IOWA BOWHUNTER FALL 2023/WINTER 2024

Iowa Bowhunter

SPONSORS

Infinito Safaris and Double Lung Archery, Inc. www.doublelungarcheryinc.com

Join the “Hunt With Double Lung” group every June, or book you own hunt dates. Dave and Charl at Infinito Safaris make your dream hunt happen. LaPorte City, IA 319-342-4550 dave.stueve@gmail.com

MATLABAS GAME HUNTERS

www.matlabas.co.za Matlabas Game Hunters is committed to conservation and our strict management policies keep game populations at healthy numbers. We cater to all bow hunters, whether you shoot traditional, compound, or crossbow. Your adventure will not just simply be a visit to Africa, but Africa will become a part of you forever! Ph - (27) 878080861 or (27) 829000227 email - info@matlabas.co.za

SPONSORS

FEATURES

Sponsor Pages

inside cover, 1, 2-5 inside back

IBA Application for

Board of Directors IBA Spring Banquet Awards Application

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Editor’s Corner

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Featured 100% Club President’s Letter Do What You Love To Fight What You Hate Fall Festival Wrap-Up IBA 2024 Spring Banquet

2024 IBA Spring Banquet

back cover back cover

myaiashop.com

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BONKER’S World

12-19 20-22 23-27 28-29 30-31 32-40 22

Harvest Page

Fall Festival Photos

DNR News

For Your Information Youth Bowhunter IBA Related Information

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EDITORS CORNER NEWSLETTER March is when the next Iowa Bowhunter newsletter is due for distribution, so please get your articles, pictures, stories, and advertisements to me no later than February 15. Thanks for all the photos already sent in and keep up the good work. There’s always room on the Gut Pile page. Also, if you have a good picture for the front cover, feel free to send that to me and mark it to be used for the front cover. Please include a short caption of information with each picture. Pictures are not returned.

TO ALL AREA REPS (AND ALL MEMBERS) Our membership needs to be more informed on what is happening in all areas of the state of Iowa, as well as surrounding states. As an area rep, it is expected of you to supply information about your particular area to the rest of the membership. This is accomplished though articles in the Bowhunter. Please submit an article for each Bowhunter issue (four total) to the Bowhunter editor. Deadlines are shown in the editors corner of each issue. We’ll look forward to your input. If you have questions about your membership please use this address Corey Thorson, Treasurer 1648 Cordova Ave. Pella, IA 50219 641-780-5068 corey.thorson@pellaschools.org Any other questions or problems please contact any board member.

Jessica Graham 9502 Tyler Street New Virginia, IA 50210 515-601-0728 jessicagraham1776@gmail.com

SPONSORS

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SPONSORS

Nipigon River Bear Hunt

nipigonriverbearhunt.com bbearman@shaw.ca Moose, Bear, and Wolf Hunting ~ Fishing ~ Scenery and Wildlife ~ Photo Opportunities

Bob Bearman ~ 807-887-3801 or 807-887-2813 Box 400 ~ Nipigon, ON, Canada ~ POT 2JO

100 years of Sporting Tradition Since 1901, Boyt has provided rugged and dependable equipment, accessories, and clothing for all hunting and shooting enthusiasts. www.boytharnesscompany.com

www.scheels.com The Midwest’s largest selection of sports, sportswear, and footwear. Set your sights on the BEST GEAR this season. ~ Jordan Creek Town Center, West Des Moines - 515-727-4065 ~ Southern Hills Mall, Sioux City - 712-252-1551 ~ Viking Plaza, Cedar Falls - 319-277-3033 ~ Coral Ridge Mall, Iowa City - 319-625-9959

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SPONSORS

BUCK HOLLOW SPORTS Archery Pro Shop ~ www.buckhollowsports.com Large selection of archery supplies, guns, ammo, optics, trail cameras, muzzleloaders, and lots more for all your hunting and sporting needs. Boyd L Mathes ~ 641-628-4586 ~ Archery Field & Sports Outdoor & Sporting Goods Company- Archery Range-Paintball Center Our professional staff has years of archery experience as well as certified training to provide the best learning experience possible. www.archeryfield.com 515-265-6500 3725 NE 56th St, Altoona, Iowa

Hours vary, so please call ahead. 776 190th Ave ~ Pella, IA 50219

Heritage 1865 Outfitters www.heritage1865.com We specialize in upland bird hunts; but also have deer, turkey, and waterfowl hunts available. Travis Ewing ~ 641-344-1120 Russel, IA ~ email-barney@heritage1865.com

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SPONSORS

(Our sponsors support and believe in the IBA, please support our sponsors)

DIAMOND ($10,000 and up) PLATINUM ($5,000 - $9,999)

Infinito Safaris

GSM Outdoors

Matlabas Game Hunters

GOLD ($1,000 - $4,999)

Archery Field & Sports Boyt Harness Company Buck Hollow Sports Heritage 1865 Outfitters Inspection Associates Inc.

