Iowa Bow Hunt

[Guff]

Just bought my third preference point for Iowa this year. Plan is to buy again next year and then hope to draw in 2023. I have a few different areas I am looking at already. If anyone would be willing to offer me any help on this hunt shoot me a PM please. I am not asking for your spots but just trying to educate myself as good as I can before the time comes. With it taking so long to draw as a NR this will probably be a one and done for me. Thanks in advance to anyone that might be willing to lend some assistance.

 

[TheGreek]

I just bought my fourth point and hope to draw one of the southern unit tags in 2022 if scheduling allows. My advice would be to draw a spring turkey tag (they're expensive) and do a spring turkey/scouting trip to scout some of the properties in the unit you are planning on drawing so you'll have boots on the ground prior to your hunt. Or at least do a scouting trip in late winter/early spring without a turkey tag.

 

[Deerhunter6250]

I'd plan on coming Nov 8 through the 15th. Best rut dates. What county are you looking at. I would buy a Iowa sportsmans atlas and look for public land in that county. Pick one or 2 spots scout for tree stand locations with different winds and hunt. Don't expect a monster. They are not as plentiful as people believe, but there are quite a few nice ones.

 

[tradTimeRadTime]

Iowa resident. The southern part of the state is what's famous for big bucks, if also has the least amount of good solid public land. If you want to hunt there I'd so some scouting trips the spring before you hope to draw and knock on some doors. I've known plenty of guys to get on for archery season by bringing cheese, meats, or other gifts (I'd avoid alcohol) or just offering to pay cash. If you want good public land the central and eastern parts of the state have good public land and plenty of deer. North western is good too for good public land. Expect to run into some pressure but it's not combat bow hunting by any means. Also, please remember that you're in Iowa, the friendliest state on the face of God's green earth, give folks the benefit of the doubt and dont throw out what other hunters say. It's pretty common for folks to give an honest report of what they saw that day if you ask and I've met a handful of strangers that will give up there B or C list spots to a nice enough guy from our of town.

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Guff]

Like a couple of you stated, I plan on coming up and turkey hunting the spring before. Thanks for the help.

 

[Rutjunkie]

Scout alot of properties, u will be suprised at how one will be a dud and the next will be tore up. Like any state, most private is better than public.

 

[EastTNboy]

I plan on turkey hunting the spring before i go as well.

 

[deerhunt1988]

4 points for an archery tag in south Iowa is no longer a sure thing. Just got my unsuccessful e-mail!

 

[Brian Fahs]

4 points for an archery tag in south Iowa is no longer a sure thing. Just got my unsuccessful e-mail!

That just sucks

 

[Whip]

Unsuccessful with four points for our group of 3 as well. In past years quite a few people with 3 points drew.

 

[Jean]

It's crazy some of you guys that have 4 points didn't get drawn. I've currently have 3 and I too will be looking along with the other guys in our group to hunt it in the future. I'm guessing 5 or 6 point to start to apply maybe? By the looks of it eastern part may be what we are looking for.

 

[SneakyThunderCat]

Resident here. I agree with what was mentioned above. Public seems to get pretty crowded the first part of November. I wouldn't bank on gaining access to private, it can be tough (especially south) but you might get lucky. There are big deer in every part of the state, but South/SE seems to have the most of them. There are great deer shot on public every year. Don't overlook the small tracts of public. Not sure where you're planning on hunting, but I've hunted a few different parts of the state. Feel free to shoot me a message if you run into any ?'s down the road.

 

[Dr. Zeus]

I hunt in west central iowa.. not to many vehicles in public here until shotgun starts.. other than that you might see a few here and there but nothing like what's stated above.

Sent from my SM-G981V using Tapatalk

 

[joel_sledz]

How does the Iowa draw system work?? Do they average points when you apply as a party or take the lowest point holder?

 

[WI Shedhead]

Lowest point holder

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Iowa Resident been chasing whitetails with bow for 25 years in West Central Iowa- Carroll and Guthrie Counties.

I disagree with the previous statement about coming here from 11/8-11/15, especially for a bucket list hunt. In this part of the state in my experience you will be fighting lock down and seeing very few mature bucks. Depending on the weather, the does may have the big boys out of home areas and out of the woods making them even more difficult to locate. During this time you can be just as likely to jump one on a fence row or out of switch grass as having him walk by your stand. They can be very dispersed at this time unless we get several days of cold weather or ideally some snow to get the does to hole up in the woods and heavier cover. My trail cameras have proven this behavior for the last several years. I have the same mature bucks on camera regulary until about 10/29 or 10/30 and then they become far less frequent visitors as rubs and scrapes are abandoned for seeking/chasing.

