Iowa public ground

[Clj]

I realize this topic comes up quite often but I thought I would post anyway. I've been sitting on 4 preference points for a couple years. Planning on taking the recurve up and hunting Iowa public ground this fall. I'll be driving up from Springfield, Mo to hunt and currently plan on putting in for zone 4 or 5. Going up to check out a few places in the spring. Just hoping to narrow the search down a bit as I'm a little pressed for time (busy work schedule and a one year old daughter that keeps us busy the rest of the time). If anyone has any suggestions or is willing to share, I'd really appreciate it. Or if anyone has any info on a reasonably priced lease or trespass fee for a week or so I'd be open to that as well. Just not interested in hunting with an outfitter. Thanks in advance.

Smaller units of Lucas state forest.

[bowzonly]

Sorry I don’t have an answer for you but if you don’t mind I do have a question. I live in NJ and only have access to public land.  What had happened to public land deer hunting over the years is a major cause of depression in me.  Crossbows were the last straw. I may not even buy my license next year. Long story short. I am looking out of state and Missouri  came up a lot. What’s wrong with your home states public land?

[BAK]

Very good question bowzonly, the top tier of MO counties have the same deer that Iowa's bottom two do.

[goingoldskool]

You know how it is..." grass is always greener....". That being said, I live in nw missouri and I refuse to buy a NR tag even though the ks/mo line is 30 minutes away and Iowa is 60 miles. I can't bring myself to spend $$ on a tag for something that I can hunt in my backyard.

I'm not judging.... it's just not for me.

Good luck, shoot straight and God bless,
Rodd

[Jim Wright]

I looked at both states a few years ago and actually had some Iowa preference points but it never came together. If I remember correctly Missouri allowed center fire rifle season during the rut. If I am correct in my recollection, northern Missouri does not have the same deer as southern Iowa by a long shot (no pun intended).

[Clj]

Bowzonly-

There's nothing wrong with public ground in Missouri. I've hunted a fair amount of it over the years. The quality of hunting in Central and northern MO is much better than the southern part of the state where I live now.  I hunt private ground down here and have taken a couple good deer, but they are few and far between because they get hammered by the neighbors and most will shoot anything during gun season (which falls during the rut). With tags being over the counter, public gets hit pretty hard. I hunted Iowa several years back (although it was private ground) and the numbers and quality of deer were better than MO. I've hunted Kansas for years but it has just been getting worse and worse year by year so I'm looking forward to giving Iowa another try.

[bowzonly]

SO DEPRESSING! What’s happened to deer hunting in many places around the country. Can’t be anywhere worse than Jersey.  I live in the most densely populated corridor in the most densely populated state in the nation. Public land  hunting lands are a couple thousand acres at most. People aren’t supposed to leave tree stands but it’s not uncommon to see a stand every hundred yards often accompanied by a corn pile.  Crossbow hunters walk around taking shots at up to 100 yards. Deer get pushed out and most live in developments now   Anyway thanks for the info guys

[Dan bree]

Bowzonly .sounds like your down in south jersey .  I hunt up north  from the gap up and it sure has changed over the years .not to many guys out but the deer numbers are way down  . Bears and coyotes. Up.  I'm grumpy I guess but like every else here it sucks.

[Iowa Tom L.]

Hello Chris,

Both zones have quality hunting and will have mature bucks on public land.  Zone 4 may have been hit a bit harder in the EHD outbreaks of '12 & '13 but age structures have recovered for the most part in both zones.  

Zone 5 should have the edge on the amount of public land available but I haven't done an acreage comparison (never felt the need) so that may be an incorrect opinion.

You can do some homework from MO by accessing the Iowa DNR website and utilizing the Hunting Atlas and WMA maps to select areas that may be of interest to you before you come up this spring.  Choose some areas that look good to you and then check them out this spring.  The Iowa Sportsman's Atlas is also a very good resource.

Once you are up here, and if you find some public land areas that you really like, start knocking on some doors of nearby private landowners (a county plat book can be handy for tract sizes and landowner names) and you will likely get permission to bowhunt on some quality private land for FREE.  

If you are only going to hunt for a couple of weeks, let the landowner know that so other hunters will have an opportunity to hunt during the season too (some landowners limit the number of people they give permission to).

The harder counties to get free hunting permission will likely be Taylor, Decatur, Wayne, and Monroe counties due to the amount of recreational land ownership ("deer properties" as opposed to "farm properties"), small outfitting operations, and higher levels of NR use (i.e., someone else has already asked).  

However, I believe a courteous & persistent person could find free hunting access even in those counties.  Spring is a great time to ask permission as fewer people are thinking about deer hunting.  Asking permission to turkey hunt and getting some knowledge of the property is another way to develop a relationship, evaluate a property, and get an "in" for bowhunting in the fall.

Sorry for the long post, good luck to you this fall.

Take Care,

Tom

[Clj]

Thanks, Tom! I appreciate the response.