Nipigon River Bear Hunts Raymond Bowhunters

Riverside Casino & Golf Resort

Scheels

Ted Nugent Kamp for Kids

SILVER ($500 - $999)

Jon Lipovac

RockyTop Ranch

Mike Robertson

Racks and Tracks Taxidermy

BRONZE (up to $499)

Bass Pro Shop

Mid Iowa Archers

Bob Haney

Midwest Heritage Bank

Clayton County Archers

Mike Hernandez

Denny Bradley Fin and Feather

onXmaps

Palo Outdoors

Fleet Farm

Pine Lake Archers

Hy-Vee Distribution

Pottawattamie Bowhunters

Isabel Bloom JP Plumbing

Rick Kramer - Florida Gator Hunts

Roger Bowen

Kurt & Denita Van Wyk Lakeside Hotel & Casino

South Central Bowhunters of Iowa

Taylor Photography

Larry Meggars Loren Wakeman

Wapello Chiefs

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FEATURED 100% CLUB 100% CLUBS To all 100% clubs During the IBA March board meeting at the Spring Banquet it was discussed how to make things more affordable for our clubs where every single member of the club is an IBA member. With continued discussion at the June board meeting, the board thought this was an excellent idea and would be implemented soon. Here’s how it works. • Beginning January 1, 2023, dues will drop to $15 per member for all 100% club members (2 or 3 year discount does not apply). • Current membership dues of $25 remain for all other IBA members with the existing options of 2 or 3 year discounts.

• IBA treasurer will make sure all dues are accurate, any overpayment will be returned if necessary. • The IBA needs to grow their membership and hopefully this will encourage other non-100% clubs to become one. • Along with reduced membership rates, some other perks the 100% clubs enjoy are - individual newsletter section, 1/2 page ad in the newsletter for your shoot schedule, full page article describing your club (first come first served). Your IBA Board of Directors

Clayton County Archers Elkader, Iowa Hickory Ridge Bowhunters Pella, Iowa Pottawattamie Bowhunters Council Bluffs, Iowa Benton County Archers Luzerne, Iowa Blackhawk Archers Waterloo, Iowa Raymond Bowhunters Raymond, Iowa Pine Lake Archers Eldora, Iowa Wapello Chief Bowmen Ottumwa, Iowa

Atlantic Archers Atlantic, Iowa Mid-Iowa Archers Indianola, Iowa South Central Bowhunters Chariton, Iowa Southwest Iowa Bowhunters Clarinda, IA Echo Valley Archers West Union, IA Mohawk Archers Mason City, IA Riceville Archery Club Riceville, IA Border Brigade Archery Club Webster City, IA

Your IBA board has been contemplating what else we can do for the 100% clubs. Along with reduced member rates, member coupons, IBA Shootout participant, Iowa Games host, and individual newsletter section, we have decided to also include at no cost a shoot schedule for your club (no larger than one half page). Just get your schedule to the editor by the newsletter deadline and it will be included in the next issue of the Iowa Bowhunter.

Outdoors with Outdoors Dan Show 7 - 9 AM: Saturdays on 1350 ESPN Des Moines, Iowa www.outdoorsdan.com For Podcasts or to listen online just click to https://espndesmoines.com/outdoors-with-outdoors-dan/

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PRESIDENT’S LETTER

FALL ISSUE

WINTER ISSUE

Hello fellow bowhunters and outdoorsman. It is a great honor to serve you all once again in this new year as President of the Iowa Bowhunters Association. In mid-August my wife and I welcomed our baby boy to our family. A newborn at home is an adjustment for sure, but I promise to do everything in my power to lead the future of the Association. I wish to carry on the traditions and views of many great bowhunters before us in the years to come as I hope this organization will be even stronger and thriving by the time my children are grown. Something to keep an eye on shortly is banners with our logo and QR code to our website will be distributed to bow shops and outdoor shops around the state of Iowa. This is another avenue we are trying to gain membership and create strong relationships with the owners and employees at the bow shops. As I am writing this message archery season has now started. I wish you all the best of luck and safety out there in the woods. There have been some cases of HD reported. It may be a good idea to check those trail cameras for deer you think may have left or scout your hunting properties for remains of deer and contact the DNR. I hope you all have success this archery season in harvesting and filling your archery tags. Have fun, shoot straight, be safe, and above all else ENJOY THE OUTDOORS. Chase McDonald President Iowa Bowhunters Association

Hello my fellow bowhunters, I hope all of you have had a great Thanksgiving with your families and maybe even some success in harvesting a deer or two in the early split archery season. As I am writing, this Christmas is nearly upon us and the weather has been strange so far this winter. I will say though, lesser amounts of snow and ice are fine with me. It makes my profession of working on vehicles a lot less wet. Late archery season and the end of deer season will be here before we know it. It will be interesting to see the population study numbers this year with diseases taking over in certain counties. Some may have to let their deer mature again. It seems like only a few years ago we were in the same situation. Our events for 2024 will be our booths at the Iowa Deer Classic, and our annual Spring Banquet. This year it will be hosted at Prairie Meadows on March 23rd. Our guest speaker is Nick Mundt. For more information on these two events go to the appropriate pages in this edition of the Bowhunter magazine. I’m wishing all my fellow bowhunters a happy holiday and we hope to see you at the Iowa Deer Classic, The IBA annual Spring Banquet, as well as some 3D archery shoots this spring/summer. See you Soon, Chase McDonald President Iowa Bowhunters Association

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DO WHAT YOU LOVE TO FIGHT WHAT YOU HATE 4th Annual Target Trafficking 3D Archery Shoot

SPONSORSHIP FORM August 10, 2024 – 8 am - 6 pm

Wings of Refuge is a 501(c)3 non-pro t organization in Iowa that has a long-term safe home providing opportunities for healing and restoration to survivors of sex trafficking. Most people are aware of sex trafficking and feel helpless in knowing what to do about it. You don’t have to feel overwhelmed by this injustice - you can help end sex trafficking by supporting survivors! Exploitation ends and freedom begins when a woman comes to live at Wings of Refuge.

