IOWA BOWHUNTER SPRING 2024

SPONSORS

The gear you need from the brands you trust. Home to brands such as Stealth Cam, Walkers, Cold Steel, Muddy, HME, Wild Game, Ameristep, Tenzing, Avain, Big Game, Flextone, NAP, and many more. www.gsmoutdoors.com Ph. 877-269-8490 email info@gsmorg.com

FEATURES

Sponsor Pages

inside cover, 2-7 inside back

DNR News

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For Your Information Youth Bowhunter IBA Related Information IBA Application for Board of Directors IBA Spring Banquet Awards Application

Editor’s Corner

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Featured 100% Club Do What You Love To Fight What You Hate

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BONKER’S World Bowhunter Page

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myaiashop.com

back cover

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EDITORS CORNER NEWSLETTER July 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 June/ 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) GSM Outdoors

PLATINUM ($5,000 - $9,999)

Infinito Safaris

Matlabas Game Hunters

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

Archery Field & Sports Boyt Harness Company Buck Hollow Sports DK Custom Taxidermy Heritage 1865 Outfitters

Mankazana Safaris Raymond Bowhunters Riverside Casino & Golf Resort Ted Nugent Kamp for Kids Thaddeus Lake Lodge

SILVER ($500 - $999)

C&D Outfitters David Bennett HyVee Distribution Mike Robertson

Racks and Tracks Taxidermy Rockytop Ranch Scheels Tim Quinn

BRONZE (up to $499)

Bluff Creek Archery Clayton County Archers Dakota Ranch Outfitters Dan Krettek Denny Bradley Eyad Yehyawi Fin and Feather Ike Lind Jerry Dowell Jill German Creations JP Plumbing Mid Iowa Archers

Pj1Custom Woodworking Palo Outdoors Pine Lake Archers Pottawattamie Bowhunters Raw Metal Works Roger Bowen Scott Rolffs South Central Bowhunters of Iowa Stellar Sparks Candle Company Tammy’s Handbags and Apparel Taylor Photography 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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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

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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 August 11, 2024 – 10 am - 4 pm Sunday Worship @ 9am

Wings of Refuge is a 501(c)3 non-profit 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 ght what we hate (sex traf cking)! There will be a 40 target archery course complete with concessions, contests, auction & raffle throughout the event. 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 anytime on August 9 between 8:00 am-6:00 pm or 7:00 am-7:30 am on August 10. 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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BONKER’S WORLD SPRING 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 fight 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 faw 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 faw 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 faw of the second faw 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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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 SPRING 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 fat 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 fashed his lights at me, I fashed 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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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 fy 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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DNR NEWS SPRING 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 faws 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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DNR NEWS SPRING ISSUE (Cont.)

old saying - we do what is easy and accessible and in this case coyotes eat what is easy and accessible. The majority of coyote diet is mice, has been and always will be. If fact some studies show up to 90 of the diet is small rodents. What studies also show is that when fawns are on the ground for the first days of their lives they can be “easy and accessible.” This is the main reason why does leave their fawns unattended. This is an evolutionary response to protection of the young deer. What deer biologist also know is that healthy deer populations tend to have their fawns all about the same time. This technique foods the system and coyotes cannot take advantage of these vulnerable fawns for a very long period of time. When deer seasons and population become askew the fawning season is draw out over a longer time frame and makes more fawns available to coyotes. Once the fawning season is over the coyotes will shift quickly back to rodents because they are easy and accessible. Coyotes can also have an impact on stressed deer during the winter time. Deep snows are crusted snows may hinder movement of deer while coyotes are

still able to hunt successfully and take advantage of this limited opportunity. Hope that answers the question and please send me another. EHD - The Iowa DNR annually looks at the range and distribution of epizootic hemorrhagic disease in Iowa and around the Midwest. With the extreme drought we have all been experiencing this year people have been calling the office wondering how bad it was going to be. It appears that the drought and hot weather did not show a marked increase in most parts of the State. This may be because the drought happened early and many of the midges breeding areas were too dry. We did see an uptick in reports later in September. To date we have had about 230 suspect reported cases and a few confirmed cases (we do not test every animal submitted). Most counties reported only a small number of cases, however it does appear that southeast Iowa seems to be the area with the highest outbreak. EHD tends to show up in one area of the state at a time and it can be several years before it will show up in that area again due to some immunity build up in the whitetails.