[Iowa Tom L.]

You are welcome Chris.

[Keb]

A tree in Iowa  on public land is as good as private in ks or mo maybe better

[Zwickey-Fever]

I live in Monroe County, a rocks throw from Lucas and Marion Counties about five miles from the closet pavement. Stephens State Forest, Thousand Acre Unit that sits back in the middle of nowhere is around the corner from me. Plenty of big deer and low hunting pressure. It's rough terrain and thick in most areas.
It be hard for one to gain permission on private land around me, but I cant speak for everyone directly though. Reasoning behind most land owners saying no is because when they do give permission to one person, they find that the one person has brought several people with him or leave gates open or block field entrances with their vehicle. Neither is a good thing to do.
 Keep at it and best of luck.

[Clj]

Thank you. That's one of the areas I've been looking at. I've also been considering Tubaugh and Tyrone as well.

hunting in Iowa-- I have been hunting in Iowa since 1999.I can remember when it all started--
about 1995-- I started putting in for a permit-- I failed to draw in 1997-98 - it was Rodger Rothaarr that told me to apply for Zone 5 it was much easier to draw back then--  I Shot a big one on the last day of my hunt-- I have owned property since about 2004.When I did not hunt I scouted-- and hunted nebraska --
I am retired and now a resident. I own 80 acres. my property is small - more of a pass through area -- in the middle of good land-
Plus another 24 at my farm house. Since about 2007-8  Disease has taken it toll, my farm is in Monona County - top area for big bucks-- there is a lot of public land in and around this area, Harrison County and others -- seems like the last few years deer population is up and down. Mostly down --
One has just as good a chance of shoot a good deer-on state property as on private property -- what is a good deer-- I have passed many 140" deer. Most guys coming from the east would .
shoot . It is hard to kill a 150" deer. The buck to doe ration in now way off-- back in the late 1990's I mostly saw bucks. Remember, in 1999 - 2000. this was pre TC  - Trail Camers and Thompson Center. If you do not know -- one can now use a straight walled cartridge in Iowa
That means 45-70 . I have never gun killed a deer in Iowa--
I know a lot of the local guys-- because  of all the TV - BS -- they do not have many places to hunt-- it is either leased or kept for families. Despite corn prices being down, good farm property is about 10K and acre . a high of 20K for farms bordering other farms--
 Recreational land cheaper- but not cheap .
MY advice-- hunt Missouri , or Nebraska-- I think one can get two buck tags in Nebraska--
When I started hunting in Iowa tags were about $350.00 now I think $650.00  More than a moose tag in Alaska. Iowa is very pro Resident--
Iowa has a lot of good state land. If you go get back in ,these land connect to private property-  hunt the back end and edges--
Back in 1999, I went semi guided however, only by insisting to put a stand in thick cover did I connect on the last day.The outfitter was not good-- they just had good leases-- The very last minute on the last morning--
I shot this deer on Nov 27, 10:30 - a full moon week-- I caught him coming back into his bedding area-- if you have ever seen a print of Michael Steve's dream buck-- that is what he look's like-- I hope to donate the rack to Cabela's if they hang my Jerry Pierce recurve and arrows !!! next to the rack !!! I never had him mounted--
I hunted almost the entire month of November-hundreds of hours--
it is my opinion, for big bucks later is better. Nov 15 to the end of the month--
OH-- everyone's concept of a big buck is different-- it is rather strange that I talk to farmers-- other hunters-- they are all seeing 200" deer-- there all over - hummm   I am out there day in day out-- I don't see them-- must be my eyes--
a neighboring farm   use to rent out his land--
I saw this particular but several times cross the road. One of them told me they saw him- he said -- he is B&C buck-- really-- if he was 140" I would be surprised-- most people never see 170" plus deer--  Most of the big ones are killed by accident -- or for the good hunter-- spend a ton of time -- willing to go home empty handed-- few people will do that--
Times are a changing-- want to buy a farm--
To your Journey --  CBM

I wasted this deer season because of one that I am pretty sure would have gone 200.  I passed up a really nice 8 pointer, probably a 140 to 150, while the two big boys were off about 150 yards.  The other big boy was a rather bizarre rack, eight big to small points on one side and even though when looking straight on the rack looked fairly even, there were all kinds of things going on with his left side.

[Clj]

Was that on public ground or private? Not asking for specifics. Just curious.

The bigger deer spent most of their time on two wedge shaped parcels that are not public.  The main body of that particular piece of public land has almost no deer in it by the end of the early muzzle season.  It also gets hit by Hmong squirrel hunters, besides all of the deer hunters.  The deer avoid the wooded slopes.  I hunt the edges where there is more brush and very few trees.  Everyone thinks that they can pattern deer, but the deer do a better job patterning the hunters. They really seem to figure out where the private land starts that does not have hunters on it quickly.  I tried to buy those two parcels, not for sale and they don't want any hunters on it either.