We absolutely love the Wings slogan, “Do What You Love to Fight What You Hate” so we are doing what we love (archery), to raise money to fight what we hate (sex trafficking)! There will be a 40 target archery course complete with concessions, contests, auction & raffle throughout the day. We invite you to choose a sponsorship level, make a donation or provide an auction item.

☐ Timber/Prairie Loop + 25 tickets ☐ Long Shot/Mid Shot + 15 tickets ☐ XXL 3D Target + 15 tickets

☐ Medium 3D Target ☐ Practice Range ☐ Food Sponsor ☐ Small Target ☐ Event Donation

$10,000 $5,000 $5,000 $1,000

$500 $400 $300 $250

☐ XL 3D Target + 4 tickets

☐ Large 3D Target

$750

$____

Name:______________________________________________ Company Name:_ _________________________________

Address:______________________________________ City:______________________ State:_________ Zip:___________

Phone:_________________________________ Email:_ _______________________________________________________ Thank you for your Sponsorship and Support! SEX TRAFFICKING ENDS WHEN YOU GIVE! More event details at TargetTrafficking.net

Mail sponsor form and check payable to Wings of Refuge: Target Trafficking 14284 560th Ave,Story City, IA 50248

For additional information contact: Susan Parker (515) 520-9932 susanparker@sparkersolutions.com Roger Parker ( 515) 708-0123 rdparker182@yahoo.com

www.wingsofrefuge.net

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DO WHAT YOU LOVE TO FIGHT WHAT YOU HATE (Cont.)

Benefits of Loop Sponsorship: • Banner with your company name & logo at the start of each 20-shot loop • Company name and logo on the front of the scorecarD Benefits for all Sponsorship Levels: • Sign on the Course with Your Company Logo & Information • Company Name listed on our website • Company Name listed on the back of the scorecard and our website

• Company Name shared on social media • Opportunity to Have a Table at the Shoot

• Bring your own table, chairs, tent and workers • Set up will be 7:00-7:30 am on August 8 or anytime on August 9 between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm. Please contact us if you need to arrange a different time • Opportunity to provide promotional items for our SWAG bags • Items with your company logo like pens, koozies, chap stick, etc. - or business cards, pamphlets or brochures. You can send those items to:

Target Trafficking 4284 560th Ave. Story City, IA 50248

And, without question, the greatest benefit to becoming a sponsor is the opportunity you have to impact the life of a woman recovered from sex trafficking.

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2023 FALL FESTIVAL WRAP-UP

Pretty nice weather weekend, but the rain Sunday put a damper on attendance and tear down. Still would like to see more shooters and attendees. Nothing we can do about the turn-out except to say they missed another great Fall Festival. Overall, things went really well. The large size targets of moose, bear, elk, caribou, lion, and of course Sasquach, along with the many group shots, make the shoot one of a kind. Thanks to Pine Lake Archers for hosting the event and all the fine food they prepare in their clubhouse. Plenty of help was there to help set up and tear down. Many thanks also to all the people who volunteered with novelties, registration, course, and other jobs to help everything go smoothly. Volunteers are how the IBA operates and these things don’t just happen on their own. We appreciate people stepping up and volunteering to accomplish these things. We would love to see new vendors set up at the Fall Festival. Most everyone has what they need for archery related equipment, so most any type of vendor is welcome to attend and set up shop for the weekend. Just contact a board member to get involved. A lot of awesome donations were made by various companies or people; along with a fine group of target sponsors. Without these generous people

and organizations, this event would be just another shoot. So a tremendous THANK YOU to all of them. Refer to our Sponsor Page to see all who support us; so please support those who support your IBA. The NASP line shoot has had little participation lately so only the 3-D shooting was included this year. Getting our youth involved is the best thing we can do for archery and hunting. The Iowa Games was moved to be included in our Fall Festival this year and will continue to be done that way for some time to come. Spread the word for next year. If anyone would like to see some changes or improvements, please provide your input to any board member (see the IBA website or Bowhunter for contact information). All suggestions will be considered and we’re always looking to make this a better event going forward. The bucket raffles went well and winners that were not present were contacted and arrangements were made for them to obtain their prize. Music both Friday and Saturday night could be heard throughout the campground too. Thanks again to all who shared in the Fall Festival experience and we wish you all the best in your upcoming hunting seasons. IBA Board of Directors

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IOWA BOWHUNTERS ASSOCIATION 2024 Spring Banquet Saturday March 23rd Tickets go on sale Jan 10 $50/ticket Youth 16 & under $15 Prairie Meadows Hotel See iowabowhunters.org for table reservations and more information Guest Speaker: Nick Mundt

Dinner at 6PM

Prairie Meadows Hotel: (515) 967-1000

Silent Auction ending at 7PM

1 Prairie Meadows Dr.

Speaker at 7PM

Altoona, IA 50009 Blocks of rooms reserved at $168 (until March15)

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BONKER’S WORLD FALL ISSUE

Today is a soup kinda day. It’s the first cold snap of the fall. Yesterday it was sunny and warm. Today it is cold, cloudy, rainy and windy. I should be thinking about sitting in a tree stand this afternoon, but by the time the white chicken chili soup works its way through my system it would be prime time. Even though the stand is a yardy (in my back yard) and the deer are used to some amount of human scent, they wouldn’t be used to the “scent” I’d be putting out. So what better thing to do on a soup afternoon than share more absolutely true and believable stories of Bonkers’ latest escapades. I’m not sure I’ve mentioned this in the past, but just in case I, errrr, ahhhh, I mean YOU have forgotten; I’m not a good euchre player. A year ago it was suggested that Koko the talking gorilla would be a better euchre player than me, and my partner could do better with Koko. The thought struck me that getting a gorilla suit and wearing it at the cabin would be a great practical joke. Just in case you didn’t know this already, Amazon is a great place to find obscure stuff. There were plenty of gorilla suits to chose from. I picked the one I thought represented the spirit of Koko the best, the gorilla suit looked passive in appearance but aggressive in temperament. Just the right amount of passive aggressiveness needed for a top flight euchre player.

