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My Challenge To You

I also,,as an owner of a small tract of land in SE Iowa, will admit there maybe spots,,for whatever reason, that are holding more deer. I just know in my 5 sq mile area the numbers are not high. Everyone hunts around me and everyone says why not more deer. I have talked to other land owners with the idea of hunting more land, but everyone has relatives that hunt,,or as stated,, you have to role out the $$$.
 
Yeah we have about 5-7 sq mile here and in heavy forest cover. 40 deer per square mile is inconceivable to me.
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Likewise. The 475,000 estimated population more than doubles ours as well.
 
How many Square miles of land is there in Iowa not counting Rivers, Lakes, Houses, and Walmart Parking Lots?

I hunt private ground that is surrounded on all sides by houses. Map measures it at 3 square miles roughly 2,000 acres. I would estimate the deer herd in this area at the end of the season to be around 3 dozen (36) deer.

Here's how the land breaks down:
Houses: 850 acres (includes yard but not woods)
Woods: 830 acres
Hay: 200 acres (4 different fields)
Beans: 90 acres (3 different fields)
Water: 30 acres (3 lakes and a creek)
Corn: 0 acres

So is that a large herd, medium, or small herd for this area?
 
I don't have a dog in your fight, but have one coming up here pretty much the same.. But isn't the increase doe harvest intended to reduce the herd? If so, it sounds like it is working.. Now it's just finding the point you want to maintain it, and how many permits do you need for that..
(Only 10 Booners per county? Probably 20 or 30 states that are still looking for their first)
 
Greg, I would have to say that 36 deer is pretty low. It should be much higher with your food sources along with your timber. I am by no means an expert in deer management though.
 
36 deer for 2,000 acres? That sounds pretty good to me,,for my area. I doubt there are that many in 2,000 acres around my place.
 
2000 acres is over 3 square miles.36 in 2000 acres is pretty low IMO. 12 deer per square mile.I would guess that those 2000 acres is hunted pretty hard and not managed properly.If I was going to buy 640 acres (1 squre mile) I would hope there is more than 12 deer on it.
 
I took 5 deer from that area this year. One was that 10 point buck, and the rest were does. I don't have the ability to hunt anywhere near the bean plots as those are in residential neigbhorhoods.

The area has been hunted pretty heavily in the last 5 years, so I would say the herd is declining. I know last year alone 16 deer were taken from a single 80 acre tract of land that runs along the creek. This year I only saw 2 deer in that area, and they were on their way through to food.

I would say that the carrying capacity for this land is much much higher.
 
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