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What's IA hunters feelings?

You're missing a key point there Mr. Land of the Free yada yada yada.....it's not up to people from Kentucky or Michigan, it's up to Iowans and our legislature. You and Nonres alone are changing my opinion on NR hunters-from bad to worse. Your pompous and elitist attitudes are making a strong case for what is really happening in Iowa right now.....Deer hunting feudalism. Or to borrow from Scout, "The King's Deer" so to speak.

Trper,
Usually your posts are well informed and insightful, but this time I disagree with you. Your replies are laced with apathy and fatalistic cliches, i.e. "cookies crumbling" and whatnot, and if most IA hunters feel that way we're doomed. From previous posts I gather you are fortunate enough to own land, so this issue probably doesn't hit home with you like it does your average Iowan. WE CAN make a difference and stem the tide of NR invaders if we could agree on something and unite. Petition our legislators to cut the # of NR tags and significantly raise prices. And don't try and tell me they still won't pay, because they will.

Some will say, "What if Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, or any other "desirable" hunting destination did the same? How would you feel then? The answer is just fine. I'll just stick to good ol Iowa whitetails.

I call on the IBA, the powers that be at iowawhitetail.com, and the DNR to voice their opinions on these matters, for you are the ones with the real power. Unless you don't care, then nevermind.

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So what are other states doing? Places like Kansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio. Are Non-Res. land owners in those states guarenteed a tag?
 
No Non-residents, go to Mississippi, and for Ted Nugent we don't need him!!!!!!!!!!!
 
to non resident: i would not buy land in iowa for hunting purposes for these reasons: lottery requirement and high price for 1 deer; rampant trespassing by locals during all seasons but especially gun season; unsportsmanlike conduct during all shotgun season with party hunting locals shooting up the countryside, trespassing, shooting all bucks that appear regardless of quality and frequently culling them; property taxes and land prices too high; no effort bv the state or local hunters or landowners to effect any kind of quality deer management. rather than iowa I would look at northern missouri where prices are half of iowa's, taxes are one third of iowa's, deer are just as good, habitat is much better, party hunting is not allowed, rifle hunting is allowed during mid november and as a non resident you can get one buck license for rifle, two for bow and two antlerless any method. iowa has a good deer herd but it is largely wasted on deer driving party hunters who are basically just food gathering good old boys. there is no sport in this method. do not expect any change in iowa. they are in the dark ages and like it that way. been there, done that.
 
Bighole: Ohio and Kentucky are over the counter for any NR. Kansas has an 80 acre requirement for NR landowners. I believe Illinois NR landowners are guaranteed a tag. It was posted on this site a while back that they only sell about 500 of these permits.

Tim
 
The comments that so many have made about the rich taking over Iowa by leasing and buying up property is just pure nonsense. As Rutnbuck stated, many of those who are buying land are hardly rich. Of course some define "rich" as any person who makes one dollar more than they make. Seems to be hard for some to understand that there are some hunters out there that want a place of their own bad enough that they are willing to save and make personal sacrifices to make it happen rather than blow their money on all the other toys and gadgets grownups like to buy.
 
Daver:

Your comparision of tuition differences between residents verses non-residents attending colleges in Iowa is not really a good comparision. However, since no one else has responded I will try.

If I wanted to attend college each year in Iowa and could meet the entrance requirements and had the money to afford the tuition (albeit higher than what resident students could pay) then I could enroll in any Iowa college each and every year. There is no doubt that residents of any particular state should definitely be given special privileges (decreased priced hunting license and/or college tuition, etc.) and noone is arguing that here.

Non-resident landowners, however, cannot draw an either sex deer tag each year (but they could attend college), even though they contribute to the state coffers each year through their property taxes.

With that said I in no way want to imply that the state of Iowa should open up their NR deer tags to anyone that wants one such as Ohio, Kentucky, etc. I truly believe that such actions would be a huge mistake for Iowa and the quality of their deer herd. The point I'm trying to make again is that (at least in my opinion) there is a huge difference between your average non-resident hunter and a non-resident landowner. Most non-resident landowners only want the ability to hunt their own place each year, possibly reap some of the rewards for all their hard work and investments, and stay out of others way.

To answer the original question I would only buy land in Iowa if it has always been your dream to own rural land, it has at least some investment potential (R.O.I.), and finally you love the state, it's people, it's land, and it's game enough to put up with the restrictions placed upon non-resident landowners.