I much prefer the last week of October and the first week of November for patterning and calling mature bucks as they transition from fall pastures to pre-rut and eventually peak rut (usually landing around 11/7 or 11/8). During the peak and peak breeding you may see a lot of deer, but they are far less predictable and less likely to respond to rattle/grunt/bleat. I have taken all of my biggest archery bucks during two periods from 10/25-11/7 and then from 11/20-11/30.

As far as where to hunt, here is a link to the real time harvest report.
https://gooutdoorsiowa.com/RealTimeHarvestReport.aspx
Begin your search by selecting counties with the highest harvest numbers as this generally indicates counties with the largest populations of deer. Northeast and Southeast Iowa are the perennial powerhouses, but there are several counties in the southern two tiers of counties with good deer hunting as well as some of the counties bordering the Missouri River. That being said, don't overlook some of the central Iowa counties that are in the Des Moines, South Raccoon, Middle Raccon, North Raccoon, and Skunk river basins. There are farm fields adjacent to these river valleys, and they're sprinkled with timbers and wood lots that provide cover and means of escape during the gun seasons.

After you've narrowed to the top 10 list of counties, go to the public hunting atlas to identify places in those counties with access. Here is a link to the atlas:
https://www.iowadnr.gov/Hunting/Places-to-Hunt-Shoot

Best of luck to you!

 

[CivilTrapShot]

Iowa Resident been chasing whitetails with bow for 25 years in West Central Iowa- Carroll and Guthrie Counties.

I disagree with the previous statement about coming here from 11/8-11/15, especially for a bucket list hunt. In this part of the state in my experience you will be fighting lock down and seeing very few mature bucks. Depending on the weather, the does may have the big boys out of home areas and out of the woods making them even more difficult to locate. During this time you can be just as likely to jump one on a fence row or out of switch grass as having him walk by your stand. They can be very dispersed at this time unless we get several days of cold weather or ideally some snow to get the does to hole up in the woods and heavier cover. My trail cameras have proven this behavior for the last several years. I have the same mature bucks on camera regulary until about 10/29 or 10/30 and then they become far less frequent visitors as rubs and scrapes are abandoned for seeking/chasing.

I much prefer the last week of October and the first week of November for patterning and calling mature bucks as they transition from fall pastures to pre-rut and eventually peak rut (usually landing around 11/7 or 11/8). During the peak and peak breeding you may see a lot of deer, but they are far less predictable and less likely to respond to rattle/grunt/bleat. I have taken all of my biggest archery bucks during two periods from 10/25-11/7 and then from 11/20-11/30.

As far as where to hunt, here is a link to the real time harvest report.
https://gooutdoorsiowa.com/RealTimeHarvestReport.aspx
Begin your search by selecting counties with the highest harvest numbers as this generally indicates counties with the largest populations of deer. Northeast and Southeast Iowa are the perennial powerhouses, but there are several counties in the southern two tiers of counties with good deer hunting as well as some of the counties bordering the Missouri River. That being said, don't overlook some of the central Iowa counties that are in the Des Moines, South Raccoon, Middle Raccon, North Raccoon, and Skunk river basins. There are farm fields adjacent to these river valleys, and they're sprinkled with timbers and wood lots that provide cover and means of escape during the gun seasons.

After you've narrowed to the top 10 list of counties, go to the public hunting atlas to identify places in those counties with access. Here is a link to the atlas:
https://www.iowadnr.gov/Hunting/Places-to-Hunt-Shoot

Best of luck to you!

I concur with everything jjohnson has written here about timing and when to be in the treestand for your best opportunity at a mature buck. Our trail cams tell a similar tale. Last week in Oct up to about Nov 7-8th has always been great action for us in SE Iowa. By about Nov 15th-16th things start heating back up and is usually when we'll see big bucks alone and on the move in the middle of the day looking for any remaining does that haven't been bred.

OP I saw you said you'll be coming to IA to do some spring turkey hunting and do some scouting which is great. If you wanted to cover some serious ground on locations you've got your eye on in a few day's time, I might suggest coming in late Feb or March and do some scouting while shed hunting if you wanted to forgo the turkey tag. Trails are easier to find and nothing is growing yet. Great time to get a lay of the land and also find pinch points and travel corridors for when the rut rolls around the next year.