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A decade on iowawhitetail...

It was like having Alice Nelson in the booth. A guy couldn't even set down a cold beer to give hand gestures about racks and such... :drink1:

Wow, some great memories. Many people that I didn't know before joining here are now friends that I talk to regularly. Other memories that come to mind are Vman taking a swim while participating in the "shoot standing in a canoe, at night, to a target across the pond" shoot (I seriously thought you were crying Jason), Ghost singing "Bowman the muffin man" a few hours after the 5 am owl hooting contest (still tipsy), Fallguy's "yard gnom" photo made by LimbChicken, and the look on LimbChicken's face when he found that his freshly opened beer had been cleaned up with the other bottles at the IW booth at the classic! I have so many IW memories that I can't put themall in one post.

It has been a great ride and although some old regulars aren't here anymore, we've added many more quality members to fill the gaps.

I hope we're still doing this 20 years from now!!:way:
 
Limb Chicken said:
And Vickerman, you could have been blind folded with dental floss that night.

I was going strong. Was worried what would happen if I went to bed. Muddy had both shoes on that night.
 
bowman said:
Wow, some great memories. Many people that I didn't know before joining here are now friends that I talk to regularly. Other memories that come to mind are Vman taking a swim while participating in the "shoot standing in a canoe, at night, to a target across the pond" shoot (I seriously thought you were crying Jason), Ghost singing "Bowman the muffin man" a few hours after the 5 am owl hooting contest (still tipsy), Fallguy's "yard gnom" photo made by LimbChicken, and the look on LimbChicken's face when he found that his freshly opened beer had been cleaned up with the other bottles at the IW booth at the classic! I have so many IW memories that I can't put themall in one post.

It has been a great ride and although some old regulars aren't here anymore, we've added many more quality members to fill the gaps.

I hope we're still doing this 20 years from now!!:way:

Wonder what happened to that video. I believe I made the shot before I went swimming.
 
I still remember the day I found this site. I was a freshmen at Iowa sitting in the Papa John Business building. I was supposed to be researching something for a group project but I had some good looking partners that seemed like they had everything under control. I typed "hunting whitetails in Iowa" on yahoo and ended up finding the site. I spent the following couple hours in the business computer lab reading all the posts while my partners finished up our project. I think I lurked for a couple years before I decided to join in 2003. My first post was to show a set of sheds I found behind the remote university parking lot right behind the new soccer complex off of mormen trek. The antlers were laying on top of each other about 50 yards from where I parked my car and were at least 2 years old. Both antlers had browtines well over 12 inches.

This site has become an escape for me since I don't get to deer hunt much, if at all, during the fall hunting seasons. Here's a little known Iowawhitetail fact for you guys. Iowawhitetail has been read in 30/31 NFL stadium bathrooms over the last 7 years. My pregame ritual always involves some peace and quiet on the porcelain god reading Iowawhitetail trying to take my mind off the upcoming game. So if your ever on the site on a sunday morning and see my name as one of the members logged on you can pretty much guess where I am at if you know our schedule.......lol. Sorry for the visual but I had to share.
 
This site has become an escape for me since I don't get to deer hunt much, if at all, during the fall hunting seasons. Here's a little known Iowawhitetail fact for you guys. Iowawhitetail has been read in 30/31 NFL stadium bathrooms over the last 7 years. My pregame ritual always involves some peace and quiet on the porcelain god reading Iowawhitetail trying to take my mind off the upcoming game. So if your ever on the site on a sunday morning and see my name as one of the members logged on you can pretty much guess where I am at if you know our schedule.......lol. Sorry for the visual but I had to share.

Limb probably knows who you are but now my interest is peaked... Care to let us know?
 
What I like most about this site since I joined is the mentality as opposed to my home states hunting forum....talk about passing young bucks is not real common there :D

One question tho, how/when did my name change on here from letemgrow to letemgo???
 
Great thread!! This has been a great site over the yrs. It says I joined in 2003 but I thought it was earlier?? Either way it has been a long time. There are piles of great members on the site and I am glad to have "gotten to know" many of you though most likely we will never meet.

I wish I'd have had more time when I was through IA a few summers ago and stopped at the shed gathering. I wish I could do that agin, but have about a week to spend, catching bass, catching cats..looking at habitat, the land, deer, just b.s ing.

I wish some old mebers were still around but I understand, it's life, things come up, there are more important things. I am glad for the many that have stcuk around and it's always great to see new members posting stuff.

I sometimes look back at old threads too. I know that today I know way more about whitetail hunting than i did when I joined. I also know from looking at old posts that I used to have way more time for it than I do now. I know someday that'll change and though I'll be grateful I'll miss the boys immensely.

The site has been good to me, I've made friendships, I've won prizes, I've learned a wealth of info...... I know it isn't much but in return someone will be winning a pair of chocolate SK sheds this winter, just have to work out details with Chris. Keep posting guys.
 
I was a member already, but got on board with the PMA the day Ghost hosted a bow shoot at his ranch. Not sure what year it was, but it did fall on the Sat. that IA/ ISU played. Had a 3D course set up with one of the final shots being from roughly 80 yards at a black duck on his beach. Great steaks and cold beers were enjoyed that evening!! I think Muddster took the "trophy" duck home that night! Quite a few early members made it down to SEI for a truly great time!!
 
