As a fellow Iowa hunter I fully agree. Iowa really needs to take a lok at the gun season and make adjustments. I believe that Iowa forces gun huters to drive deer due to the very short season that is offered.

I primarly bow hunt but like to take advantage of the shot gun season. What I seen on Satuday was CRAZY! For over eight hours there was constant shooting. I was in my blind in witnessed over 40 deer driven onto my farm.

The most concerning sceen was the number of deer that I seen was wounded. I was forced to shoot a small doe that was driven in. She was shot twice in the left hind quarter leaving her basically crippled in the rear in. I shot her out of mercy as this was a defastating sceen. I also seen two other deer that were wounded including a quality buck 8-10 points.

I had at least 10 hunters come onto my private property and crossed my land. 3 at no less than 5 yards. I am personally afraid to confront a poacher carrying a loaded shot gun!

I have been envolved in many drives myself, however the group I have been involved with always took decent shots at close distances. I know this is not the case for most hunters that come out the opening day of Iowa shot gun season.

As for hunting with my bow the rest of the season, I am afraid that the remaining deer in the area have gone nocturnal. I also think that if they can survive that slaughter they deserve to live another year.

I would not want to be a deer on opening day of shot gun season in Iowa.

Charlie P, the answer to your question is no, I never did find the monster buck I wounded this year and I'm open to receive any attacks and finger pointing by anyone who wishes to give it. I do get your point. Labeling is dangerous and destructive. However, sir, my post was directly in reference to the specific situation observed by and posted by THWACK. You yourself referred to the guys as "jerks".

I just got an e-mail from my wife. I guess I have to eat some crow here. She hit a huge buck this morning with her car....so I guess if my wife is "drive" hunting I either need to shut up or file for divorce. Charlie P I'm fairly new to this site and just assume that people posting here are ethical hunters or they wouldn't care enough to post here and participate. I'm am merely venting over the people that DON"T have those ethics, not attacking anyone here. When I get a nasty sarcastic post i reply in kind but I really don't mean to offend anyone here. The people I am talking about deer hunt 2 weekends a year and go home. As for my mechs, I went with what the pro shop suggested and have taken 3 deer, all at very close range from the ground. One went 40 yards, the second 30 yards and the last 100 yards shot in the heart. The setup has worked well even though I don't get pass through. New bow is on lay away for next season.

THWACK!

THWACK

I don't think that you need to apologize to anyone. Invite them to Iowa on opening week-end of shotgun season in Iowa. I gaurente it will make any ethical hunter ill.

Usually when you guys get started on these debates, I bow out. But I think Shaggy might have stumbled on to something here. Why don't we Iowa hunters all send a email to the Iowa DNR suggesting that they change their shotgun seasons around so that the leadheads don't feel so pressured to shot anything that moves. Perhaps instead of 2 split seasons, give them one 3 week season in December during the second rut. I got to thinking about this after reading all the posts on this thread. I feel the leadheads are driving so much because they've only got 6 days to fill their tag in the first season. And only 8 days in the second. Plus they can't use a first season tag on the second season if it's not filled. I think it would be beter to give them 1 full season and then they could buy 1 tag for the entire season and wouldn't be in such a hurry to fill it. Most of these guys have jobs and can't hunt whenever they want. If we gave them 1 full season then maybe they could schedule vacation time for it and take more time to learn to hunt the way we do. Just a thought. How are the gun seasons set up in other states? Anyone?

KEEP IT LEGAL. KEEP IT SAFE. OR WE MAY NOT GET TO KEEP IT AT ALL.

THWACK first let me say I am sorry to hear your wife joined the ranks of non-hunter drive killers. I hope she wasn't injured.

I hope I did not come off to strong in my first reply, when I read your original post some of your statements do kind of lump all drive hunters as unethical, if I went overboard on that I am sorry.

The post that Charlie P made was excellent in regards to what could concievably happen to hunting if we as hunters, no matter the method, start deciding what form of hunting is unethical. The gentleman who allowed me to bow hunt his property this season is a life time gun hunter and told me flat out that he really didn't like bow hunters because of the number of dead deer he has found on his place that were shot by bowhunters that did not recover them. It took me over an hour to convince him that I was not "that kind of bowhunter" before he gave me permission to hunt his land.

I agree that when someone or group is doing what you mentioned they are slobs and unethical, but we need to all be aware that some methods of hunting have been going on here in the US for generations and in reality amny of the people who did in the past hunt with dogs and drives for years with guns are also the people responsible for the hunting we enjoy today. They are the people that pushed both the federal and state governments to enact and enforce game laws that would allow the white tail and all other game species we hunt today to thrive in the numbers they do today. We bow hunters owe the hunting we enjoy today to the men and women who hunted with guns, dogs and drives years ago.

We all need to realize that as long as the kills are clean, quick and legal, they are ethical, even though it may be a method we do not like personally.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

[Deleted by Admins]

Budbowhunter, you may be onto something. I know Michigan where I'm originally from the season is 2 weeks but at peak rut. I agree the gun enhusiasts have a right to hunt. I opened a can of worms, then got pissed when I was attacked for getting irate over a mere 30 or so slob hunters last weekend. I know they feel pressure to get their deer. I just don't understand people that take hail mary shots at running deer. If you want to drive hunt and can get a shot on a standing deer, or walking even. Great! Even a runniing deer at close range is a fairly good shot. But what I saw was 200 yard shots where they emptied the magazine and fumbled to reload for the next wave. I don't advocate banning drives. But driving deer hard seems counterproductive to getting a decent shot on a deer. When pushed slow they tend to stand to see what it is they hear, and there they offer a good shot. As far as all this about the anti's love all this. They see these massive drives and the results too so I'm not aiding them in pointing out that we can pressure these type of hunters to at least be sane. We don't hae large timber areas here, so deer have to travel a long ways to get to the next cover. These guys didn't have permission and continued to drive when challenged because I couldn't stop all of them. I'm not a politically correct type of guy. If I think it needs to be said I'll say it. Comes from 18 years in the Air Force I guess. I just regre that my son witnesses all this when it's totally contrary to what I try to teach him. If they could hunt during a part of the rut there would probably be less drives like this because the deer would move during the day on their own. But here these drives have becaome tradition and from what I have seen they are basically done the same way, get them running across an open field then try to hit them. Maybe it's a regional thing like a dialect in a language. I actually think with one full gun season a lot more deer would be taken. I know they feel resentment because rut is reserved for bow hunters.

THWACK!

Tazman Point well taken!

THWACK!

Well guys I'll be honest my attitude is a carry over from a thread over on the bowsite on this same subject. What I saw over there was alot of all this all that. I hate that.

My point is yes there are guys that put drives on that are not good for the sport.Just like in every aspect of hunting.Look at what you see on the BB you visit.For every type of hunting there is a nother hunter that will bash it for you.

Thwack,You use a compound and shoot Mechs.right? There are many that think mechs. are the tool of Satan and if you use them your to lazy to tune your bow and unethical.Compounds are just verticle crossbows and they take no skill,not to mention people just take unethical shots with them. Heck your not a real bowhunter because there so easy to use that they don't require you to practice all year round.

Wolfen, You know the arguments that people have against"trophy Hunting". It is going to ruin the sport because the people that do it lease up all the land. It's not the size of the antlers but the experience you get that's important and how it makes alot of guys unethical.If their only interested in the big rack you know all of them will take long shots etc.All they care about is the head on the wall and that sort of mentatlity leads to poaching.

I just think the anti's love all the bashing we do of each other.We give them all the arguments the use against us,and we wonder why hunting could be ended in our lifetime.