Rut
 
Ive been following this post for awhile now without commenting on it.Mainly because i dont know what to think of it.You both give good points but its hard for me to support non residents buying land just for hunting.

We had a guy from chicago come into the area and buy almost a square mile of land here.For pheasant hunting.He also bought a couple hundred acres on the Little Souix river for deer hunting.Now he doesnt deer hunt this pheasant ground at all but at the same time wont let anyone else set foot on the place.Hes also requested the sherrifs office and DNR keep an eye out for tresspassers.So hes got two law enforcement agencies watching his place and wasting tax dollars when they could be out doing there actual job and looking for real criminals.He could have had this property watched simply by letting one of the several, myself included, local hunters in to deer hunt it during the season on the terms they turn in anyone caught tresspassing.But nobodies going to get in there as long as he owns it.Thats just one example.

Im a self employed contractor.I charge people so much that sometimes i feel like a crook giving them a bill but I still only make maybe 18,000$ on a good year and i got two kids to raise.I cant afford to lease or buy ground.So because this guys got more money than me hes entitled to more, that aint right but thats the way it is, and I understand that.But that aint enough it seems like, now they want the same privalages in my state as i have.They wanna hunt every year even though another nonresident who maybe doesnt make as much and cant afford ground only gets to hunt every two or three years.This isnt fair to residents or non residents who cant afford the land.Why are you entitled to hunt here every year and their not?And why is it none of you let anyone in even if you only hunt it one or two weeks a year?Surely letting another guy or two kill another deer or two in return for watching and maybe even helping take care of the property while your gone isnt gonna ruin the place.I cant see why anyone living in another state should be treated as anything but a non resident.
Dont get me wrong, i have nothing against anyone coming to this state to hunt.I was even against em jacking the prices that much on non resident tags cause a lot of guys cant afford em.But if you dont live here you should play by the same rules as everyone else and having land or money isnt grounds for a different set of rules, its almost like discriminating against others who aint got the money
 
Rutnbuck - I'll concede the out-of-state tuition example is not a perfect match to this discussion, but I still think it does fairly illustrate the point that there are other bonafide situations where residents and non-residents of a given state have differing levels of privilege, etc. Thanks for your reply though, I never said anyone else had to agree with me.
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John V - Your post that said, "The comments that so many have made about the rich taking over Iowa by leasing and buying up property is just pure nonsense.", only tells me that you are not in possession of as much information as myself and others that I know in the state regarding this phenomenon.

I could list many examples that I either know of personally or have heard from people that I know and trust that would support the notion that it is disproportionately wealthy people that are leasing and/or buying prime deer habitat here. I do realize that there is a segment of non-resident land owners that are not particularly wealthy though, but to pick just one example, what opinion would you form when a Kansas City area doctor watches a big buck run into a particular timber and then finds the landowner and offers to write a check on the spot in excess of $80,000 to buy that land, that doesn't sound like a person of average income to me. ( I could list approximately 15-17 very similar stories, most of which I can say that I have first hand information on.)

I say let the good doctor move his family and practice into say, downtown Donnellson, and if he still has the coin leftover to buy ground here, then that is the American way and God bless him. Then he can hunt the heck out of it as a resident and I hope he kills a big buck every year!! ( Iowa BTW has one of the lowest reimbursements rates for Medicare patients in the nation, so it might be a little tougher here to scratch out a living than a large metro area.)

How about this angle? I and many others have been supporting the Iowa deer herd for in excess of 20 years now in the form of license purchase, habitat management and also exhibiting voluntary restraint to allow the little bucks to grow up. How much investment do a great many non-residents have over the course of time? ( I readily admit that someone motivated enough to buy ground here is more than likely to take care of it in a way that is superior to what it would likely be taken care of otherwise.) Most would have to answer, not much, they have just been turned on to Iowa deer hunting in the last 2-5 years, thanks be to the countless hunting shows and magazines that feature Iowa.

Bottom line, IMO anyone that wants to move here and get the benefits of being a resident I say welcome. Anyone that wants to buy land and hunt here and live elsewhere, follow the rules that apply to non-resident, which is what you are.
 
