Recent content by SwampCat

Deer eat ragweed, dont they😎

Not a good job for someone allergic to ragweed

I was already wondering about the great deer hunting in Iowa - after reading all these comments, I wonder even more. It sounds like the restrictive seasons are more due to a low deer population to begin with, and lack of decent deer cover - than to produce a bunch of big bucks for everyone to...

Are bucks really that scarce that people fear only seeing one buck of any kind in a four or eight day season?

The younger people who are going to be making the decisions probably gonna be some bunny hugger PETA member😎

I agree 100%. A lot of these southern states have an almost anything goes because the cover is so thick. On my 400 acres, I have two places we can see 400 yards - one place in a 20 acre pasture and an 8 acre food plot. Most of the rest of my ground maximum visibility is maybe 60 yards. I have...

I am not talking about gross harvest numbers either. I am talking about percentage of the overall herd. Iowa and Missouri both have a buck harvest of about 10/11% of the overall deer population in their respective states. Iowa is not leaving a much greater percentage of bucks alive at the end of...

Why is it that such a large percentage of Iowa bucks taken are yearlings. I dont know anyone here who kills yearlings except maybe kids or first time hunters. Are hunters not having other opportunities? Have the older bucks mostly gone back into hiding. Does all of Iowa have decent numbers of...

The reason Iowa’s buck harvest is low is because their deer population is low. Iowa deer population is in the low 400,000’s and buck harvest is in the mid 40,000’s for a buck harvest of 10% or slightly more of overall population. Missouri’s deer population is supposedly 1,400,000 with a buck...

I have a fair amount of existing clover - and a lot of sedge - and some grass. Several of these food plots have been going 8 or ten years. I would like to preserve the existing clover and get rid of the rest of the vegetation - in particular, the sedge - which 24db does not affect. Will plant...

Dont forget - DNR still has a harvest goal to meet. Usually, increasing buck age structure requires reducing harvest - not something most agencies agee with - especially in the days of cwd. And older bucks are the worst in the eyes of cwd managers It is easy to come up with a plan that promotes...

I also think you would have to limit hunters - like they do out west. Which would go over like a turd in a punch bowl in the southern US - and probably mid west.

After thinking about it, I am not sure a state can regulate a much older buck age structure. Most state dnr’s are answering to too many entities to manage deer for a singular purpose. States are trying to hold deer populations in check to pacify insurance companies, farmers, suburbanites...

I would say definitely. That is what our state does. Now, there are some caveats. I am speaking outside of the CWD zones. Our state has a 3 pt on one side APR - which has been a big difference in my area. The eastern and southern sections of the state probably more-so because of larger acreages...

Thanks