Suspect HD Reports - 2023

Worth

Lyon

Osceola Dickinson Emmet

Kossuth Winnebago

Mitchell

Howard Winneshiek Allamakee

1

Sioux

O’Brien

Clay

Palo Alto

Hancock Cerro Gordo

1,876 Total Reports (11/24)

Floyd

Chickasaw

6

4

Fayette

Clayton

1 130

Plymouth

Cherokee Buena Vista Pocahontas Humboldt

Wright

Franklin

Butler

Bremer

2

3

6

6

2

Buchanan Delaware Dubuque

Black Hawk

Webster

Woodbury

Ida

Sac

Calhoun

Hamilton Hardin

Grundy

3

3

6

1

8

7

1

7

13

1

Benton

Linn

Jones

Jackson

Tama

9

Monona

Crawford

Carroll

Greene

Boone

Story

Marshall

7

4

9

7

15

3

1

5

6

2

Clinton

4

Cedar

Poweshiek

Iowa 69

Johnson

Harrison

Shelby Audubon Guthrie 4 34 50

Dallas

Polk

Jasper

13

9

24

44

2

22

3

Scott

1

Muscatine

10

Mahaska

Keokuk Washington

Pottawattamie

Cass 31

Adair

Madison Warren

Marion

11

13

47

24

9

55

129

2

Louisa

52

HD Reports 0 1-15

Mills

Montgomery Adams

Union

Clarke

Lucas

Monroe

Wapello Je erson

Henry

1

48

21

35

29

20

48

36

68 163

Des Moines

20

Freemont

Page

Taylor

Ringgold

Decatur

Wayne Appanoose

Davis

Van Buren

Lee

24 120 182

30

54

5

6

1

5

16-30 31-60 61+

22

The county mortality reports help serve as an index to outbreak intensity & do not represent a total mortality estimate.

18 IOWA BOWHUNTERS ASSOCIATION

www.iowabowhunters.org

DNR NEWS SPRING ISSUE (Cont.)

Here are a few important things to keep in mind about EHD: 1. EHD is not contagious to humans. In fact, EHD is not even contagious between deer. Instead, the disease is spread by biting insects known as midges, which are often found near water during the summer months. 2. EHD affects deer herds in cycles. EHD outbreaks occur in Iowa during the warmest months of late summer and early autumn. Hot, dry weather with little rain may increase the likelihood and severity of an EHD outbreak. While EHD is always present on the landscape at low levels, these major outbreaks only tend to occur every five or so years; therefore, it’s unlikely for a property to experience large die-offs every year. Remember that white tailed deer have high reproductive rates for a mammal their size, particularly in Iowa where resources are plentiful. This means that deer populations have the ability to recover, even after the most severe EHD outbreaks. 3. EHD is often fatal, but not always fatal. Studies suggest that EHD can be fatal for up to 90% of deer showing clinical signs of infection, but that mortality rarely exceeds 50% of a local deer population in a given season. On a lighter note, deer that survive an EHD infection can develop an immunity, which keeps them from becoming infected in future outbreaks. 4. EHD is a relatively new disease in Iowa. The first major outbreak in Iowa was only recorded in 2012. Deer in Iowa and surrounding states appear naive to EHD compared to states where the disease has a longer history, such as Texas or Florida. Midwestern and Great Plains deers may currently be more susceptible to die from EHD, but this may not always be the case.

Over time, deer with a greater resistance to the disease are more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass on their innate resistance to offspring. All this is to say that there’s reason for an optimistic outlook on the future of EHD in Iowa. New Fall regulation. If you have not noticed or maybe not bought your tag yet, there is a new requirement this fall. The Iowa DNR is requiring you to measure the main beam length of any bucks harvested this fall to help the deer biologist enhance the age structure component of his herd calculations. The back of your license will have a 7inch ruler on it to use when making this measurement. You will be asked when you register your deer for this measurement by category. There have been lots of people concerned about what this means but don’t read too deeply into it. The Iowa DNR and Iowa State University did some research a few years back that indicated this was a very accurate way of collecting some generic age structure data at a very low cost. If some of you remember many years ago you submitted teeth to the Iowa DNR for aging. This process is costly and time consuming. By reporting the age structure with this method the DNR will collect the same information but at a much lower cost. If you have additional questions please reach out. I always enjoy talking about Iowa’s forest wildlife species. I am available for your questions anytime. Contact me at james.coffey@dnr.iowa.gov or send your questions to the IBA editor and I will do my best to answer them.

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IOWA BOWHUNTERS ASSOCIATION

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FOR YOUR INFORMATION Membership Expiration Many people do not know when their IBA membership expires. To alleviate this a bit, the last time you renewed is shown following your name in the address section on the back of the particular issue.

