Comparing Minnesota and Iowa

The following article was written by Gary Clancy and is reprinted with permission from Gary Clancy and Outdoor News.

Tim Spielman's piece in the July 23 issue of Outdoor News quickly caught my eye. “Iowa, Minnesota to study deer hunting differences” the headline read. If I weren't so fat and lazy I would have jumped up out of my Archie Bunker chair and shouted “hooray!” All I can say is, “It’s about time!”

I am one of those who long has been disappointed with the deer hunting opportunities in my home state. It is disturbing to me that a state with such potential has allowed the status quo to be good enough. Now don't get me wrong, Minnesota has good deer hunting opportunities when compared with many states. But the quality of our deer herd does not reflect the habitat and the genetics we have to work with here in Minnesota. That is why I am so excited to learn that DNR big game specialist, Lou Cornicelli, is going to compare deer hunting in Iowa with deer hunting in Minnesota.

When I first met Cornicelli and heard him speak on his vision for big game opportunities in Minnesota, I liked what I heard and felt that the man doing the speaking was enthusiastic enough about his job to get it done. This latest announcement just reinforces that belief. Comparing the deer hunting in units 347, 348 and 349 (southeast Minnesota) with that in Allamakee, Winneshiek and Howard counties in northeast Iowa is a step that makes sense. Terrain and habitat are very similar in the two areas. Genetics are the same. Winterkill is not a significant issue in either area. But Iowa has the more balanced herd. When you have balance within the deer herd, you naturally have more mature bucks. Iowa has never intentionally strived to produce more mature bucks. Instead, decent numbers of mature bucks are a byproduct of good herd management. We can do the same in Minnesota.

I suspect that when the study ends, Cornicelli and his staff will find that the difference in season structure between the two states is the major determining factor when it comes to herd composition. Certainly, there will be other differences, but I doubt that any will have the impact of season structure. I cannot think of one state that holds the general firearms season during the rut (like Minnesota), that produces good numbers of mature bucks.

When hunters talk big bucks, the states mentioned most often are Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, and Wisconsin, usually, in that order. The first two, Iowa and Kansas, have December gun seasons. Illinois and Wisconsin kick off their gun seasons late enough in November that the rut is over or nearly over.

One hunter’s experience is not conclusive evidence I know, but my own experience with having hunted in southeast Minnesota for more than 30 years, and northeast Iowa for several seasons is, I believe, a valid comparison. In all of the years I have bowhunted in southeast Minnesota I have never taken a buck with antlers large enough to qualify for inclusion in the Pope and Young record book. Personally, having my name in “the book” is not important to me, but we can use the P&Y scoring system as a yardstick.

During the first five years that Iowa was open to nonresident hunters, I was fortunate enough to draw three non-resident archery deer tags for northeast Iowa. I drove down from our home in Byron, knocked on doors in the Cresco, Iowa, area and soon had four or five farms to hunt. I scouted, hung my stands and when the rut kicked into gear in November I headed for those stands. All three years I killed bucks with antlers large enough to easily qualify for the Pope and Young record book. Did I just get lucky in Iowa while my luck remained bad in Minnesota? No. The difference was that in Iowa I had numbers of mature bucks to work with. In Minnesota I did not. In fact, most seasons here in my home state, I do not even see a mature buck. Sour grapes? I don’t think so. I’m Minnesota born-and-bred. I’ll continue to hunt here and hunt hard, no matter what the outcome of this study. But I travel a lot to hunt deer. So far, I have hunted whitetail deer in 20 different states and Canadian provinces. When I compare the potential we have in southeast Minnesota with what I see in other places, I know that with some tweaking of the season structure, we could enjoy deer hunting to rival anything to be found anywhere in the country. With Lou Cornicelli at the helm, and Bluffland Whitetail Association on the rudder, this ship is finally headed in the right direction. Here¹s hoping it stays on course.