Good topic with lots of excellent points. In the case of a guy that invests that much money and time into the state I would say let him hunt his own ground. He will pay more in sales tax and property tax than many of our slob shotgun tribe will contribute to the state in their lifetime.
 
You guys make good points about non-residents buying land here and paying taxes, etc. What about the folks on Welfare. They don't pay taxes, they don't work, they live in this state and are considered by many a burden. Should they be allowed a deer tag?

Some guy buys land from out of state, pays tax on the land and spends some coin here in Iowa and gets treated like a second class American. Makes no sense.
 
Daver,

How do you feel about non-resident farmers purchasing rural land to farm in Iowa because they find it cheaper than purchasing land in adjoining states where they live? I have been told by locals in my area that this is not uncommon in the southeast. It's not only the non-resident hunter who finds land prices to be a bargain in Iowa. Yes, I am sure there are a handful of wealthy people who make a hunting trip here, see a piece of property they like, and immediately write a check to buy the place just so they can hunt it two weeks a year. Happens all the time on the coasts and around resort areas in every state across this country. A few are fortunate enough to be able to do this. While I may be understating the impact of non-residents purchasing land in Iowa, I think you and others are overstating the impact. Iowa is a pretty big state. There is plenty of room for both resident hunters, and handfull of non-resident hunters, and a few non-resident landowners. I don't see non-residents taking over this state as so many claim is happening.
 
For the equivalent of the IA income taxes I pay on a very modest income, I'd say issue a one-deer per year permit to non-resident landowners.
 
I believe the law is the way it is because we don't want a bunch of NRs with more $ than sense moving here.
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Buying up land and, in essence, buying a $1000/acre resident tag, is all they are trying to do. Folks that know the law and buy land anyhow, hoping for it to change, may be just wasting their time and $. The article in the Des Moine register about NR land ownership in this part of the state pretty much sums it up.
 
ok.how does this figure: my family owns 640 acres in NE Iowa. MY uncle lives in iowa so he gets his tags for $1.my dad,a co owner with him,has to apply and then pay $310 if he gets a tag. How does that figure?

slayer
 
Figure this- a resident landowner with ground in two or three different zones can only get a single landowners tag. Paying taxes on all three places, paying Iowa income tax. Go figure, pretty hard to practice QDM.
 
My 2 cents....

I only see Iowa as one in a million. It is like no other state.
So the same rules don't apply here.

I have read through most of the replys. Everyone makes some good defense for their views.

I feel one of the problems, is that the state is so diverse in the landscape. There are areas of the state that some may feel are overrun with deer and there are areas there are small numbers.

I don't think the DNR can have just one set of rules for the whole state.

Living in the center of the state. The big Iowa river that comes through are area holds alot of deer. However if you move further north you can hit areas that have nothing but open farm ground for miles with a few patches of trees.

So what the state is wanting to do is increase the number of tags to Non-residents. The problem with this, the way I see it. Is it going to increase the hunting pressure in the Prime areas.

And the price of land compared to the rest of the country.... We should all be going to jail for what this state values Timber ground for.

I had 5 acres when I lived in the Great Lease state of Texas. Few trees on the back property line, the rest pasture. 6000 acre.

I heard a few comments on the fact that Non-Res buying ground pay taxs.

The tax rate is pretty cheap $10-12 acre. And if it is in the forestry reserve program You pay ZERO Tax. And then even you making little money with a some of it enrolled in CRP program.

I am sure there may be alot of people out there that are not fournate enough to be able to buy there own little hunting ground. And those are the one that this new bill is going to hurt the most.

There place they had access to hunt once will no longer be there. And that not good for the furture of hunting. If you have no place to teach your kids. You lose members....
 
Greetings fellow outdoorsmen. This is all interesting dialogue regarding nonresident landowners. The simple fact is that Iowa is one of only about three states that discriminates against any landowner in this fashion. I expect this will be overturned in the courts in the near future. No nonresident wants a resident license. We are content with paying huge fees just so long as we can get a guaranteed buck tag to hunt our own land. We do let residents who help watch our land hunt for free. You have assumed we are rich because we buy a farm. Not so. I have sacrificed many things and deprived my children of much so I could pass this land on to them some day. I dont drive the fancy truck and have the best of all the hunting gear, but I do have the dirt. I only hope my son and daughter can get a buck tag to hunt their land some day.
 
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