I have 3 points going into the Iowa draw this year and am considering putting for a archery tag after I failed to draw a couple other things. This is a last minute decision so I am a little behind on my research. Plus a place I had to hunt was recently sold. I was told I should stick to the south east since the south west has experienced a die off due the end. Any help would be appreciated
Anywhere in the southern 1/3 of the state and in the northeast should be good. Some areas got hit harder than others by EHD a few years back but most areas should have recovered by now. In general, any area that has decent cover and does not get pounded by the gun hunters will have good deer hunting.
Here in NW Iowa, out of staters are under the impression that there is a Pope and Young buck hiding behind every tree. Just last 4th of July in my home town, a guy from Michigan was telling people there, that in Michigan one can go a life time and never even see a Pope and Young buck, so that was why he was moving to his inlaw's town. According to him, he saw 12 of them just going to town from his inlaw's place and riding around the river area 20 miles away, he saw more giant bucks than he could count. I know where his in-laws live, it is only 4 miles out. There is nothing but corn and beans from there to town and it is doing good if it has any deer at all, there is no other cover for miles. I hope not everyone from Michigan is as full of BS as he was. Hunting in NW Iowa is difficult, unless you have a relative that owns some river land with a good mix of woods on it. or have a few thousand dollars to spend every year on a lease.
I'd guess the southern two tiers of counties. The NE has tremendous pressure from shotgun seasons.
Are you willing to pay? Good places in Iowa aren't cheap. But get on the right place and it can be incredible. Check the draw stats for last year too. If I remember right there are some units that even 3 points doesn't guarantee a tag.
Its true we have some nice deer hear, not a record book buck behind every tree though. I've been fortunate in taking some nice bucks over the years. I don't see as many as I use to. Good ground to hunt is hard to come by even for us locals. I'm left with a fraction of what was avaviable to me a few years ago. Big money has taken over. You can still find some who allow hunting if asked. Knock on doors. First impressions are key, make the most of it. There are some descent public areas around. I live in the south eastern part. Check the DNR site for places to hunt. Most have state parks near by where you can camp, some offer cabins. Missouri to our south is often over looked. They have some descent hunting there as well.
Must have a deer proof fence along our southern border huh?
Missouri does have their gun season during the rut, which hurts the quality of bucks some, or so I've been told. Tags are a lot easier to come by and less expensive. Coming from Iowa I think if I was look for trophy deer out of state I'd be looking at Kansas, Kentucky, and Missouri. I hunted North Dakota a few years back and seen more deer in a week than I see in a season here at home. The white tales seemed to be close to the river bottoms. We seen numerous P&Y bucks nothing huge but just a lot of deer.
On the NW public lands some days the hunters out number the deer 3 to 1, but the tree stands outnumber the hunters about 5 to 1. Do ladder stands attract lightening? Seems like it. Some of the best places to hunt on Iowa public land is where there is brush and no trees to put up a tree stand. Iowa hunters think they pattern deer, but the reverse is more true, Iowa deer pattern hunters.
Well I am willing to pay a trespass or lease fee if needed. I'm klooking for a quality buck of 140 or better. I can kill a 130 deer most years here in Maryland
Guess I better make a decision soon
Around here even if you wanted to pay big money, the rented land is not often available. Much of the real good wooded river hills are sold off into small parcels. On google earth by zooming in one can see the lanes and cabins in the wooded areas. So one gets on any of that land, except the owners of the parcels.
Its pretty dismal in the part of zone 5 where Dad's farm is right now. Even on good private ground the chance of killing a legit 140-150 inch buck in a week is pretty low right in that neighborhood at least. All the NR's come in dreaming of 150's and go home with 120's the last few years. EHD still is affecting some areas really bad from successive die offs. I wouldn't go to SE Iowa right now unless I had confirmed access to some really good ground and 3 weeks to hunt. I'm only buying preference points, as I drew last year, so I don't have a dog in this hunt. The buck I killed last year was 5 1/2 yrs old, but wouldn't have legit scored 130.....I knew what I was shooting and I don't care about score. Plus I got set up by a guy that knows whitetail pretty good, and lives there... if you are into scoring, setting your bar over 140 net and sticking to that won't be a cinch.
R