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Post by js2397 on Jan 24, 2020 20:50:52 GMT -5
Indiana 2019: Archery days: 97 Firearms days: 16 Muzzleloader days:16 Special antlerless days: 11 Youth days: 2 Iowa 2019: Archery days: 85 Firearms days: 14 Muzzleloader days: 28 Special antlerless days: 16 Youth days: 16 Indiana: November gun days: 16 Iowa: November gun days: 0 That's what makes all the difference. I'm not asking anyone to give up any days, just suggesting that a slight move in timing will yield tremendous benefits in quality. Iowa does have a total of 43 gun days and virtually unlimited buck tags.
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Post by michaelc on Jan 24, 2020 20:53:25 GMT -5
Indiana: November gun days: 16 Iowa: November gun days: 0 That's what makes all the difference. I'm not asking anyone to give up any days, just suggesting that a slight move in timing will yield tremendous benefits in quality. Iowa does have a total of 43 gun days and virtually unlimited buck tags. Man this has gotten way out of hand real quick
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Post by michaelc on Jan 24, 2020 20:59:25 GMT -5
It amazes me how 1 post about another state's hunting season has y'all in an uproar. Y'all have a good evening and a successful season.
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Post by elmo on Jan 24, 2020 22:27:24 GMT -5
Ok I have a question, how are we going to have a 1 to 1 buck to doe ratio if we keep the one buck rule as was suggested? How would taking crossbows and hpr’s away help to recruit more hunters? And I am just going to put it out there that I am not going to pay $800 for any deer. If I were going to spend that kind of money I would lease a piece of ground in Indiana that I could hunt for 3 months.
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Post by firstwd on Jan 24, 2020 22:43:14 GMT -5
Depends on the county you hunt. Bundle license is 1 buck and 2 doe or 3 doe regardless of what County you hunt in Indiana. This statement is completely dependent upon what season you kill those deer in
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Post by michaelc on Jan 24, 2020 23:03:25 GMT -5
Depends on the county you hunt. Bundle license is 1 buck and 2 doe or 3 doe regardless of what County you hunt in Indiana. This statement is completely dependent upon what season you kill those deer in I'm not understanding what you mean sir. If I harvest 1 doe in archery, 1 doe in gun season and 1 doe in muzzleloader and I hunt in a county that doesn't partake in the bonus season then I'm done for the year unless I choose to travel to a county that does partake in the bonus season. Then I have to purchase a bonus tag to harvest another deer. The bundle covers the hunter from the 1st day of season to the last day and only has a 3 deer harvest limit, 1 antlered deer and 2 antlerless deer or you can choose to harvest 3 antlerless deer.
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Post by michaelc on Jan 24, 2020 23:14:03 GMT -5
This statement is completely dependent upon what season you kill those deer in I'm not understanding what you mean sir. If I harvest 1 doe in archery, 1 doe in gun season and 1 doe in muzzleloader and I hunt in a county that doesn't partake in the bonus season then I'm done for the year unless I choose to travel to a county that does partake in the bonus season. Then I have to purchase a bonus tag to harvest another deer. The bundle covers the hunter from the 1st day of season to the last day and only has a 3 deer harvest limit, 1 antlered deer and 2 antlerless deer or you can choose to harvest 3 antlerless deer. Oh yeah, and if I choose to use archery through the whole season I'm still within my legal harvest limit for Spencer County with the same bag limit. I hunted both Spencer and Perry Counties this year due to Spencer County not qualifying for the bonus season and Perry County did. I'm sorry that wasn't quite true, I hunted Warrick, Pike and Vanderburgh as well this year and it was all public ground.
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Post by willy7948 on Jan 25, 2020 0:42:59 GMT -5
Yes, deer herd management is VERY important and it DOES need to be balanced. So with that being said, am I doing something wrong or are my eyes not seeing something that they should be? I'm not try to sound like a smart butt, so please don't think that. I'm just trying to figure out how to manage deer when I can't hardly find them where I'm able to hunt. Leasing ground isn't an option for me as I'm the sole provider for my household, so public ground is my only option. I've tried the scouting deal, but when and where do you start when the weekend's are the only time available? I joined this forum to learn and grow as an outdoorsman and maybe by some chance I could help others along the way. Michaelc #1 - stop taking wife’s uncle #2 using Indiana’s reduction interactive map and a plot map, you should be able to find somewhere private to hunt if you really try (which opens up gun options, extends your season, and can reduce hunting pressure). #3 go further into public ground . If there aren’t other hunters there, the pressure is off and they may view it as a safe zone. #4 Be on the “hunt” year round. That’s my biggest goal this coming season. I want to know where the big boys are and when/how they travel , before any seasons start. That way I only hunt deer when the conditions are right and I know they move.