The question was, when do I put Koko on to achieve maximum surprise and effect? In a one room cabin it’s kinda hard to surprise anybody by putting Koko on if they are already there. I wouldn’t be able to put Koko on far enough away from the cabin not to be detected too early and ruin the “walking through the door” surprise, not to mention it’s really hard to walk in those feet and seeing through those eye holes. I would have tripped on the stairs for sure. I decided the best chance the joke had of succeeding was to leave the blind early and get to the cabin before they did. I hadn’t seen a turkey all day so leaving the blind early was an easy thing, especially when I had a clear and concise plan of action that included a cold beverage when I got to the cabin. The tricky part was to get there before they did, but not by too much. It was hot and Koko would make it worse. After climbing the Clayton County Alps, it was up hill both ways, I got to the cabin. The cabin was hotter inside than it was outside and man it was hot outside. I peeled my sweat soaked cammo off as I enjoyed a deep draught from a cold can of liquid refreshment that had never tasted so good. I donned Koko. The costume itself has ankle high feet, elbow length gloves and a head with a long neck, all of Koko’s pieces were covered in faux gorilla fur. I needed to wear jeans to cover me from the waist down, a long

www.iowabowhunters.org to hold Koko’s head in such a way that it necessitated Koko’s looking through the faux fur. Koko struggled and struggled to see and find the straws, but Koko could only find an old timey Bic sleeve shirt to cover me from the waist up and a Hawaiian shirt just for the final panache. Yeah, all that made it hotter still. It was time to sit in the cabin and wait. At least I had my can of not-as-cold-as-it-was-earlier beverage. I decided to take a sip. OK, first flaw in my clear and concise plan, I can’t sip, drink, chug, guzzle, slurp or enjoy my getting-warmer-by-the-minute beverage with the Koko head on and what if I take it off and I hear them walking up the stairs? It takes a minute just to get the Koko head back on then the long sleeved shirt over my sweat and then the Hawaiian shirt. A straw! I could use a straw! Looking back I think the heat was starting to effect me, or maybe it was the thin air of the Clayton County Alps, or the possibility exists it was a combination of the two, but I was sure my personal guide had a stash of old timey politically incorrect plastic straws in his cabin, none of those “green” paper straws for him, I just needed to find them. Second flaw in my clear and concise plan, I can’t see though the eye holes without holding the Koko head up with a Koko hand and a secondary flaw of the second flaw in my clear and concise plan was the faux fur on Koko’s hand. I couldn’t see through it but I had

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BONKER’S WORLD FALL ISSUE (Cont.)

stick pen. Koko reasoned that if Koko took the pen apart it would make a dandy straw. Koko used the straw to taste the beverage. It was too hot so Koko got a cold beverage out of the cooler. Koko like! Koko also reasoned it was best to stay inside instead of going out on the porch where it was ever so much cooler, because it could expose Koko early and decrease the effectiveness of the surprise, plus Koko never wondered far from Koko’s beverage source. While Koko waited Koko made many trips to the cooler for beverages and practiced Koko’s euchre words: “two no,” “two no trump,” “inkle,” “three aces,” “drop the hammer,” “Bonkers, you are an idiot” “throw the hook Bonkers, throw the hook,” “Bonkers don’t lead the ace, the jack is higher,” “Bonkers, lay off the Makers”, “Bad Bonkers. Bad, bad Bonkers.” Finally Koko heard footsteps coming up the trail. Now was the time for Koko’s big surprise. But the footsteps slowed and stopped. Koko thought for a moment, “Koko stay or Koko go outside?” Then there were more sets of footsteps coming up the path and Koko felt fear, what if bad men come to take Koko back to lab? Koko no go back, Koko like freedom! Koko like using plastic straws, paper straws no good for Koko! The footsteps came up the stairs, Koko jumped for the door, Koko reasoned freedom was better

than going back to the lab, so Koko ran out the door knocking down Koko’s would be captors in the process. Koko vaulted over the railing and ran, up hill, but not very far before Koko felt a twinge in Koko’s bottom. Koko was able to take two more steps before Koko’s world went black. Koko slowly gained consciousness. Koko looked around and was relived to find familiar surroundings. Then three faces peered down at him. “Koko no go back. Koko no go back.” One of the faces said “Bonkers, I think you pulled a hammy.” Another face said “Bonkers, you drank all the beverages.” The third face said “Bonkers, you are an idiot.” I did indeed wear Koko that evening playing euchre. I honestly can’t remember who won, but I have an inkling it wasn’t Koko, nor his partner. The next day I was in the blind by mid morning, and exactly when “mid morning” occurs depends on who is defining it. There are some that would say “mid morning” is 0600, halfway between midnight and noon. I say mid morning starts at 1000. My point is I sat in the sensory sucking blind from mid morning until 1600 (4 pm for the time challenged) and I didn’t see a thing. I figured I had one more hour of sanity left so I went back to my book and started another chapter in a Donald Harstad novel.

