Iowa non-resident hunting experiences

[psp8ball]

I am planning on buying a preference point this year for Iowa deer hunting. I was just curious as to what other out of state hunters experiences have been hunting Iowa. I would love to gain some insights from those who have done it. If you hunted public land vs private. How you obtained permission. Number or deer, size of deer, time of year.

It will be 3 years before I get drawn, but I'm thinking the most likely scenario is me hunting Iowa with a bow during Wisconsin's rifle season. Or after I fill my Wisconsin bow tag, whichever comes first.

I ask now, because if all I hear is how you need to hunt private, that gives me ample time to pursue that avenue.

Thanks!

 

[huntstrong2850]

I am planning on buying a preference point this year for Iowa deer hunting. I was just curious as to what other out of state hunters experiences have been hunting Iowa. I would love to gain some insights from those who have done it. If you hunted public land vs private. How you obtained permission. Number or deer, size of deer, time of year.

It will be 3 years before I get drawn, but I'm thinking the most likely scenario is me hunting Iowa with a bow during Wisconsin's rifle season. Or after I fill my Wisconsin bow tag, whichever comes first.

I ask now, because if all I hear is how you need to hunt private, that gives me ample time to pursue that avenue.

Thanks!

I haven’t been yet I have the points just hasn’t been a good time yet to go personally. However my buddy twice now has went and hunted public land, he took a scouting trip a few times over the course of buying points, hung cameras the year he was planning to draw (he had 5+ points) so he knew he was drawing that year. He has now managed one over 155” and last year over 180” both on public land in Iowa. It’s just like any other Hunt you’ll ever take out of state, go in blind you’ll likely come out empty handed, put some work into it hang some cameras go on a shed hunt for that area you choose and you’ll greatly improve your odds.


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[Glendon Mullins]

I just bought my first point for Iowa this year, so I would like to hear experiences too

 

[Trial153]

I have bowhunted Iowa twice. Good hunts both times, mostly private ground.
I most likely going to draw a tag this year as I am really close to securing some access.

 

[Iowaguy]

If anyone would like tips or where to please ask. I grew up and live in Southern Iowa and going out west for the first time I under stand what local help means. Attached is last falls buck.

 

[SneakyThunderCat]

There are nice bucks all over Iowa, you can kill a booner anywhere in the state. Super high deer density in southern Iowa and great bucks all over if you look hard enough. Private permission will be hard to come by south, just from my experiences. Public land is public land, but I would never let that fact stop you from going hunting. If you hunt on a weekday you'll distance yourself from those lovely weekend warriors and see a lot less pressure. Hunt hard and don't be afraid to be mobile during the rut and there is a good chance you'll kill a respectable buck.

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[Fishmaster196]

I hunted 1 time in Iowa. It was on private land and ended up with a 142inch 4x5. I saw a few others that were shooters and 1 that was probably a booner. Just not close enough for a bow shot.

 

[FLS]

I hunt SW Iowa near Red Oak. Used to get to hunt ( archery) every other year. Now it’s about every 4th.

 

[Wiscohunter]

I hunted unit 5 several years and always had great hunts on private land. I always saw several P&y bucks and overall hunting pressure was much lighter than my home state.

However, talking to guys at the motel who were hunting the area public made me think public land in Iowa is still tough hunting. Much like Wisconsin, most of them shot 2 year old bucks or ate their tag waiting for a big one. As others have stated, you will need to do your Homework if you are planning to go the public land route.

You can PM me with specific questions about where I was hunting, etc.

 

[Btaylor]

If anyone would like tips or where to please ask. I grew up and live in Southern Iowa and going out west for the first time I under stand what local help means. Attached is last falls buck.

Why did you shoot a yearlin?

 

[TheGreek]

Just bought my second point, hoping to have a good archery hunt in a few more years. Will plan on hunting public and getting over to scout as much as possible from Illinois.

