’re also including the coon hunters. Probably not a good hornets nest to stir.

6: see above, you’ll basically be cutting the fur harvest season in half

7: let’s push harder for the IWiLL funding. Instead of raising the tobacco taxes, push for something that would benefit everyone. We’d only get 3/8 of a penny but that would probably be a cpl hundred million in the end. That’s quite a few officers along with a good chunk to spare.

What u mean by #1 - it is 24 hours a day- u cannot coyote hunt at all - period - during deer season. As a NR.

Good thoughts on rest. I really like feedback where guys are thinking through this stuff. Really appreciate everyone’s thoughts here!!!!

 

[seven twenty]

What u mean by #1 - it is 24 hours a day- u cannot coyote hunt at all - period - during deer season. As a NR.

Good thoughts on rest. I really like feedback where guys are thinking through this stuff. Really appreciate everyone’s thoughts here!!!!

You shut down the coyote hunting and then they are coon hunting. Or fox, or bobcat, or whatever critter is open season at that time. Just shut them off completely from sunset to sunrise. Absolutely no grey area that way.

 

[booneriverbucks]

Nevermind.. deleted previous reply. I see the point in eliminating non-res coyote varmint etc. during deer season.. also good to remind people non-res need a furbearers license for coyotes not just a hunting license. Saw a few people get charged plenty of $$ for that

 

[Windwalker]

Just shut off coyote season during deer season for everyone solves a lot of problems.

 

[Matthewfox_45]

Cool! Most of my land is in Webster co. Some in Hamilton/wright too if you are close to that area!

I live in Boone so that’s a big yes.

 

[Stoney]

My thoughts…
1. No NR w/ NV/T in Iowa during deer season. Look for OOS plates & road trolls. If they have NV/T in their possession, big fines…
3. Easy one. & I’m still pissed about a giant buck I almost killed that got shot with a rifle several years ago. The guy was so dumb he took it to the Iowa Deer Classic. Fines were a huge joke. Totally laughable, that’s the part that gets me most…
4. No drones. While I see the very obvious benefits, I believe it will get abused & badly.
5. & 6. October 15 to November 15 w/ no NV/T would do a lot. Or can’t be in your vehicle trolling the roads, guns un-cased &/or in reach. Maybe limit it to foot on private, residents w/ LO permission or landowners for those 30 days.
Loss of privileges & fines needs to change. Right now, they are NOT a reasonable deterrent.

 

[Dennis]

Some states have short thermal seasons when bucks are shed. Other than during the thermal season, coyotes are hunted in daylight and trapped. I would honestly support this.

Agree we need more CO's and some way to fund them.

Less thermal use is going to be a hard sell to die hard thermal coyote hunters that are doing nothing/little wrong. Many of them are very average guys that have five or six figures invested in thermals, rifles, electric atv, etc. To some, it put them out significantly financially and that means there are massive emotions tied to it.

I used to hunt occasionally with a group that always had permission and never poached. There is another group that I have shot a ton of prs matches with that doesn't deer hunt or care to shoot a deer at all. I know from talking to people at matches that some of these vampires will trespass if they see/hear coyotes past certain hours of the night. Written permission would help with that, but laws don't stop criminals from breaking them.

No NR furharvest during deer season is a good idea. I'm not sure if Saskatchewan is still this way, but they used to allow ZERO nonresident predator hunting for the same reason. Guys were using it as a guise to poach deer.

 

[seven twenty]

Just shut off coyote season during deer season for everyone solves a lot of problems.

Just shutting off coyotes doesn’t solve the issue. They are still hunting coon, fox, bobcat, etc….. You will have to completely shut any furbearer seasons if you’re wanting to keep thermals out of the field. If not, there’s an excuse to be out there.

 

[Sligh1]

These are the signs I have posted all around my farm. I had these made in last few years since thermal poaching got so bad. 75% of neighbors who aren’t around or don’t watch things close have no clue the madness that goes on. Other than “found headless deer again” or find one off road with crossbow bolt. They just don’t watch things close & they have no clue what goes on between 10pm to 3 am for example. When we busted the ONE guy with 47 bucks - few realized it was happening. Same with the guy with over 100 bucks. Dnr didn’t know until they got tipped off from the dudes who are lunatics giving them the intel. The guys in any area (10+ counties) that patrol, sit, surveille for poachers…. Find em. & it sucks. I’d almost rather ignore it and put my head in the sand. Many do. & it sucks they have to say “well- just part of it- I’ll lose a handful a year”. Dude in Ringold found 11 headless bucks this year. “Pretty normal. Usually 5-15 on a given year”. Easiest & wisest is: screen your roads & have trail cams watching. It’s pretty wild what u see when u have cams 15’ up looking into the roads. Bucks in beds of trucks at 3am. Dudes scanning with thermals. Same shady vehicle at weird hours for a month. Known poachers on camera. Because there’s only 1 CO for 2 counties- they don’t know or can even keep up with 5% of this stuff.
Heck- I’ve got photos of 4 “very likely poached” bucks from this season on my phone I could post. That’s in one small area. Go to Guthrie co- happening. Good farm in Taylor- happening. Van buren county- happening. Warren county- happening. There’s no good area that is avoiding this. Maybe it’s not being noticed but doesnt mean not occurring.
Not saying this as justification for XYZ. Mentioning for perspective from guys that hunt poachers. It’s bad. If u want to find it- u will. If u ignore it - maybe that’s just better for mental health. “Hey, wonder what happened to these XYZ deer. Never did hear anything”. At a bottom line these clowns need obscene fines & repercussions.


Actually looked…. Here’s 2 of the 4. I guess one shot on my buddies off the road (shoulda been screened better) just wasn’t big enough for the poachers so they just left it. Other one was good Enough to rifle in November & at least take the head.

 

[Muskrat24]

I’d think an easy law would be that bows are not legal method of take for fur bearers by NR. So if a CO gets a tip that NRLO is hunting coyotes it would be illegal?