Iowa Hunting License

[DeerSpotter]

I just learned that Iowa's nonresident hunting license is over $400, for deer !    

That's crazy, you can hunt elk for that, at least the license fee.  I suppose they want to keep people out of there because Iowa's is popular with big deer, but then Kansas is also popular place for big deer, is their license also that high ?


Carl

[kctreeman]

Yes it is.  Just got back from a week of hunting in Western KS.  It was hot and nothing was very "rutty".  Not sure that a word.  Going to try again next weekend.  Yeah KS NR Deer tags cost about $400 total and you only get to hunt a couple units.  Next year may be better.  They have a lot of changes proposed.  Dropping the cost is not one of them.

[SlowBowinMO]

Wow.  I hunted Iowa about 10 years ago for $110 I think.

[Leland]

Yep, I use to hunt in Iowa too.It's "Grow'em big and they will come (pay)".I wish they would sell a $100.00 non-resident archery doe tag for us meat hunters .But it's their game ,their rules.  Leland

[Shaun]

Iowa does have a doe only cheaper tag but it is only good during holiday breaks at Thankgiving and Chirstmas.

[George D. Stout]

All of that big buck mindset creates issues like that.  It doesn't take long for it to ruin hunting experiences for the average person.  Guys will pay big bucks for big bucks, just to show they are special in some way.  When your whole midset is on rack measuring something is missing.  To each his own I suppose.

[ks_stickbow]

Tell me about it. I live in Kansas, a my friend lives in Missouri. I live 5 minutes from the border and he lives 20 minutes. For us to hunt together one of us is going to have to take the hit. It is alot cheaper for me to hunt MO then for him to hunt KS, but still it sucks we live 25 minutes apart and have to take the hot poker in the eye just to do some hunting.

I wish (and I don't wish) there was a country wide license and tags. it sure would make things easier if you got a buddy living in another state

[8th Dwarf]

I only draw an Iowa tag every three years.  The Iowa bowhunters are responsible for that!!!!  GREEDY!  They want us non-residents kept out, but they won't pay the land owners a trespass fee, so they whine about not being able to hunt.

The land owner feeds and protects the deer.  Trespass fee hunting is a fact of life now.  Land owners should be able to get tags that they can then give out or sell.  

The over population of deer there now, because of the Iowa bowhunters in large part, is such that when you do apply for a buck tag, you must also apply for a doe tag.

Hopefully, the game commission there will tell the Iowa bowhunters where to stick it and start to manage properly.  Politics SUCK and that is what is going on in Iowa...POLITICS!

I'll hear from some Iowa bowhunters on this post, FOR SURE!

Too Short

[stikbowshooter]

Didn't get drawn this year Too Short?

[8th Dwarf]

Nope...next year is year number three and I SHOULD get drawn then.  I'd think about buying a piece of ground there, but you can't even get tags as a land owner.  

Think about that...  you buy land there, improve it, increase deer and turkeys, pay LOTS of property taxes, add to the economy, and you can't even get a tag as a land owner!

The economic impact created by Iowa resident bowhunters is just about zilch.  The economic impact created by out-of-state hunters is HUGE!  Someone in the state government is asleep at the wheel.

Aaarrrrggggghhhhhhhh!

Too F. Short

[JIM B]

I could justify $400 tag..  IF AND ONLY IF .. the Iowa DNR did SOMETHING to manage a quality deer herd. It's been a long time since i've seen more than one quality buck per season. Hype and Propaganda? see a lot of that.

[swp]

I paid $466 for an Illinois deer tag this year and I don't think I will ever pay that again. Too much money for a deer!!

[varmint]

To me,I'll pay what I need to be able to hunt where I want.

I've paid over $400 twice to hunt Illinois,and have 2 preference points for Iowa now,next time should be a shoe-in.

It's not all about big bucks like alot of y'all seem to think.If you live in areas where there's spectacular deer hunting,you can't understand why anyone else would pay big dollars to hunt.

I live in SC............hunt at least 60-70 days of our 4 1/2 month season every year.My first evening in Illinois I saw more deer than I did the whole season in SC.I got to see scraping,sparring,chasing,ect,things I very,very rarely if ever get to see in SC.I get to see what "real" rutting activity is like.It's a totally different hunting experience than I get when I hunt in SC.

[Biggie Hoffman]

I'm with you Varmint...I paid $850 for a Kansas transfer tag this year and I wish Iowa's was $1,000. It'd be easier to draw that way.
I'll work a second job if I have to to pay the fee cause I want to hunt BIG bucks. If you think the tags are too much and don't want to pay it, that's fine but bowhunting BIG whitetails is what I do, it's who I am, I'll pay whatever supply and demand dictates.

If you really want to do it, you'll find a way. If you're just an average deerhunter, that's cool too. You can still hunt average deer in average places.

[rascal]

Not sure I agree with Too Short on the issue but then again Im a transplant to Iowa from Michigan so I do have to rent land (pay trespass fee) in order to hunt.  I have relatives that would love to come out and have been applying for permits and eventually they will get to come here and hunt some really magnificent animals.  From the pictures and the reports I send home most of my relatives and friends think it would be a bargain to hunt here versus going on a guided hunt or a canned hunt for deer of comparable size/quality.  I agree its not cheap but then again its not outrageous by any means unless you are trying to justify it by cost per pound of lean meat and if thats the case then you are better off with beef or chicken or pork.  

Its not a bargain but sometimes you have to consider that you might just get what you pay for.

[uhdet]

Some guys don't know what there talking about. I got my landowners for deer and my shotgun tags. Really pretty easy. If you rent ground you can get a tag also.

[PV]

Hunted Iowa for the first time this year and saw some good deer.None as large as what I've taken in MA so I filled my doe tag (Had to buy one to get a buck tag)I paid $400+ for the lic just for deer. Montana when I draw sells me a lic for elk,deer, small game and fishing for $600+.Much better bargin but still ridiculous.$1000.00 is coming and it will put the average joe out of the game as it is these hunters that are the supply and demand.Wait and see what the outfitters will charge when your paying a grand for the lic.

[George D. Stout]

Hey Biggie...I hunt average deer in a beautiful place 8^).  How's it going this year?

[8th Dwarf]

I'm with you, Biggie.

By-the-way, I'll Sumo wrestle with you again ANY time, as long as it ain't FIXED like it was last time.  Also, I don't want Wensel there.  It took me months to get the correct color back in my right Ostrich boot!  It still smells like one of Tink's scents.  I think he drinks the stuff or sumppin!

Yah Tah Hey, Texaco

Too F. Short

[Biggie Hoffman]

George my friend, there is nothing average about you      

 

Paul....FIX????  What you talking bout???