How was 2018 for you?
Iowa
Just curious how deer season went for you all this year. Up here I bounce between my land and my father in-laws in Fayette/Clayton county. 2017 was terrible in my opinion. Last year was pretty good. I didn't see a ton of chasing like I have the previous years but the number of bucks I saw this year was pretty good. Saw 2 that would go 150-165. Best buck I saw walked in so close I ranged his tracks after he left and couldn't even get a range. I would guess inside of 15' from the base of my stand. He came off the hill from behind me and to my left. I saw the deer, stood, waited for him to come closer. He was pushing a pretty nice 8 in front of him who wanted nothing to do with this buck. As he came closer, I thought he was a shooter. I drew when he looked away. He took 2 more steps. I don't know why but for some reason I looked back at his rack. His right side looked as great as it did on the hill. Mainframe 10, kicker off the G2 that looked scorable. Both brows were split. Tall, heavy buck. As I followed the left side, the other G2 was great as well but then about an inch after that the rest was snapped off. I almost cried as I let down. Would have been 13pts if that kicker would score and he had both sides. Best buck I've ever seen in person. As he walked away I couldn't help but stare at his G2s and how tall they were. All I ended up tagging was a big doe this year with the bow. Hope he made it through gun season and doesn't get hit by a car. Would love to see what he looks like next year. What county do you all hunt and what did you guys see this year?
You horn lovers crack me up.
^^^^????
Eric...... I had a pretty fun rut this year. I saw way more rutting activity this year than I did last year, which was, by far, the slowest rut I’ve ever experienced. I never saw any giants, but did see at least a half dozen bucks in the mid 140s to the mid 160s. I killed a decent low 150s 10 pointer the day after Thanksgiving. I actually rattled him in and passed on him in early November.
That's pretty cool Troy. Ya the action was a lot better this year than last. I do love when a nice buck comes in to a rattle. They usually come in quick enough that way that I don't have too much time to get nervous haha
I saw enough to make it a fun year. Never drew my bow as I stopped shooting Does a long time ago & set a goal for myself on my next Buck a few years back . I was never a horn hunter but my journey in Bowhunting has allowed me to tag many a Doe & Buck in the past.. That is why I pass deer now (Whitetail is the only biggame I have put a goal on).. I leave em for my kids & G-kids now (4 bowhunting). I started in 1956 so I'm closing my 62nd year eating tag soup (I know how to fix it real good)
I hunted zone 5 this year for my first time after successfully hunting zone 6 a few years ago.
I was with an "outfitter" for my first hunt in zone 6 hunting a bunch of leased ground. It was a great experience but expensive. This past season, hunting zone 5, it was a DIY one week hunt on public ground. My buddy and i had an absolute blast. We saw over 60 different bucks and countless amount of does. He had a few opportunities and released an arrow but did go home without a deer. I got lucky and killed high 30s ten point. No giant by any means but we both felt really proud of our hunt and our success with the limited amount of time and lots of RAIN!!!! Your roads can get really bad ;)
Furthermore, all the local people we ran into were beyond friendly and went out of their way to lend a hand if we asked. The hospitality of everyone we met was top notch, from gas station clerks, to farmers, to land owners. Iowa is an amazing state.
I hope you residents appreciate the place that you call home and enjoy it as much as you can. If you ever want to see how good you have it, come hunt my home ground for a few weeks :)
Thanks Iowa
Glad to hear you had an enjoyable experience, Pyrannah. Congrats on your success as well! Agreed, we are very fortunate here to have some tremendous deer hunting in our state. I’d like to see a few things tweaked or changed, but overall, I feel our model is one of, if not, the best in the nation, as far as whitetails are concerned.
Thanks man
Can’t wait to be back!!
Congrats James! Any pics?
I hunted in Buena Vista Co. Northwest Iowa I got out 3 times for youth season 3 does in 3 days with my 3 eligible kids. 16, 12, 10. Wife went out and got a Doe on her second time out ever. I spent 1 day in the stand and got a fork buck on our list that got hit by a car or something earlier in the year. 18 was a wierd year we had a ton of very young Bucks 2 maybe 3 yrs old and our Doe population just exploded. Not sure why but the larger Bucks just wern't around not on camera not anywhere in our area. So as far as a productive and memorable year yeah it was great but not a year of "BUCKS" pretty weak rut lots of coyotes but I cant imagine they would chase bucks off and not does. Any way we got turkeys up the wazoo so thats something to be happy about. HAPPY HUNTING!!!