made me look up to scan the area, and what did I see? Turkeys. Three toms were looking over my jake and hen. The toms were about 20 yards out and doing the slow heads up walk toward my decoys. I had a good look at all three and they were identical in size so I decided the first one to cross directly in front of me would get blasted. I stuck the gun out of the blind and pulled the trigger. The result was a dead turkey at 12 yards. I thought that would have been the end of the show, but his two buddies went to town on my jake and hen. I watched the spectacle for several minutes and got some of it on my phone. I wanted to be done for the day so I stumbled out of the blind just to scare them off. Even then they stood and stared before I shooed them away. I gathered my prize and walked back up the same mountain I had walked up to get to the blind. Of course once I caught my breath and the chest pains subsided it was picture time so I put on Koko to preserve the moment for all posterity. About three months after turkey season it was time to head to Canada. When I arrived at my personal guide’s place I expected to see Fearless in the driveway all hooked up and ready to go. But there was a different van hooked to the trailer. My personal guide met me in his driveway. He could tell

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BONKER’S WORLD FALL ISSUE (Cont.)

by the look on my face that I had questions or I had eaten gas station sushi. I said “Just because Fearless was under powered, drove like crap and had iffy air-conditioning doesn’t mean it needed to be replaced.” My personal guide being a man of few words simply said “Yes it does.” “But Fearless was so comfy.” “So is this one.” “But Fearless was so pretty.” “You’ll get over it.” At 0300 the next morning I literally slid into the front seat and almost out of it. I think my personal guide’s use of ArmorAll could have been a bit more judicious. As soon as I was able to slide back in place I buckled up, more just to keep from sliding out of the seat than for safety. Then we were off. Off not very far off though, we stopped a mile of so up the road to pick up my personal guide’s neighbor. That first mile was OK, but too short to form an opinion and come up with a name for the van, but I still had 13 hours to make up my mind, both on a name and if this van was an acceptable replacement for Fearless. For the next few hours the miles rolled smoothly under the tires. The van was pretty comfy, the seats soft yet supportive, the electronics included two CD players, a DVD player and a VCR. It was still too early to say about the AC because it was still cool outside. I wouldn’t be able to evaluate the power until it was my turn to drive.

Another hour or so down the road it was our first gas stop. I took over the piloting duties. I always drive from just north of Minneapolis to International Falls. This distance will give me a good idea of the van’s power and how it drives. Fearless was indeed a little weak on power and “a little” is being generous. I sat in the drivers seat. This time I was ready for the slippery seat. I buckled in, adjusted the seat, mirrors and climate control. We were once again headed to Canada. I turned onto the on ramp and started accelerating to merge into heavy traffic. I saw an opening and gave the gas pedal a full stomp. With horns blaring and fists waving the van leapt into the small opening. OK, the new van seems to have plenty of get up and go. The van handled the interstate well. It kept up with and even passed some traffic. It rode smooth and I even forgot that the trailer was there. The car I had just passed accelerated to pull even with the van. The passenger was hanging out of his window and the driver’s arm was extended well above his roof, both were giving me the single finger salute. My passengers saw them and wondered what had caused their behavior. I suggested maybe they just didn’t like Iowans, but the truth probably was I may have cut back into the lane, in their opinion, a little too soon. Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear, especially

when you can’t see the short trailer in the mirrors. We came to the end of the four lane. Now I was going to see how much power the van really had. As usual in Minnesota I got behind someone who didn’t know that pushing on the skinny pedal enabled their vehicle to go faster. I finally came to a flat and straight piece of highway. Was it long enough for me to get around him? I could see an on coming car in the distance, but I once again stomped on the gas. I felt the tension in the van rise as I pulled out to pass. The van down shifted and picked up speed, the opposing car flashed his lights at me, I flashed mine at him. The van continued to pick up speed, the tension in the van picked up speed as well. The back of the van was even with the slow roller and was still gaining speed. I thought I heard someone in the back reciting a Hail Mary. My personal guide who was trying to take a nap woke up. The van had up shifted and was almost maxed out for speed. I saw the nose of the oncoming car dive indicating he was braking hard. The trailer, that I couldn’t, cleared the nose of the turtle driver and I returned to my own lane with plenty of room, in my opinion, to spare. We met the on coming car and they too must not have liked Iowas and were giving us the Minnesota welcome. There was a collective sigh of relief

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BONKER’S WORLD FALL ISSUE (Cont.)

in the van followed by loud admonishments not to drive like a poopy head. The good news was the van stayed nice and cool inside despite my best efforts to heat things up. We made it to International Falls without any further, what my passengers would call “incidents,” or Minnesota welcome waves. I pulled into the usual fill up spot and slid out of the drivers seat. I noticed my passengers kissing the ground and looking a little green around the gills. Well, you no longer need to be fearless to drive the van, just fearless to ride in the van while I am driving. It was comfy, it was mostly quiet except for the unheard comments about my driving skills, it was cool on a hot day and it was acceptable. So the new van shall henceforth and forever be known as Fearless V2.0. Crossing the border was easy, we made our usual stops at the Beer Store and the bait shop. Then the last five hours of the drive were uneventful. We dropped our stuff off at the fly in base, checked into the motel and met in the restaurant for our usual double chubby cheese burgers. It was good to be back up north. We had six people on this trip. To say the fishing was fantastic would have been an understatement. Wherever we stopped we caught fish.

