Unique opportunity in the Midwest

[Treeratslayer]

I currently live in WV, and my wife found out she may have an opportunity to spend 6 months in Marshalltown, Iowa for training with her job. I’m lucky enough to be self employed in lawncare, so my falls/winter are pretty flexible. She told them she’d be interested in going if it was that time of year.

Obviously my attention peaked at the chance to spend a hunting season in the Midwest. Then they were crushed when I learned Iowa is an archery draw state, and with 0 points, I have no chance at getting a tag.

I’m here for any advice anyone has to make this worth my time. I can drive to western Illinois, northern Missouri, or southern Wisconsin, all about 2 hours.

I’m not looking for your honey hole. I’ll do the research on a spot. I just need help with the logistics of actually getting a tag. Obviously rifle seasons are an option too, and looks like I could maybe get an Iowa rifle tag. Just looking for bow options.


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[NRA4LIFE]

Archery is OTC in MO and WI. I have property you could hunt in NE MO, it may be a bit far. It is near Mark Twain Lake. I could also point you to a wildlife area that would be a bit closer that I used to hunt. Also maybe a bit far but the Meadow Valley Wildlife area north of Tomah in WI has tons of public land. Also, crossbows are legal in both MO and WI.

 

[Lytro]

I currently live in WV, and my wife found out she may have an opportunity to spend 6 months in Marshalltown, Iowa for training with her job. I’m lucky enough to be self employed in lawncare, so my falls/winter are pretty flexible. She told them she’d be interested in going if it was that time of year.

Obviously my attention peaked at the chance to spend a hunting season in the Midwest. Then they were crushed when I learned Iowa is an archery draw state, and with 0 points, I have no chance at getting a tag.

I’m here for any advice anyone has to make this worth my time. I can drive to western Illinois, northern Missouri, or southern Wisconsin, all about 2 hours.

I’m not looking for your honey hole. I’ll do the research on a spot. I just need help with the logistics of actually getting a tag. Obviously rifle seasons are an option too, and looks like I could maybe get an Iowa rifle tag. Just looking for bow options.


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NE is an OTC option and likely has more public land than all the other states you mentioned.

 

[Treeratslayer]

Archery is OTC in MO and WI. I have property you could hunt in NE MO, it may be a bit far. It is near Mark Twain Lake. I could also point you to a wildlife area that would be a bit closer that I used to hunt. Also maybe a bit far but the Meadow Valley Wildlife area north of Tomah in WI has tons of public land. Also, crossbows are legal in both MO and WI.

Awesome! Thanks! I’ll look into them and stay in touch if all works out. It’s still up in the air if we’re really going or not, but I’m trying to get my ducks in a row just Incase it works out.


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[Treeratslayer]

NE is an OTC option and likely has more public land than all the other states you mentioned.

I actually have family there with land. It’s just a bit more of a drive than I was hoping for. I may resort to that if I don’t find anything else though


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[Szwampdonkey]

Ive hunted SE WI public for 35 years and am finally throwing in the towel after this season. My son and I are planning on traveling someplace else next year for Archery Whitetail as the pressure on public land in southern WI has just reached a level i can no longer accept.

Most Southern WI public is under 1000 acres, some are bigger, all are surrounded by multiple access points around the perimeter on all four sides which makes it pretty difficult to "outwalk people" or get away from pressure as youre just going to run into guys coming in from the other side. If youre not having guys actively bumping you or setting up 40 yards from you youre constantly running into cell cams and illegal treestands. Opener of archery this year we drove around a property we used to love hunting and counted 27 vehicles spread out over 4 gravel parking lots. This is a 1500 acre property with people coming in from all 4 sides to hunt as far in as they can get from where they parked so you can imagine how it feels in there with 27 trucks surrounding it. Add in the dog walkers and hikers from the overpopulated suburban towns that have grown to small cities and the hunting has just gone south.

Its gotten worse every single year, adding extra seasons and adding crossguns to the regular archery season has accelerated the decline. This year i thought maybe it was the nice weather in Sept that brought so many out and it would slow as the season wore on but the pressure never let up. I havent touched my bow or entered the woods since the first week of November.
I know this sounds dismal, or even as if im trying to dissuade you from coming for my own reasons but i assure you if you do hunt Southern WI youll think of this post and just think to yourself "yep, that dude on Rokslide wasnt joking".