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Post by firstwd on Jan 25, 2020 5:36:40 GMT -5
This statement is completely dependent upon what season you kill those deer in I'm not understanding what you mean sir. If I harvest 1 doe in archery, 1 doe in gun season and 1 doe in muzzleloader and I hunt in a county that doesn't partake in the bonus season then I'm done for the year unless I choose to travel to a county that does partake in the bonus season. Then I have to purchase a bonus tag to harvest another deer. The bundle covers the hunter from the 1st day of season to the last day and only has a 3 deer harvest limit, 1 antlered deer and 2 antlerless deer or you can choose to harvest 3 antlerless deer. Correct. But if a hunter is only a gun season hunter, and their county only allows 1 bonus antlerless, then they can not fill their bundle in that county.
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Post by mattfinney on Jan 25, 2020 6:41:36 GMT -5
Copy Iowa's season structure (gun season after November, no xbows, no hpr, etc), and restrict NR hunting using a draw system. Actually, if we did all that and kept OBR, I would guess that we would exceed Iowa's quality. How do you get more mature bucks when we have more hunters and less habitat? The quality of Indiana's habitat is absolutely top notch, as good as it gets. The only think lacking is quality management. I can guarantee you that moving gun season out of November would improve quality on public lands. Would it exceed Iowas's public, maybe, maybe not. Keep in mind that party hunting, and numerous buck tags are allowed in Iowa. If Indiana moved guns to December AND kept OBR, I think it may be possible for Indiana's public to be at least as good as Iowa's. Only way to really know is to try it and see.
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Post by mattfinney on Jan 25, 2020 6:45:57 GMT -5
Indiana: November gun days: 16 Iowa: November gun days: 0 That's what makes all the difference. I'm not asking anyone to give up any days, just suggesting that a slight move in timing will yield tremendous benefits in quality. Iowa does have a total of 43 gun days and virtually unlimited buck tags. Exactly, it's the fact that gun season is outside of November that people are willing to wait 3-5 years to pay $600-$800 for a tag. If states want to solve their money problems for good, they need to manage for quality, and should really take a good look at what Iowa is doing. Even as hunter numbers fall nationwide, it seems the number of serious, dedicated, willing-to-travel-out-state, hunters is increasing. This is evidenced by point creep in states that use preference points for limited tags. Every year we get more and more people applying.
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Post by firstwd on Jan 25, 2020 6:57:07 GMT -5
Iowa does have a total of 43 gun days and virtually unlimited buck tags. Exactly, it's the fact that gun season is outside of November that people are willing to wait 3-5 years to pay $600-$800 for a tag. If states want to solve their money problems for good, they need to manage for quality, and should really take a good look at what Iowa is doing. Even as hunter numbers fall nationwide, it seems the number of serious, dedicated, willing-to-travel-out-state, hunters is increasing. This is evidenced by point creep in states that use preference points for limited tags. Every year we get more and more people applying. I am glad that you and all these other people can pay points, high dollar NR license fees, outfitter's fees, travel expenses, and enjoy that lifestyle. Unfortunately, that vast majority of us can't. And the vast majority of us are the ones who turned out in massive numbers at every single public meeting in opposition of Prop 1. That is why the DNR dropped it and listened to the people. Oh, if you listen close to the "powers that be" concerning Iowa's deer hunting, it's a lot like Pike County Illinois in that so many NR hunters have flocked there to get a trophy that trophies are harder and harder to come by.
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Post by greghopper on Jan 25, 2020 7:10:36 GMT -5
Prop 1 was a way the DNR was looking to reduce the herd.They wasn’t trying in increase the quality of deer hunting but they were also mislead in what the Mass majority actual public wanted to try.
As the last Director (Mark) stated we learned something’s from prop 1.