Of course some places were better than others, but there wasn’t a bad spot on the lake. There wasn’t any bear sign, there weren’t any forest fires in the immediate area and the mosquitoes were manageable. As usual our stay was much too short ,but we had a second trip planned for the end of August. The end of August found me once again in my personal guide’s driveway loading my gear into the trailer that Fearless V2.0 would pull north. My personal guide admonished me once again not to drive like I did on the way up a few weeks earlier. When it was my turn to drive I behaved myself secure in the knowledge that the power was there if I needed it. We went to the same lake as the first trip, which may have become our forever lake. There were only four of us this time. “Bill,” I called him Bill because I couldn’t remember his real name, was a first timer. As usual the first timer had the best luck. The water had dropped just about three feet from the first trip making the fishing a little tougher except for Bill. The fishing may have been slow for three of us, but Bill was stacking them up. Well, compared to the first trip anything would have been considered slow, but Bill was hauling them in like we were a few weeks earlier. I did catch a bright blue walleye. We had caught them before in this lake but not nearly as full

body blue. The others may have had a tail or top fin that was blueish, but this one was bright blue. What makes them blue? Beats me, but I know they aren’t blue because they are cold. It was hot up there this time, not everyday, but some of the days were in the high 80’s. For that far north at that time of year, that’s hot. Now it’s time to get ready for deer camp. Will Koko make an appearance? Only Koko knows for sure and Koko isn’t talking. So be safe, be successful and above all; be happy that you are hunting.

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This December isn’t Decembering like Decembers have Decembered in the past. I wish I could take credit for that saying, but I read it somewhere. One more piece of proof that I’ve never had an original thought in my life. I only went hunting twice during the second gun season. The first day it was 50 and I was hunting in about as few layers as I have ever gun hunted. Well, to clarify, I didn’t look like the Stay Puft Man, but I still had layers. That was a Friday and on Sunday I looked like the Stay Puft and Michelin Man rolled into one. As I’m sure you are all aware the weather this fall caused a wide spread outbreak of late season EHD. I hunt in Northeast Iowa for bow and Southeast Iowa for gun. We went to the ground we have permission on to check our stands a few days before the first gun season. The neighbor of the land owner came into the field just to chat. A conversation that starts “Well, I’ve got some bad news for you,” is never going to be fun. Short story long, the neighbor said he had found 42 dead deer in the area. The size of the area was couched in local terms such as “over on our south farm,” “the timber behind my uncle’s place,” and “down by the river over west,” so it could have been anywhere from one to ten sections or even more. He was concerned, rightfully so, about how many more carcasses

would be found when his family hunted their ground. When we walked through the timber and fields between out stands there wasn’t much sign. Trails that in past years had looked well used were now covered with leaves and looked like they hadn’t been used at all. Areas that were usually full of rubs and scrapes were devoid of any buck sign at all. Sure, there were deer tracks in the fields, but what stood out to me was the amount of wast grains, this year it was beans, still in the field. I started to get an uneasy feeling. The first day we were able to go hunting during the second gun season was, as I said above, the 50 degree Friday. We were running a little late so instead of hunting the tree stands we went to a different part of the farm. I always sit behind an old shed in a grassy draw and my son sits a 100 yards or so away on the back of a pond dike. It was a very pleasant sit, warm, partly cloudy, the slight breeze was in my favor, the D9 that was building a terrace 200 yards away wasn’t too bothersome, nor was it in the direction I was watching. As I recall it was a two mini Kit Kat, one mini Snickers and a half bottle of water sit, so call it two hours. I didn’t see anything, I heard very few shots and one of the shots was probably quarter mile away. Was the weather too

warm? Was the D9 an issue? Did I stink more than normal? I met my son on the walk back to the truck. He reported that he had seen deer and he showed me the pics. Two really nice bucks and two does. All in various stages of decomposition. The land owner had heard the same shot we did and drove over in his side by side to see if we needed any help getting deer hauled out. We told him what my son had seen and he wasn’t surprised. The groups that hunt the area first season had reported a down year as well. We were hunting with regular tags and depredation tags. I told him that I thought mother nature may have taken care of his deer problem. We made it back down for closing day. Talk about weather change, hardly 36 hours later it was cloudy, 35 degrees with a west wind at 15. The tree stands are about a half mile from where we park. I walked to my stand with several light layers on and used a backpack to carry my heavy outer layers. Once I get up in the stand I usually wait until I’m chilly to add layers. Not that day. When I got to the stand I put it all on. I’ve hunted colder temps and stronger winds, but I think my ability to withstand the cold decreases exponentially every year I hunt, so I would say by next year the 50 degree days with a slight breeze will feel terrible.

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On the walk out to the stands we pushed three does, all of them presented running shots with solid backgrounds that I wouldn’t hesitate to take a standing shot, but I just can’t pull the trigger on a running deer. Would it have been safe? Well, maybe, depends on who you are, but I just can’t do it. I’m so used to bow hunting that any shot over 30 yards and any shot at any distance at a moving deer, let alone running, is a huge no no. I have two rules, never be a statistic and never be the subject of a news story. It just seems to me that shooting at running deer while gun hunting carries the potential to break both of those rules. I better climb down off my soap box before I fall off. Back to having all my layers on while still standing at the bottom of my ladder stand. It was a tough climb, my shoulders bound up in all the layers when reaching for the next rung and my knees were complaining about the extra force necessary to lift my extra bulk up the ladder. I probably looked like the Goodyear blimp. It was cold, but not so cold I wanted to climb down and walk back to the truck. I was sitting there thinking it was time for a Kit-Kat. I tried to reach for the backpack my warm gear had been in, but I had stuffed it too far under my seat before I got into it making it impossible to reach with all my layers on. I gave up on the Kit-Kat. I looked up after resolving to endure the

rest of a Kit-Katless afternoon to see two does starting right at me. I ranged them and discovered they were actually forked bucks. As I was lowering the range finder and deciding to give them a pass, the gun my son was using went BANG scarring me and the deer. I think the deer and I all jumped about the same distance. A few seconds after the shot a doe ran into the field and stopped. I was able to range her at 75 yards. She was not at a good angle to take a shot, plus she looked back over her shoulder from where she came making the angle even worse. I had my gun up in case she presented a better shot, but she brought her head back around as she ran off. It’s a good thing I’ve got meat in the freezer from bow season, otherwise if I was only gun hunting I’d, well, not starve, but I’d be spending a lot more money for meat. Or I could have taken the shots I’m given, but stats, headlines and a lot fewer deer than we were used to seeing may have played a roll in not taking those shots. That was my gun season in southeast Iowa. My bow season in Northeast Iowa was good hunting as usual, but they did not escape the EHD outbreak. While tracking another hunter’s buck we came across two does and one buck that were probably EHD kills.

