Military... considering retiring in IA

[BuckAssassin]

Shooting a 160"-200" deer every year is optimistic. I hunt mostly public land along with a couple small properties my hunting partner and I have permission to hunt. Between the two of us, we have shot a 140, 150, and 160 class deer in the last two seasons. I think it is realistic to think you could shoot a 140+ (which is a good deer to most) every year in Iowa if you have the time to do it and you know how to play your cards right. However, to think you are going to shoot a Booner every year is setting your expectations too high. I wish you the best of luck and thank you for your service.

 

[daniel93077]

That's why I decided against southern Ohio. It made a lot more sense for family reasons, but I did not want to exclusively hunt big timber (not wrong or right.... just everyone has a preference)

In WA you can find a good amount of areas with a mix of Agriculture... I have just found the buck/doe ratio and age class to be better in the big woods where they aren't as exposed to firearm pressure.

 

[daniel93077]

Shooting a 160"-200" deer every year is optimistic. I hunt mostly public land along with a couple small properties my hunting partner and I have permission to hunt. Between the two of us, we have shot a 140, 150, and 160 class deer in the last two seasons. I think it is realistic to think you could shoot a 140+ (which is a good deer to most) every year in Iowa if you have the time to do it and you know how to play your cards right. However, to think you are going to shoot a Booner every year is setting your expectations too high. I wish you the best of luck and thank you for your service.

140 is certainly a great deer. I consider any mature buck to be a true trophy and honestly.. a hunter being happy with his kill is what I believe matters most.

I do believe I would be hunting primarily on public (and knocking on doors here and there)... I would probably cover as much public ground as physically possible on any given year... as much as I could within 2-3 hours of where I live.

I have thought about purchasing but in my experience that tends to lock you down and since I can't afford thousands of acres it's not likely to consistently produce the kind of animals I am looking for.

 

[daniel93077]

To add to what CW said just as an FYI.....going rate for leased ground is $10/acre and up. We have had some leases snatched away by some TV stars in southern Iowa that were willing to pay 3 times that.

Thanks for that info. While I would be in a position to pay $30 per acre for ground I simply couldn't bring myself to do that. I'm ok with paying the market rate of the average middle class guy (and I support landowners making a living any way they legally can off their property) but no way do I want to drive up lease prices to the point it's unaffordable for all but the wealthiest people...... That being said... even if I did lease I probably wouldn't stick with the same properties year after year unless they were holding what I am looking for....it's one of the reasons I don't see buying ground as a good option for me (though owning a little piece of Iowa Farm/Timber ground is certainly appealing).

 

[tlambert]

Another plus for WA is the opportunity to hunt species other than deer...I'd love that

 

[daniel93077]

It is cool to sit in a tree and see mule deer, elk, moose, wolves, whitetail, all from the same spot.... the mountain lions are around but I have never seen one from the tree... but I have had them on camera.

 

[DannyBoy]

I think one appealing thing about Iowa is if a guy (and his gal) aren't tied down to a job, family, etc., they can really leverage funds and find very nice, affordable housing in some of the lesser populated areas with a low cost of living, near a lot of public land. And in my opinion and experience, you won't have to cover anywhere near 40-50 sq. miles to find a true trophy (in your eyes) to hunt on public land. I think you'd be pleasantly surprised about ease of access to private land, especially if you set roots in an area for awhile and really get to know people.

Best of luck and thank you for your service.

 

[daniel93077]

I think one appealing thing about Iowa is if a guy (and his gal) aren't tied down to a job, family, etc., they can really leverage funds and find very nice, affordable housing in some of the lesser populated areas with a low cost of living, near a lot of public land. And in my opinion and experience, you won't have to cover anywhere near 40-50 sq. miles to find a true trophy (in your eyes) to hunt on public land. I think you'd be pleasantly surprised about ease of access to private land, especially if you set roots in an area for awhile and really get to know people.

Best of luck and thank you for your service.

Thank you... this is what I was hoping to hear.

 

[JNRBRONC]

It is cool to sit in a tree and see mule deer, elk, moose, wolves, whitetail, all from the same spot.... the mountain lions are around but I have never seen one from the tree... but I have had them on camera.

That would be my hesitation: the monoculture of Iowa. Really nothing besides whitetails to hunt. I'm seriously considering retiring to a Rocky Mtn state, hadn't really considered WA too much until I saw your pics.

I've lived in Iowa my whole life, so maybe time for a change of scenery and more big game options. Iowa is a great state to live in though, as people have mentioned, get rural away from a big city and life can be lived pretty cheap.

Also, not all of Iowa is Booner central, so follow the advice given on where to relocate.

Thanks for your service.

 

[MNbuckhunter]

I would have a hard time believing you can top what you have if you can guarantee a 160-200" deer to pursue yearly...I mean seriously! What more could you want!???? Not trying to be a smart guy.

 

[Sligh1]

In WA state, with a lot of hard work... I can virtually guarantee that I will have at least a few 160-200 inch deer to pursue on any given year. I know Iowa is notorious for producing giants but is it reasonable to expect that a guy who is willing to put in the time (lots of time) knocking on doors and hunting public lands could hunt deer of at least this caliber every single year? (I know the knocking on doors is likely the most realistic situation since public lands are few in IA)

I can tell you the nice thing about WA is that I prefer the public lands... lots of nice bucks and the pressure isn't too bad.