 

[Laramie]

NE is an OTC option and likely has more public land than all the other states you mentioned.

Nebraska is OTC but it has the third least amount of public land out of the 50 US states. The majority of what little public there is is in the western half of the state and it gets way overhunted every year. Not sure why you would recommend this state? Nebraska has a measly 800,000 acreas compared to your state's 5,000,000 acres.

 

[Lytro]

Nebraska is OTC but it has the third least amount of public land out of the 50 US states. The majority of what little public there is is in the western half of the state and it gets way overhunted every year. Not sure why you would recommend this state? Nebraska has a measly 800,000 acreas compared to your state's 5,000,000 acres.

I was really only comparing it to WI and IL since he was debating those two states. I grew up in WI and would never recommend someone going there to do a NR archery hunt on public.

SD is no longer OTC, so I didn’t recommend coming here. I also don’t think the public land whitetail hunting is any good here outside of the Hills, which tends to have smaller deer. I’ve killed bigger whitetails in western NE than I have here. The locals seemed to only hunt mule deer in the areas I archery hunted in NE and I never seemed to run into many other hunters, other than pheasant hunters. Plus the cheap season choice antlerless tags are an added bonus.

 

[Treeratslayer]

Ive hunted SE WI public for 35 years and am finally throwing in the towel after this season. My son and I are planning on traveling someplace else next year for Archery Whitetail as the pressure on public land in southern WI has just reached a level i can no longer accept.

Most Southern WI public is under 1000 acres, some are bigger, all are surrounded by multiple access points around the perimeter on all four sides which makes it pretty difficult to "outwalk people" or get away from pressure as youre just going to run into guys coming in from the other side. If youre not having guys actively bumping you or setting up 40 yards from you youre constantly running into cell cams and illegal treestands. Opener of archery this year we drove around a property we used to love hunting and counted 27 vehicles spread out over 4 gravel parking lots. This is a 1500 acre property with people coming in from all 4 sides to hunt as far in as they can get from where they parked so you can imagine how it feels in there with 27 trucks surrounding it. Add in the dog walkers and hikers from the overpopulated suburban towns that have grown to small cities and the hunting has just gone south.

Its gotten worse every single year, adding extra seasons and adding crossguns to the regular archery season has accelerated the decline. This year i thought maybe it was the nice weather in Sept that brought so many out and it would slow as the season wore on but the pressure never let up. I havent touched my bow or entered the woods since the first week of November.
I know this sounds dismal, or even as if im trying to dissuade you from coming for my own reasons but i assure you if you do hunt Southern WI youll think of this post and just think to yourself "yep, that dude on Rokslide wasnt joking".

I actually noticed this with WI just looking at the options on OnX. I thought “boy. Not very many big chunks. Would be hard to get back in further than most people”. So doesn’t surprise me to hear you say this, sadly.


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[Treeratslayer]

Nebraska is OTC but it has the third least amount of public land out of the 50 US states. The majority of what little public there is is in the western half of the state and it gets way overhunted every year. Not sure why you would recommend this state? Nebraska has a measly 800,000 acreas compared to your state's 5,000,000 acres.

Luckily I have access to private. It’s just do I want to drive that far.


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[NE Herd Bull]

The OP has stated that he is not really considering Nebraska, but I want to clear up the statements made on Nonresident tag availability in my fair state.

Drastic changes in the NR tag allotment for Nebraska started in 2023
As I interpret the 2023 NE Big Game Guide
-NR Archery only tags limited to 3,000 and is draw only (whitetail only...no muledeer on this tag for NR)
-NR Muzzleloader tag quota of 1,000 (whitetail only...no muledeer on this tag for anyone including residents)
-All other NR deer permits limited to 15% of total allotment and are essentially draw tags (unless they do not sell out in draw)
-10,000 cap on all combined NR tags (including antlerless tags)

Sorry guys and gals
I try to hunt several states myself each year, so I can completely understand all frustration with NR tag systems.

