Bow season in Iowa

[Blackfoot58]

Here are 2 whitetail bucks taken this year from 2 of my Iowa properties.
Both hunters are friends of mine and were quite happy with their trophies.
They hunt legally and ethically. I’m glad to supply the timber to hunt.

 

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[tamrock]

From what I've eaten Iowa venison taste the best.

 

[Blackfoot58]

From what I've eaten Iowa venison taste the best.

I agree. It is grass and corn fed. About the best diet for lean, wild meat.

 

[Chilli]

Here are 2 whitetail bucks taken this year from 2 of my Iowa properties.
Both hunters are friends of mine and were quite happy with their trophies.
They hunt legally and ethically. I’m glad to supply the timber to hunt.
View attachment 2179505
View attachment 2179504

Yum 🤪

 

[RGINN]

Nice ones. What did they weigh out at?

 

[Blackfoot58]

Nice ones. What did they weigh out at?

I’ll need to ask. A lot of hunters in this area butcher their own animals and don’t weigh them. 👍🏼

 

[DizzyDigger]

I'm an old school traditional bowhunter, make my own arrows, etc. Only ever hunted the local Blacktail deer, never had a chance to hunt Whitetails, and I hear Iowa has some monsters.

Both shoulders are shot, and while I can still shoot well, it's only with lower poundage bows that aren't heavy enough to hunt with. Can't bring myself to buy one of those wheelie bows.

Wish I'd met ya 30 or 40 years ago...

 

[Blackfoot58]

I'm an old school traditional bowhunter, make my own arrows, etc. Only ever hunted the local Blacktail deer, never had a chance to hunt Whitetails, and I hear Iowa has some monsters.

Both shoulders are shot, and while I can still shoot well, it's only with lower poundage bows that aren't heavy enough to hunt with. Can't bring myself to buy one of those wheelie bows.

Wish I'd met ya 30 or 40 years ago...View attachment 2179921

I used to hunt with a Browning compound bow. Very accurate, but I hated it. I switched to a 70LB draw longbow: my shoulder won’t let me hold the full draw very long now.
I have a 50LB Bear recurve and another recurve: Pearson. I still target shoot in my yard once in a while. Time catches us all eventually.

 

[DizzyDigger]

I used to hunt with a Browning compound bow. Very accurate, but I hated it. I switched to a 70LB draw longbow: my shoulder won’t let me hold the full draw very long now.
I have a 50LB Bear recurve and another recurve: Pearson. I still target shoot in my yard once in a while. Time catches us all eventually.

Never shot that heavy of a LB, but I do have a nice Miami Valley longbow that is #50 @ 28". It's very smooth and no hand shock, but practicing with it is too much for me to handle these days. Also have a #30 Ben Pearson Collegian recurve I shoot most of the time.

Which Bear bow do you have? From Gainsville, or Grayling?

In the pic I'm at full draw on a Howard Hill style 70# longbow; it belonged to a friend I was visiting in Israel back in '99.

 

[Blackfoot58]

The Bear I have here is a Brown Bear 45#. I’m a left hander and it can be shot from either side. I believe my other Bear is a Kodiak, but I’m not certain. My daughter has it at her house. My Ben Pearson is a Left hand Rogue 7058. 45# at 28” draw.

 

[ToddsPoint]

I’ve owned several different bows, both traditional and compound. I sold them all except for my Pearson green and white fiberglass I’ve had since the early 60s. My shoulder is shot and the #35 is all I can handle now. Even though #45 is the legal minimum for bow hunting, I’m quite sure my #35 would easily take a deer.

 

[Blackfoot58]

I made a bow once, from a single piece of white oak. It tillered well and I was thrilled. I plaited my own string and drew it many times. Then, on one draw I hear a small cracking noise. In hindsight, I should have backed it with sinew.
I need to try another. From hedge (osage orange) this time.

 

[RGINN]

I thought maybe they had to do check ins there so they would know the weight. 70lb. draw longbow, huh? A guy who hunted with one of those let me shoot his one time. One time was all I was good for. After making my own bows, I got a Ben Pearson 45# long bow, which was great for target practice, and used it in college for my archery class. I had a Ben Pearson Black Mag compound, but gave it to my son cause I'm more traditional I guess. Currently I have a Sage 55# takedown bow which I can handle. I don't bow hunt or hunt at all anymore. And my proudest accomplishment was being banned from the Hydro OK Fair archery booth in 1972 for wiping out their supply of stuffed animals. Hey, 10 arrows for a dollar, 25 ft. with their bows and arrows, one in the bullseye is a won, I could put 8 to 10 right there every time. No brag, just fact. (Bowhunting hadn't really caught on in that part of Oklahoma at that time, and I had been practicing with bows I made since I was about 8 or 9.)