LIFE MEMBERS

We have life member pins available upon request at no charge to you. We do not mail them out, but you can contact any board member and make arrangements to get one. It would be best to just come to a board meeting

(dates listed in the Iowa Bowhunter) and pick it up, but another arrangement would be fine also, it is shaped in a arrowhead and has IBA LIFE MEMBER printed on it.

If you are receiving The Iowa Bowhunter and not receiving IBA email updates from your board, please contact Randy Taylor at tayphoto@netins.net. IMPORTANT: UPDATE YOUR EMAIL CONTACT WITH IBA IOWA BOWHUNTER ELECTRONIC DELIVERY We need each one of our members help

As we try to find more efficient ways to deliver value to our members we recently began sending two of the yearly quarterly Iowa Bowhunter magazines by “fip book.” This electronic delivery of the Iowa Bowhunter is experiencing some problems and our board is working to resolve these issues. As always with electronic data, when there is one character incorrect, the whole thing is incorrect. Our first goal is to have current and accurate email and mailing addresses for all our members. Without accurate and current information, neither the electronic version or the paper version will be delivered accurately.

So we need EVERY MEMBER to send their current email address and also their mailing address to Corey Thorson. Send to Corey by email at ibabowhunters@ gmail.com or by US mail at 1648 Cordova Avenue, Pella, IA 50219. Make sure all information is accurate. If your email or address ever changes, you MUST send Corey an update. Please confirm this information as soon as possible. Anyone can always find the current newsletter, as well as past editions on our website by going to the home page, then select news, then select newsletter, then find the current pdf or simply click on the fip-book link.

20 IOWA BOWHUNTERS ASSOCIATION

www.iowabowhunters.org

FOR YOUR INFORMATION (Cont.)

Looking for a Few Good Men or Women

Are you at that stage in life that you have some time that you would like to volunteer and give back. Your kids have left the nest and you don’t have grandkids yet. Are you a dedicated Bowhunter that cares enough about our sport that you are willing to give up six days a year? The IBA is looking for a few good men or women to run for the board of directors. As in any organization, we need new people to introduce new ideas and stay current with the times to be successful, and also to continually improve the IBA organization. Your involvement helps to ensure that the hunting opportunities we enjoy now will continue for generations to come. The board meets five times a year and never during an archery season; after all we are bowhunters. Three of the meetings are held separately in Des Moines, one is in Des Moines during the FALL Banquet, and one is in Eldora during the Fall Festival. If you would like more information please contact one of the people to the right. Many people do not know when their IBA membership expires. To alleviate this a bit, the last time you renewed is shown following your name in the address section on the back of the particular issue.

Terry Koppes 641-858-7182 tmkoppes@heartofiowa.net

Randy Taylor 641-521-1050 tayphoto@netins.net

Denny Bradley 641-226-2584 bowhunterdb@gmail.com

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IOWA BOWHUNTERS ASSOCIATION

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NASP & YOUTH BOWHUNTER

Youth Scholarship Essay Contest The IBA will be offering a five hundred dollar scholarship to a youth, graduating senior of current year that is a member of the IBA. To earn this scholarship, you must write an essay not more than 500 words on at least two of the following topics, and include a photo of yourself. 1. What Bowhunting has taught me 2. What the IBA means to me 3. My most memorable experience with a bow These essays must be in the hands of your IBA President no later than July 5. Members of the IBA Board of Directors will judge them. This scholarship cannot be given to the same person more than once; and will be announced at the Fall Festival. This scholarship will be given when notice of college enrollment is provided to the IBA Treasurer; and the check will be written to the college. This essay must be in your own readable handwriting and not an electronic document. See the Board Member section of Bowhunter or the Website for your IBA President’s contact and address information. I would like to publish some of our youth’s stories, but haven’t received any for quite some time. Please send your stories to the editor (see page 2). They can be anything from hunting to NASP to helping put in a food Iowa’s National Archery in the School’s Program The National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) opens the door to the wonderful world of Archery to thousands of youth each year. NASP is a sport unlike anything else. Archers come in all shapes and sizes, there is no ideal physical makeup to be a great archer. This teaches kids that with enough practice and determination they too can achieve great accomplishments. In Iowa, we currently have 230 schools reporting participation in NASP. One thing NASP offers is called Academic Archers. No competition is required to be nominated as Academic Archer. As long as the archers meet their schools requirements for honor roll any BAI can nominate them. Academic Archers are eligible for prize bows from NASP as well as 1 of 8 scholarships given out by Iowa NASP. Last year Iowa ranked 6th nationally for most Academic Archers! If interested in bringing NASP to your local school please visit naspschools.org or shoot me an email at Zachary.benttine@dnr.iowa.gov. We have grants available each year for new schools to help with the costs of starting a new program! Thanks! Zach plot to anything you want. IBA Board of Directors