 

[Szwampdonkey]

I actually noticed this with WI just looking at the options on OnX. I thought “boy. Not very many big chunks. Would be hard to get back in further than most people”. So doesn’t surprise me to hear you say this, sadly.


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Yeah, doing your homework i see. It is sad.

Maybe the pressure will cycle back down one day idk. A guy can hope but until that happens we are expanding out next year.

 

[TSAMP]

Iowa has some great small game opportunities. Lots of big fox squrriel. Decent pheasant populations. Both of which you could hunt.

 

[Lytro]

The OP has stated that he is not really considering Nebraska, but I want to clear up the statements made on Nonresident tag availability in my fair state.

Drastic changes in the NR tag allotment for Nebraska started in 2023
As I interpret the 2023 NE Big Game Guide
-NR Archery only tags limited to 3,000 and is draw only (whitetail only...no muledeer on this tag for NR)
-NR Muzzleloader tag quota of 1,000 (whitetail only...no muledeer on this tag for anyone including residents)
-All other NR deer permits limited to 15% of total allotment and are essentially draw tags (unless they do not sell out in draw)
-10,000 cap on all combined NR tags (including antlerless tags)

Sorry guys and gals
I try to hunt several states myself each year, so I can completely understand all frustration with NR tag systems.

Thanks for sharing. I haven't hunted NE the last 2 years, but did notice some changes to tag allocations last year in the area I used to hunt. It's certainly a good move that should show positive results in coming years.

 

[theddguide]

The trick to hunting public in Wisconsin is hunting next to private and wait for them to pass through. In regards to Meadow Valley Wildlife Area, I would avoid it at all costs unless you like hiking a long ways through flat swamp for 110in bucks. Not saying a guy couldn't get lucky and shoot a 140, but the real monsters are highly unlikely to be found there. So many better options in the southern and southwest parts of the state than that place. Find the hills in the south and private/public boundaries and set up on pinch points and major trails.

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[NRA4LIFE]

BS Lots of high ground in there. Got a pic 2 days ago of an absolute monster that came out of there. Easy 150, maybe more.

 

[WiscoHoundsman]

I hunt private land in SW Wisconsin but know of a few places that would be okay to hunt. They are not big chunks of woods but people get deer there every year. There will be some people in there but if you were to avoid weekends it may not be bad. It would mostly be wooded areas. Also there is MFL and FCL land that is open to hunting I believe unless the programs ended.

 

[Treeratslayer]

The OP has stated that he is not really considering Nebraska, but I want to clear up the statements made on Nonresident tag availability in my fair state.

Drastic changes in the NR tag allotment for Nebraska started in 2023
As I interpret the 2023 NE Big Game Guide
-NR Archery only tags limited to 3,000 and is draw only (whitetail only...no muledeer on this tag for NR)
-NR Muzzleloader tag quota of 1,000 (whitetail only...no muledeer on this tag for anyone including residents)
-All other NR deer permits limited to 15% of total allotment and are essentially draw tags (unless they do not sell out in draw)
-10,000 cap on all combined NR tags (including antlerless tags)

Sorry guys and gals
I try to hunt several states myself each year, so I can completely understand all frustration with NR tag systems.

Wow! This sucks. I was just telling my wife if we do this, I’d consider a trip to Nebraska to see family and hunt a few days. Looks like maybe not so…


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[Treeratslayer]

Iowa has some great small game opportunities. Lots of big fox squrriel. Decent pheasant populations. Both of which you could hunt.

I’m a big fan of squirrels! Hence my user name lol also don’t mind kicking brush piles for birds. I own to GSPs but they’re just spoiled brats. Not enough birds here to waste time training them shamefully


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[Treeratslayer]

The trick to hunting public in Wisconsin is hunting next to private and wait for them to pass through. In regards to Meadow Valley Wildlife Area, I would avoid it at all costs unless you like hiking a long ways through flat swamp for 110in bucks. Not saying a guy couldn't get lucky and shoot a 140, but the real monsters are highly unlikely to be found there. So many better options in the southern and southwest parts of the state than that place. Find the hills in the south and private/public boundaries and set up on pinch points and major trails.

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Appreciate the advice! I can shoot 110s here at home, not that I’m much of a horn chaser, but if I’m going to all this trouble, he better be nicer than what I have outside right now!


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