CHECKING OUT NEW PLACES TO HUNT

[1s2c3o4t5t6]

Next summer I'll be moving back to Iowa. Could you give me some ideas about how a person goes about narrowing down some specific areas to hunt? Is it best to use a vehicle and check fields during the summer and fall? If so what type of fields? Or would it be best to look over some ariel/topo maps of the area and try to pin point some good looking areas and then try to get permission from the land owners? What types of things should I be looking for on these maps? Or is it best to talk to land owners first since finding any land to hunt may be the biggest challenge and them go from there? Thanks for any suggestion.

 

[Critter]

I guess if it were me starting in a new place, I'd be heading to the landowners around my new residence. Talking to the farmers and landowners does three things for you: Tells you where you can hunt, tells you where you can't hunt

, and lastly most landowners already know what areas of their farms are holding deer and might be willing to tip you off to some easy information. Once I attained permission, the late summer would be a great time to do as much scouting as you could. Check the bean and alfalfa fields, and purchase a couple trail cams if you can afford them. Looking at topo maps is a good way of narrowing down large blocks of property, but if you don't have permission in the first place, they won't do you much good.
CRITR

 

[Fletch]

Unfortunately I have spent a great deal of time the last half dozen years looking for good places to hunt. I generally start prospecting using aerials from a site like the ISU Geographic Map Server (http://ortho.gis.iastate.edu/). I look for areas within about a 60-mile radius of my home. I’m looking for areas that don’t have many roads, have a good “network†of timber, and are a safe distance from populated areas (trying to minimize hunting pressure). After I locate a handful of good looking areas, I visit the public library and make copies of the appropriate plat maps. Most of the time I highlight on the map the landowners I want to talk to, throw the maps in the passenger seat and hit the road. I try to do this early in the year (Since my last remaining private property has become over-run with hunters, I started this years search just after Christmas). This gives you time to establish a relationship with the owner, help with any summer chores, and scout the fields and property before season. I have located some nice properties this way – unfortunately, others soon discovered them and they have been leased or simply over-hunted. I have yet to convince (without money) a landowner to limit access – but that’s a whole different subject…maybe you can help me with that after you find a place.

Good luck,
Fletch

 

[River1]

Also talk to the DNR officer in the county you will be hunting in. Ask him where the highest herd densities are and then check those areas out.