You may recall I bow hunt in northwest Clayton County very near the “town” of Gunder. Some of you may remember the Irish Shanti and the Gunder Burger. The Shanti closed a few years ago and has recently reopened as the Gunder Roadhouse. One of the times I was up there this season my personal guide invited me to go with him to a midseason get together of the Clayton County Archers to be held at the Gunder Roadhouse. I was a little concerned, every time I hang out with those guys I acquire more bad habits, or is it I just suffer more from my own? Kind of a chicken or the egg or pot calling the kettle black or maybe even outta the pot and into the fire? But, did I start in the pot or was I already in the fire? Lets just say it was an enjoyable evening with a bar tab that was well within the limits of their treasury. OK, I can’t leave it like that, we were all on separate checks. But sitting back watching and listening to the all in fun, give and take, between friends is alway a hoot. I will say this though, even though they drink Grain Belt and PBR I was surprised they all used multisyllabic words in complete sentences. As I said Clayton County near Gunder is where my personal guide lives and hunts. Unfortunately, his ground is in a CWD zone. We have been getting the deer we kill tested

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for several years. The DNR has a portal on their web site where CWD information and maps are kept up to date. The maps show the counties where the disease has been found and the maps are accurate down to the section of that county where the deer was killed. We watched the maps over the years and saw the section just to the east of my personal guide’s property turn positive, one of his tree stands, aptly called “The Old Oak Tree Stand”, is actually right on the section fence. Eventually the section to the south changed color on the CWD map indicating a positive result as well. Then the inevitable happened, the buck my personal guide arrowed this year was found to be positive for CWD. I can’t imagine the gut punch it would be to get the call from the DNR that the deer you shot on your ground was positive. Even though you knew the day was coming and you had thought about all the decisions you would have to make when the deer you had planned on consuming was positive. My personal guide elected not to eat the meat. I’m sure I’d make the same decision even though CWD has yet to cross into humans, I sure don’t want to be the first. What keeps me awake at night, besides my personal guide’s snoring at deer camp, is the cost of killing a CWD deer. I figure I’d

be out around $300. That would include the cost of the arrow (if broken or lost), broad head, processing, travel, food and deer camp friendship dues. Then add to that the cost to replace 40-50 pounds of organic meat. So why would I want to continue to hunt if I have the potential to lose money if I kill a CWD infected deer? I might as well use the money to bet on the Cubs to win the World Series. Well, I can’t put a price or value on the hunting experience, the fellowship of deer camp or the sense of community we all feel as deer hunters in Iowa. So I will continue to hunt and have my deer tested. The Cubs have a better chance of winning the World Series than I do of killing a deer with CWD, and that’s saying something. Christmas is past and I can tell I must have been a very, very good husband. How can I tell? I didn’t get the new drill I wanted, or the ice fishing gear that I really, really wanted, (or even the ice to fish through) or even a gift card. So how did I know I was being rewarded for good behavior? I was allowed to help cook Christmas dinner. I was so good in fact, that my wife let me actually measure AND mix the ingredients this year. I thought it was odd that she pulled up a chair, got a fresh soda and made herself comfy to watch me “help” with “cooking.” She was in for the long haul

because she knew that my “help” with “cooking” was a very slow process. She knew how meticulous I am in measuring the ingredients the recipes call for, but I must admit I probably made her head spin a little bit when I’d say “well, if 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon is good, a full teaspoon is better and a teaspoon and a half is just about right.” I said I was good at measuring things, but not following recipes. Recipes, much like Christmas gift assembly instructions, are mere suggestions. She remained quiet and calm as she sat in her chair with a bemused look. She didn’t seem to mind that it took almost fifteen minutes for me to measure out the afore mentioned cinnamon. Hmmmm, my “this is a set up” detector started clanging loudly in my head. I decided I better do a test just to be sure my wife didn’t have an ulterior motive for letting me help with cooking. “Hey hun,” I asked, “since this is holiday cooking would it be OK if I had a little holiday cooking potion?” That would be the test, if she was setting me up she wouldn’t mind. “Well, snookums,” she said “you’ve never asked before, so why ask now?” “Because I’m testing you” ran through my head but my filter prevented it from escaping from thought form. “She didn’t say yes or no, so I better go through with it.”

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BONKER’S WORLD WINTER ISSUE (Cont.)