 

[Blackfoot58]

I bought the #70 longbow on eBay years ago. Left hand bows didn’t have many bidders. I got a great deal. Now it is way too much to pull and hold. I’ll pass it along the bloodlines. Someone will use it. 🤞

 

[Blackfoot58]

I thought maybe they had to do check ins there so they would know the weight. 70lb. draw longbow, huh? A guy who hunted with one of those let me shoot his one time. One time was all I was good for. After making my own bows, I got a Ben Pearson 45# long bow, which was great for target practice, and used it in college for my archery class. I had a Ben Pearson Black Mag compound, but gave it to my son cause I'm more traditional I guess. Currently I have a Sage 55# takedown bow which I can handle. I don't bow hunt or hunt at all anymore. And my proudest accomplishment was being banned from the Hydro OK Fair archery booth in 1972 for wiping out their supply of stuffed animals. Hey, 10 arrows for a dollar, 25 ft. with their bows and arrows, one in the bullseye is a won, I could put 8 to 10 right there every time. No brag, just fact. (Bowhunting hadn't really caught on in that part of Oklahoma at that time, and I had been practicing with bows I made since I was about 8 or 9.)

Iowa does an automated deer survey. Each hunter must declare the sex of their deer as well as the date and county taken in. Nothing to do with weight, like some other states.

 

[RGINN]

In Caddo County where I lived in OK, somebody checked in a buck that weighed out at a whopping 105lbs. (haha!) It was the talk of the area. The bigger ones were in NWOK.

 

[Limitool]

I thought maybe they had to do check ins there so they would know the weight. 70lb. draw longbow, huh? A guy who hunted with one of those let me shoot his one time. One time was all I was good for. After making my own bows, I got a Ben Pearson 45# long bow, which was great for target practice, and used it in college for my archery class. I had a Ben Pearson Black Mag compound, but gave it to my son cause I'm more traditional I guess. Currently I have a Sage 55# takedown bow which I can handle. I don't bow hunt or hunt at all anymore. And my proudest accomplishment was being banned from the Hydro OK Fair archery booth in 1972 for wiping out their supply of stuffed animals. Hey, 10 arrows for a dollar, 25 ft. with their bows and arrows, one in the bullseye is a won, I could put 8 to 10 right there every time. No brag, just fact. (Bowhunting hadn't really caught on in that part of Oklahoma at that time, and I had been practicing with bows I made since I was about 8 or 9.)

RIGGIN: "And my proudest accomplishment was being banned from the Hydro OK Fair archery booth in 1972 for wiping out their supply of stuffed animals. Hey, 10 arrows for a dollar, 25 ft. with their bows and arrows, one in the bullseye is a won, I could put 8 to 10 right there every time. No brag, just fact."

Same here at one time. I shot archery on a world class level for a few years. I've shot 600 FITA rounds, NFAA rounds @ 300/60, PAA rounds 300/60. And 2 Vegas target rounds @ 598 & 599. Those 2 rounds both were done in the 92' & 93' Las Vegas Open's. It's one of the biggest tournaments in the world.

One day I was behind the counter at Starlight Archery helping with customers. 3 State Troopers came in and wanted bow equipment to hunt with. They were discussing some guy who was a good pistol shot at the range between themselves. I stated with a little practice you could be out shooting him quickly. They all just laughed and laughed...! They said no archer could EVER out shoot this guy. I didn't hesitate... I simply stated no human being can shoot a rifle or pistol offhand and beat me. They all laughed again. They asked have you ever seen a target of his from 50' after 5 shots...? I said nope... Don't need to. I asked them have you ever seen my target at 60' after 5 shots...? They all stated it's impossible for anyone to beat him with a bow...!

Long story short now..... I said bring him up here with his best targets. I'll then shoot in front of you and I'll show you. I said if I lose I'll refund your money for all the equipment. They now weren't laughing. Sat. morning @ 9am was the showdown. 2 of 3 original officers showed up along with the pistol expert and his targets. 5 shots later all 3 officers couldn't believe what they just saw. They had never before seen a world class target archer shoot nor knew that type of accuracy was possible with a bow. NO BRAG... JUST FACT. (I understand RGINN your point)

I can't for sure now do it.... but I shot along side Dee Wilde, Frank Pearson, Terry Ragsdale and many other famous target archers and beat them at times. That time frame was a 3 year window.

 

[ToddsPoint]

Here’s the Osage bow I made. I never got it tillered right. It was like trimming your mustache. Too much on one side, then too much on the other. I think someone that knew what they were doing could finish it. I stopped before it became a #25 bow. I made it yrs ago and it has turned a nice dark brown.

 

[Limitool]

Here’s the Osage bow I made. I never got it tillered right. It was like trimming your mustache. Too much on one side, then too much on the other. I think someone that knew what they were doing could finish it. I stopped before it became a #25 bow. I made it yrs ago and it has turned a nice dark brown.View attachment 2180027

Nice looking bow sir for sure... That's something I could never do.

 

[Blackfoot58]

Good looking bow. Patience is the key to tillering.