 

[tgus59]

I'm an Iowa resident and have hunted a lot of different regions of the state. I've mostly hunted private land, but have killed some public land deer too. If you put in the time scouting, and hunt hard, you have a good chance at an encounter with a mature buck. November 10th is my favorite day to be in the stand, so I'd try to plan your trip with that day in the middle.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions and I'll be happy to share what I can.

 

[Mosby]

I try to hunt Iowa most years. I like to hunt turkey in the spring and pheasant in the fall. I will hunt the same area for deer, when I go. I have a couple of preference points for deer but saving them. I normally hunt on small tracts of public land and have seen some great bucks.

 

[Tony Trietch]

I have spent a lot of time in Southern Iowa but not on public land. There are giant bucks in every county that I have ever hunted or shed hunted. The public land I have hunted close to didn't get that much pressure or at least not what I expected. Knocking on doors is tough is southern Iowa, no exp in Northern half of state.

 

[MallardSX2]

I currently have three points. I plan to do an extended turkey hunt in Zone 6 next spring. Hopefully I figure something out while I am there.

 

[psp8ball]

Thanks everyone for your responses! Especially those who PM'ed. A few quick tips and info for someone in my situation goes so much farther than looking at statistics and maps.

 

[Iowaguy]

I just bought my first point for Iowa this year, so I would like to hear experiences too

Is there any type info you are looking for? I'll do my best to answer questions.

 

[Iowaguy]

There are nice bucks all over Iowa, you can kill a booner anywhere in the state. Super high deer density in southern Iowa and great bucks all over if you look hard enough. Private permission will be hard to come by south, just from my experiences. Public land is public land, but I would never let that fact stop you from going hunting. If you hunt on a weekday you'll distance yourself from those lovely weekend warriors and see a lot less pressure. Hunt hard and don't be afraid to be mobile during the rut and there is a good chance you'll kill a respectable buck.

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Nice deer! Good info!

 

[cbarrie]

There’s tons on deer. In 2017 Iowa hunters harvested just a little over 100,000 deer. There good sized bucks all over the state. Your biggest problem is going to be finding a place to hunt. There’s very little public land so you need to get permission. That is the hardest part of it all. From my experience Iowa residents Met out of staters with a little hostility. They said your from the west why don’t you hunt elk out there. The only reason I have places to hunt is because I married a girl from Iowa who has family friends with land to hunt on. There is public land but it gets hit HARD throughout the bow season. But there are bucks there. You just need to figure out where they wanna be and get a tree stand and be prepared to sit for 15+ hours a day for a week to see the buck you want.

 

[TBurroughs]

We went on public in zone 5 last year. Saw tons of bucks, and two of the three of us shot bucks. Not a ton of pressure, but there were quite a few other hunters on the public piece we hit, but most everyone was willing to make sure we were hunting different areas if we happened to run into them at the parking area. I personally never saw a mature buck within bow range, but the other two hunters both got shots at mature deer. We were there for two and a half weeks, from nov. 2 till the 21st, and spent the first few days scouting to make sure we were in the right area to accommodate three guys hunting multiple stand sites for each of us.
It was an absolute blast, and we’ve all put in for points to go again. Only thing I will say about zone 5 is that it’s all about finding multiple spots, and getting there early on the weekends. Several times we had to go to plan B in the afternoon as other guys filtered into spots we hadn’t seen people in all week. The taxidermist we used said that as good as zone 5 was, he absolutely wouldn’t hunt public there, and thought zone 4 was as good or better on public, but zone 5 private was better in his opinion. Said it took him a few years to get a lease on private that was worth it, but the proof was on the wall that it was indeed.
We ran into a couple guys from Wisconsin who had hunted a public area well known for trophy deer, and they said the pressure on that piece was just crazy, however, the taxidermist had a couple deer from that very area hanging up, and it was all locals who had taken them, so the locals hunt it as much or more than the non residents. I will say most of the hunters we encountered were Iowa residents, but It did seem that most of the non resident hunters staying in the same campground we were at were all hunting public, just not the same piece we were on. Expect all the really great spots to have a permanent stand, though it may not get hunted until gun season. Still an amazing experience where we all saw a ton of deer, and all experienced things you just don’t see in Vermont.