Zach Benttine Archery Education and Outreach Coordinator Law Enforcement Bureau Iowa Department of Natural Resources c 515-205-8709 502 E 9th St, Des Moines, IA 50319

www.iowadnr.gov

22 IOWA BOWHUNTERS ASSOCIATION

www.iowabowhunters.org

YOUTH BOWHUNTER

Cal Struchen NASP Scholarship Awards

2023 IBA Cal Struchen for Male Bullseye Scholarship winner is Mason Lind Valley High School. 2023 IBA Cal Struchen for Female Bullseye Scholarship winner is Alise Brockhaus Lawton Bronson High School. 2023 IBA Cal Struchen for Male 3D Scholarship winner is Alexander Shover Anamosa High School. 2023 IBA Cal Struchen for Female 3D Scholarship winner is Lilly Machart Anamosa High School.

Congratulations to all of the $500 scholarship winners.

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The IBA completes this purpose through the following:  By improving and increasing the opportunities for bowhunting.  By cooperating with and supporting federal and state agencies, sportsmen’s associations, and conservation organizations, which are insuring the propagation and preservation of game animals in their natural habitat.  By encouraging and conducting educational programs designed to acquaint the public and the archer with the safe and ethical use of bowhunting as an effective method of hunting legal game.  By supporting youth involvement in bowhunting through our continued support of the Iowa Archery in Schools Program. More information on our organization can be found at www.iowabowhunters.org or on Facebook at Iowa Bowhunters Association. Please consider joining our organization, and help us continue to protect, defend, and promote bowhunting and all our natural resources in this great state of Iowa for generations to come. WHAT IS THE I.B.A? The I.B.A. is a statewide association made up of bowhunters. Its purpose is to protect, defend, and promote bowhunting in the state of Iowa. HOW OLD IS THE I.B.A? The Iowa Bowhunters Association was organized in 1967 by a group of thirteen dedicated bowhunters from the state. This group, the original board of directors, had over fifty years of bowhunting experience. In addition, this group had many years of hunting big game and small game with firearms. IOWA BOWHUNTERS ASSOCIATION RELATED INFORMATION

The Iowa Bowhunters Association Mission

Statement. The IBA is a statewide association made up of bowhunters. Its purpose is to protect, defend, and promote the sport of archery and bowhunting for all legal game in Iowa using long bow, recurve, and compound bow equipment.

24 IOWA BOWHUNTERS ASSOCIATION

www.iowabowhunters.org

IOWA BOWHUNTERS ASSOCIATION RELATED INFORMATION IBA MEMBERSHIP DUES!!! $25.00 regular member 100% club members receive discounts for membership dues as long as all members belong - $23.00 (Now available - 1, 2 or 3 year memberships) Check Your Address Label For Membership Expiration Mail to: Corey Thorson, 1648 Cordova Ave., Pella, IA 50219 IBA MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION Name ____________________________________ Date_________________________ Address_ ______________________________________________________________ City _ ____________________________________State _ ______ Zip______________ Phone _ __________________E-mail_ ______________________________________ If current member, is this an address change?_ _______________ Card number of IBA member_____________________________________________ New Member_________ Renewal __________  1 year membership ($25)  2 year membership ($46)  3 year membership ($69)  Lifetime membership ($400) Total Amount Due_ _________________ Payment Method:  Cash  Check  Money Order  Visa  MasterCard 3 Digit Code_ ____________ Card Number_ ____________________________________________________ Expiration Date ___ / ___ Signature_ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Please detach form and send your dues to: IBA Treasurer , 1648 Cordova Avenue, Pella, Iowa, 50219 Help keep the tradition of bowhunting healthy for today and tomorrow. ALL ARE SINGLE/FAMILY MEMBERSHIPS

YOU CAN ALSO VISIT OUR WEBSITE AND USE OUR CONVENIENT ONLINE APPLICATION FEATURING

IBA Kiko Tovar Lifetime Achievement Award Past Recipients

Laverne Woock (one of founding fathers) Cal Struchen Grant Poindexter

Erv Wagner Ron Steege Craig Eckhardt Randy Taylor

Jim Coles Bill Stonebraker Travis Glidden

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