I dug around and found the bottle of blackberry brandy, a.k.a. cooking potion, from a couple of years ago. It had changed from a nice blackberry color to more of a dead moss color. Well, I couldn’t stop now, so I unscrewed the cap and took a sniff. The color may have been dead moss, but the smell was more like dead mouse. I had to do it, I had to take a thimble full. Wow, was that stuff nasty. About ten seconds after that thimble full hit bottom my eyes were spinning in opposite directions, steam was going out of my ears and my ability to think and reason, which have never been good, was severely impaired. It passed rather quickly though and I realized she wasn’t setting me up for anything, or maybe she was getting even with me for something? What could she be getting even with me for? I’ve been a very good husband, I haven’t been mean to the cat, I haven’t shot at anything off the back deck, I’ve put the seat back down, I mostly remember to take the garbage cans to the curb and bring them back and I haven’t been in the penalty box for a year or so. Then it dawned on me, our anniversary was several weeks ago. If you remember from a recent Bonkers’ World we were going to do something big for our anniversary and my idea was to go to Canada fishing. I was sure she wouldn’t mind using outhouses, doing battle with

mosquitoes, bears and forest fires because we’d be together. I finished my part of the holiday cooking, as a side note, who calls a dish with mandarin oranges, cottage cheese, cool whip and orange jello a salad? I call that a big bucket of “No Thank You.” Salads have lettuce, and all kinds of good stuff smothered in western dressing. I don’t think that orange stuff even qualifies as a desert. And that’s all I have to say about that. Anyway, I was pondering the whole anniversary thing and I hadn’t gotten a yes or no on my idea, unless I was supposed to interpret an eye roll and a shake of a head as no….. That evening after the cooking was done I decided I better broach the subject of the anniversary trip again. “Uhhh Hun,” I said. “Yes Snookums?” She replied. “We should probably revisit our anniversary trip. I realize Canada was probably a bad idea,” I paused to give her a chance to say that Canada was a great idea, but that didn’t happen so

I continued “have you come up with any trips you would like to take?” I braced myself for something like Paris in spring time or Michu Picchu during the rainy season, but what I heard her say instead was “You know, both of us are baseball fans in general and the Cubs fans in particular, how about going to Spring Training?” I told her it sounded like a wonderful idea, but those tickets sell out fast and they’ve been on sale for a week or two. She just smiled, clicked something on her keyboard and said check your email. My computer said “You’ve got mail.” I opened it up and it was a complete itinerary for five days in Mesa Arizona with tickets for the last three Spring Training games for the Cubs before the regular season. The hotel is right across the street from Sloan Park, the seats will be in the shade and the flights are nonstop from Cedar Rapids. I guess I’ve been a very good husband after all. Now if my lovely wife could just convince the local lakes to freeze…..

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FALL FESTIVAL PHOTOS

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DNR NEWS Fall ISSUE

opportunities that tend to have a higher experience satisfaction rating. The DNR is taking in as much information as we can collect to manage a deer herd that maintains its heath, provides good access and provides good experiences. Next time you are thinking about going hunting move it to the top of your list and go, because when you do go hunting you may be providing someone else an opportunity as well. We did have one question this quarter about the relationship between coyotes and deer and more specifically populations. I’ll try and answer this dynamic question in as few words as possible. Population estimates for both animals are extremely difficult to calculate and usually do not provide the data people think they should. The Iowa DNR rather looks at populations trends, meaning does the population seem to be going up or down or is stable. We then try and balance this trend out with what the public wants on the landscape. Obviously all parts of the state are not equal in trends and expectations of either animal. We use a couple of techniques for monitoring the trends of both animals. We use spring spotlight surveys and of course the fall bowhunter survey as primary ways to collect numerical data. Deer especially in southern Iowa and many other counties are stable to increasing. The increased doe tags are an indication of those counties where we would like to see the population moving towards a downward or stabilizing trend. Coyotes as well have been trending up in some areas and down in others. This bowhunter survey data can be found at the following link (https:// www.iowadnr.gov/Portals/idnr/uploads/Hunting/ trends/observation_2022.pdf) or just type Iowa bowhunter survey in your search browser. You’ll see the trends of all the species recorded in this survey broken down into nine agricultural regions. Remember this is one survey and it does have flaws like all surveys do, but we look at trends not one year’s worth of data. In terms of coyote and deer biology, there have been many recent studies showing the impacts that coyotes can have on local deer numbers. I remind you of my

Jim Coffey- Forest Wildlife Biologist Well I have waited to the last minute to write the DNR update for the IBA. Imagine how I feel having had a month to get this done. I always have good intentions of being done ahead of time, but something always seems to be more pressing or life just gets in the way. We have several topics to discuss this quarter but I am going to take advantage of my procrastination to let you in on a little secret (WE ALL PROCRASTINATE). Some people have lists that keep them on track others are just go getters and seem to always be ahead of the game, but in general good intentions usually still result in “just in time” delivery. Let’s put this into perspective in the deer hunting world. Many of you have been tuning bows, target shooting, setting up stands and some of you may have even gone out on the first day of the season. I’ll bet some of you wanted to go out but something came up, any excuse (even 90 degree weather), but eventually you will try to get a few days in the stand. One common concern the Iowa DNR perennially hears is about the lack of access or no place to hunt. The DNR has little control over access to private lands and we do our best to provide a good hunt to people on public lands but one thing we can do is to implement regulations to help with the access. We know that in general access to land means access to deer and access to deer means increased harvest (hopefully does in the right areas). There is more and more push from certain hunting communities to make tags “good until filled,” but what we forget about is the human side of this argument. People are known procrastinators. If we are always “going to go next weekend” this means someone else may not have a chance to go at all. Sometimes regulations need to be looked at beyond the individual person, and beyond the general biology of the animal. What State agencies have learned over the years is multiple shorter seasons tend to increase harvest. This technique puts some urgency into filling that tag and gives hunters less time to procrastinate. When hunters are done with their season it opens land up to another hunter and provides additional

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