I haven't read all the responses, sorry if repeat, maybe not....
You are not gonna have consistent 160-200" deer in Iowa on public, I can tell you that for a fact. UNLESS it's your full time job and put 20 trail cams on 30 different pieces of public land. There is 160-200" on public but far far far from consistently where a hunter could have a likely opportunity with consistency unless they could literally scout and hunt 10-30 different pieces of public really hard & precisely. It's a fine line what I'm explaining, some may disagree, but that's my opinion.
160-200" on PRIVATE land consistently, even then...... You better have a good area of the state with lower pressure (it varies from area to area in the state) and you better have many different farms to hunt. If you had 4-5 different farms in a good area of Iowa, absolutely, I think it could be done in Iowa. But, again, you better have plenty of places and be able to do inventory on all these farms because out of 4, 5, 6 farms, whatever, some won't have a single shooter on a given year, even in good areas. That's from my experience.
If you have 160-200" every year to hunt in WA and that's a lot on public with low pressure over all..... Geesh, I dunno, you really aren't gonna top that situation so there better be a lot more reasons to move somewhere else other than that aspect. That's about as top caliber hunting seasons and anyone can reasonably expect anywhere in the country. I think Iowa, Kansas and Canada are about the best for consistent giants BUT I sure wouldn't describe any a whole lot better than the words you used. my 2 cents.

 

[JNRBRONC]

I would have a hard time believing you can top what you have if you can guarantee a 160-200" deer to pursue yearly...I mean seriously! What more could you want!???? Not trying to be a smart guy.

X2

I hope to be able to shoot a 150" deer in the area I hunt. 200" would be a lifetime, almost miracle deer.

 

[hillrunner]

It would take a really, really good situation to have a shot at 160 to 200 every year. Remember that in Iowa you will not have access to huge tracts of land .

 

[Hoffman]

I will say 160+ yearly is possible, although not likely, especially on public. Even on private there is too many uncertainties such as you can't control what neighbors harvest and poachers. Pressure is/can be high. There is 11 people that I know of that hunt the section I live in.

 

[Forestryguy]

Stay in Washington or go to SE Oklahoma, for whitetails. You get other species there also.

 

[Booner]

I need to move to Washington..........

 

[JUNIOR]

I will say 160+ yearly is possible, although not likely, especially on public. Even on private there is too many uncertainties such as you can't control what neighbors harvest and poachers. Pressure is/can be high. There is 11 people that I know of that hunt the section I live in.

I would have to second that! I to hunt a section that a lot of others hunt! I can see being able to hunt a 145+ inch deer a year, but I think 160+ a year would be pushing it, unless you owned 300+ acres, where you can manage and protect deer and let them grow, and actually have a chance.

 

[Liv4Rut]

You will find 160-200inch deer on public ground every year if you put in the time. Most big timbers will have 160-175s running around them every year. They are not easy to kill and you need time on your side. The shotgun hunters simply can't push them in the big timbers. Getting over 180 is much tougher though and will take a lot more searching on public or private.

I would probably just stay there and hunt big bucks and all the other game. Sounds like an ideal place and I would have never thought it there!!

 

[camo658]

Yep, Never witnessed or hunted a 200inch deer since I've been hunting in iowa. though, to be fair, I don't have access to a lot of land. I'm sure there out there in my area, though. I had some in the 170 inch, 180 inch range . I'd say go for it and come out. Iowa will offer different style hunting in the terrain and amount of cover compared to Washington State. So, that makes things interesting and makes it all the more sweet If you do harvest a deer from this state. You'll have stories to tell from it and will meet some pretty amazing and hardworking people. The fact that you've served in the military may be enough to sway some landowners in giving you some permission to hunt. I'd have like a hat, shirt, or something that would give evidence or notification that you have served. Plus, it's a great conversation starter at that. Sligh1 had some great points about where to hunt in the state, as well, as others.

 

[daniel93077]

That would be my hesitation: the monoculture of Iowa. Really nothing besides whitetails to hunt. I'm seriously considering retiring to a Rocky Mtn state, hadn't really considered WA too much until I saw your pics.

I've lived in Iowa my whole life, so maybe time for a change of scenery and more big game options. Iowa is a great state to live in though, as people have mentioned, get rural away from a big city and life can be lived pretty cheap.

Also, not all of Iowa is Booner central, so follow the advice given on where to relocate.

Thanks for your service.

I know what you mean. Believe it or not... I am simply crazy about whitetail. Even with all of those other species I generally only stand by and enjoy them. I have 180+ Mule Deer and 360+ elk that I have not hunted because I am so focused on some big whitetail.

There is some great Elk hunting in WA but the best will be the draw hunts... that being said... NE WA is any elk (though I believe that will change soon) and I have had 6x6 and 7x7 elk on camera every year (but the herds are just small pocket herds).

Keep in mind...Most guys aren't getting these results because they don't have the time with all the other things going on in their life....to find these animals I am covering a lot of ground... I'm talking 3-4 large counties and realistically I have cameras on 40-60 sections/square miles a year....running 20-30 cameras at any one time.... However...it's certainly nice knowing that it's possible to find these type of animals on land you can hunt for free.