I was a member already, but got on board with the PMA the day Ghost hosted a bow shoot at his ranch. Not sure what year it was, but it did fall on the Sat. that IA/ ISU played. Had a 3D course set up with one of the final shots being from roughly 80 yards at a black duck on his beach. Great steaks and cold beers were enjoyed that evening!! I think Muddster took the "trophy" duck home that night! Quite a few early members made it down to SEI for a truly great time!!

The Black Duck! I kept it for a long time and then our cat humped it and ate it, which I thought was fantastic.
 
In any relationship there are peaks and troughs. Think back, or in some cases think forward, to meeting your wife. When you first met you couldn’t get enough of each other. You had to be with each other all the time. It was hot, steamy and constant. You married her and it was still hot, steamy and constant. Then the kids came along, jobs changed, life changed and it wasn’t as hot and steamy nor as constant, but it was still there. A few more years pass and your relationship suffers through a few hard times but you always make it through to be even stronger.

So it is with iowawhitetail. 10 years ago I signed on. I had just started bow hunting and found this site. The site had hats for sale. As a rule I don’t wear hats but I wanted to contribute so the site would stay solvent. I sent somebody (Tony? In Avoca?) a check for I think a hundy with a note that said I liked the site and wanted to be sure it made it so just send me one hat. I got like 6 in the mail.

A year or two later PMA was started. I think Chris had taken over then. They were gonna call it “PMS” short for Prime Member Services. I wrote a very polite note pointing out I worked with a lot of women and didn’t need to be reminded of PMS so call it anything but PMS. A short time after that they started life memberships. I gladly paid the price because, at the time, the site was free of advertisements and the amount of information and number of friends I had made were priceless.

Somewhere in there were the rendezvous that many have posted about already. Legendary is all I can say. Sometime after that were the Deer Classics, IBA Banquets, Shed Gatherings and a few QDMA events. I met a lot of members at those events, made a lot of friends and a lot of memories. Way too many memories to try and list but if we could write a book, it would be a best seller. But just like any relationship things change. The site went through some upgrades or changes if you will, as did my life. But I have always found my way back to iowawhitetail.

I have thought about it a lot and it is so very true; this site has opened all the doors I have been privileged enough to walk through. Door #1: Lifelong friendships. Door #2: Hunting opportunities. Door #3: The privilege to serve on several Committees and Boards. Door #4: A wealth of knowledge, not only deer related but life related as well. And Door #5: An outlet for my sometimes overactive imagination, even if it makes the mods cringe a little bit.

So I sit here on the eve of another deer season in Iowa wishing I could personally thank everyone who, over the past 10 years, has contributed to making this site what it is and in some ways making me who I am.

The ‘Bonker
 
While my decade hasn't quite arrived yet, it has been a memorable 9-plus years. I can't say enough good things about this site and the things I've learned from everyone on here. I've really enjoyed the shed gatherings I've been able to attend and it's always fun to put actual faces with their screen names.

Hell, when I first started posting on IW, I didn't even have the internet at home ... all my posting took place and WORK! :D As the years have passed, however, and I've slowly gotten in touch with technology, I must say I'm on here every single day. Sometimes it's just for a quick snoop through the posts and other times it's hours-long.

Iowawhitetail is a great escape to all things whitetail no matter the time of year and I look forward to many, many more years to come.

-Longspurs-

P.S. - Kaare, I hope you're not joking about that chocolate!!!
 
Holy Crap....not sure how I found this post, but I read the entire thing...talk about memories...WOW. I'm alive and well and wish everyone the best that November can bring! I'm going back to work during this rain to rest up for the rest of the RUT! :way:
 
I average about a thousand posts a year on here and I sure don't know where the time has gone! I stumbled across this site after finding a site called iowadeer.com. Not sure what ever happened to that one. :D I have also met some amazing people on this site and learned more than my yearly $16 could ever cover! The Deer Classic trips to Des Moines and the shed antler gatherings were a lot of fun. I do regret not making it to some of the private get-togethers that have taken place in the past. Times and members sure do change but it is always fun this time of year to open up the PMA harvest forum and see what hunters outwitted the cagey old bucks they were after. The advise from the hunters on this site rival any magazine or hunting show as they are guys like me. Going to work every day, burning hard earned vacation this time every year to try for a chance at wrapping a tag. Cheers and here's to the next decade! :drink2:
 
I remember the first gathering up at Chase the Adventure and the "official" hoot off at 5 in the morning. I believe it was vman, huskerinbadgerland, LimbChicken, and myself playing eucher with Ghost looking on. I believe that ironwood was an old man even then and didn't appreciate us hooting off and disturbing his "beauty" sleep.

Funny thing about the hoot off vman was you not being able to hardly stand, talk, or hold your cards properly.

Yea, Matt and I took you guys to the woodshed in euchre that night... Everybody knows that gophers can't play cards though... LOL!

Good times were definetly had at the Rendevous those couple of years!!
I found the site thru Moosehunter while at work... um we were on break tho... yeah that's it. Have gotten a ton of information over the years, met some great guys and had a laugh or 3 to boot!!:drink1::way:
 
I remember when Saskguy PMed me how to post pics ect. Ghost was ghost walker Muddy had no kids and was slightly round :) Racks house of hair :) Been a ball enjoy this sight almost as much as a nice day in a tree stand :!
 
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