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Jan 25, 2020 7:56:27 GMT -5
How do you get more mature bucks when we have more hunters and less habitat? The quality of Indiana's habitat is absolutely top notch, as good as it gets. The only think lacking is quality management. I can guarantee you that moving gun season out of November would improve quality on public lands. Would it exceed Iowas's public, maybe, maybe not. Keep in mind that party hunting, and numerous buck tags are allowed in Iowa. If Indiana moved guns to December AND kept OBR, I think it may be possible for Indiana's public to be at least as good as Iowa's. Only way to really know is to try it and see. Some of Indiana's public ground is quality habitat. Most is not. Most of HNF and the state forest lands are just vast swaths of mature timber. Sure, there are good spots here and there, most often near private boundaries, that hold good numbers of deer. But compare that to highly managed IHAP properties in Iowa with CRP, standing crops, etc., and the differences are stark. I'm not arguing that there wouldn't be more big bucks around, just that we wouldn't be on the same level as Iowa. And the price we would have to give up in regards to post rut gun hunting is one that most, including myself, are not willing to pay.
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Post by js2397 on Jan 25, 2020 8:16:18 GMT -5
Another difference is land usage.
Iowa's Forest Cover. Iowa's Forests cover 2.7. Million acres or 7% of our landscape.
Indiana has 4.7 million acres of forestland (just over 20% of IN land base).
Iowa farmland percentage 89%.
Indiana farmland percentage 65%.
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Post by freedomhunter on Jan 25, 2020 8:34:03 GMT -5
Be happy with what we got, or go elsewhere. Or, buy or lease enough ground to manage it properly for quality deer hunting. That is being done all over the state. IDNR doesn't care about QDM or how many immature bucks get killed during the long firearms seasons during the rut or the quality of our public hunting. Money for the state will always be there (although it might start to backfire). Have to do it yourself, or move on! Or just be really lucky
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Post by jjas on Jan 25, 2020 8:55:02 GMT -5
Matt,
Do you live or hunt in Indiana or are you an Iowa resident?
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Post by greghopper on Jan 25, 2020 9:30:19 GMT -5
Matt, Do you live or hunt in Indiana or are you an Iowa resident? Scroll back and read.... he gives his hunting history!
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Post by michaelc on Jan 25, 2020 10:03:22 GMT -5
I'm not understanding what you mean sir. If I harvest 1 doe in archery, 1 doe in gun season and 1 doe in muzzleloader and I hunt in a county that doesn't partake in the bonus season then I'm done for the year unless I choose to travel to a county that does partake in the bonus season. Then I have to purchase a bonus tag to harvest another deer. The bundle covers the hunter from the 1st day of season to the last day and only has a 3 deer harvest limit, 1 antlered deer and 2 antlerless deer or you can choose to harvest 3 antlerless deer. Correct. But if a hunter is only a gun season hunter, and their county only allows 1 bonus antlerless, then they can not fill their bundle in that county. Didn't think of that scenario.
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Post by michaelc on Jan 25, 2020 10:11:45 GMT -5
Yes, deer herd management is VERY important and it DOES need to be balanced. So with that being said, am I doing something wrong or are my eyes not seeing something that they should be? I'm not try to sound like a smart butt, so please don't think that. I'm just trying to figure out how to manage deer when I can't hardly find them where I'm able to hunt. Leasing ground isn't an option for me as I'm the sole provider for my household, so public ground is my only option. I've tried the scouting deal, but when and where do you start when the weekend's are the only time available? I joined this forum to learn and grow as an outdoorsman and maybe by some chance I could help others along the way. Michaelc #1 - stop taking wife’s uncle #2 using Indiana’s reduction interactive map and a plot map, you should be able to find somewhere private to hunt if you really try (which opens up gun options, extends your season, and can reduce hunting pressure). #3 go further into public ground . If there aren’t other hunters there, the pressure is off and they may view it as a safe zone. #4 Be on the “hunt” year round. That’s my biggest goal this coming season. I want to know where the big boys are and when/how they travel , before any seasons start. That way I only hunt deer when the conditions are right and I know they move. I've got a lot of different ideas this year. My biggest problem is I do a lot of second guessing myself. I'll sit in 1 spot but while sitting there, I'm thinking I should've sat in a different spot. I've got some cell cams coming, 14 to be exact, that I'm putting out this year. I'm planning on using all of them because I have 3 different counties I'm hunting this year so they will be spread out amongst those. I think my biggest problem was going back and forth checking cameras and putting scent down. No matter how hard I tried to cover my scent it really didn't seem to help.
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