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Southern boys looking for some assistance?

slickyboyboo

slickyboyboo

Member
My best friend and I have been hunting together, since we were little kids. We have logged many hours in the woods together, but it all has been in the state of MS. I have been out of state a few times, but he has never been on an out of state hunting trip, and the last few years he hasn't been able to, because he went back to school to finish college. Well now he is out of school, and started his career, so he has the means to do some out of state hunting, so he and I are planning a trip to y'alls great state in 2015 to archery hunt. So i'm just doing some early prep work, and looking for a bit of insight to get us pointed in the right direction.

My buddy has never killed a deer over 130, and my biggest is 146, and neither of those were with a bow, so we are looking to try and take what we would consider a decent buck with a bow. If you were coming to Iowa from out of state, and wanted to have the best chance at killing a decent buck on some public land, what county would be our best bet to get it done.

Like I said, I am starting to do some of my planning for 2015, so I will probably have lots of questions.

Thanks for any info in advance!
 
I heard Loess hills out west can be good - but from the sounds of it I would make sure it is in the middle of the week - weekends can get pounded.

Other than that, I know Keosaqua can be really good too, but I'm not sure I'm the best resource for you. Lots of guys taking some nice bucks on public ground lately.

I hope it works out for you! :way:
 
Drive up some time in spring/summer and stop at some farms in Southern Iowa. Middle of the state seems best for access. Just tell them your situation and ask to hunt. Look at pasture farms/hay farms,farms with a draw or two... something that does not get hunted by others.

That being said, public is a good option too.
 
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I agree, I would come up in the summer narrow down some public ground areas. Walk them, get familiar with possible stand locations. Get familiar with towns near by and where you can buy supplies/lodging. Then, I would buy a plat book and just start driving around and see if you could get some private ground as well to hunt. If not you tried, and you will know what to expect on the public ground.

It will already be somewhat stressful to begin with, I would certainly try to take some stress out of it (and fun/exciting of course) by coming up and looking around to get familiar with things. Would be terrible to waste a day or two trying to line everything up logistically speaking.
 
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I would recommend taking a long weekend and coming to Iowa in 2014 and knocking on some doors in southern iowa. You would be amazed at how many famers are willing to let you hunt if you just do the right thing and knock and ask for permission. You will get lots of no's- but there are plenty out there willing to let you hunt. Then you have a piece of property lined up for 2015 that isn't open to everyone- maybe even get up this way winter of next year and put out some cameras and have a good idea on what to expect for 2015
 
Lots of good suggestions, and I believe that will probably be our plan, to knock on some doors, but to check out public as well, and have some other options. Do any of y'all know if any of the counties in Iowa have a county GIS dashboard where you can search Plats and Landowner info? Similar to this, this is my county's online dashboard: http://gisweb.co.hinds.ms.us/hindsdashboard/
 
You may want to order an Iowa Sportsman Atlas also. Has maps of each county and the public land in those counties. A good reasource in my opinion.
 
Look into the DNR website on NR draw results, since that might help you pick an area that you have a better chance of drawing with fewer preference points.
 
Might not draw until 2016 or 2017. Depends on the zone. Just being realistic. Id look into the rules and find the draw odds. You could always hunt Missouri, or out west until you do draw.
 
JNRBRONC said:
Look into the DNR website on NR draw results, since that might help you pick an area that you have a better chance of drawing with fewer preference points.
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Oh definitely. I got permission for us to hunt a 500 acre farm in Illinois this year. Didn't get to hunt it this year because of back surgery, but thats our spot next year, and back up if we don't get drawn in 2015.
 
From what I've seen this year, is the public hunting in Southern Iowa is getting hammered by bow hunters. Seems like there is a truck in every parking spot.
 
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