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Where are the Deer in Monroe County?

SWBUCKHNTR

SWBUCKHNTR

Member
I know I know it is early and there are a lot of crops in yet, but wow is all I can say. I have always bow hunted southwest iowa in a county that has fewer doe tags than monroe and fewer deer harvested. I bought a farm in monroe county that has very little food on it but tons of oak trees and crp. In a little over a month of cameras I have 7 bucks and 5 different does as far as I can tell. I have sat out on it 4 days hunting and seen a total of 5 deer. One night in southwest I seen 5 bucks and 13 does.I am in a prime area near albia and I am surrounded by big farms with strict managing. What can you guys tell me is southwest just that much different or do things pick up once the corn comes out.
 
give them food and they will come. had 40 does and 15 turkeys and 1 spike friday night . if you got oaks you should be good. there hitting the acorns hard ! they seem to start about 3pm and start working their way out of the woods by 5pm. they don`t seem to hit them as hard in the morning. I have bumped some does at 2 pm on cooler days. crp right before dark .
 
I bought my 40 in SE IA. The last two tiers of counties. I thought I was in prime habitat. Lots of timber,,as well a crops all around. Figured I'd see 10 deer in this field,, 15 in that. I HAVE BEEN DOWN THERE NOW 5 YRS?and SEASONS. I SEE ,,MAYBE one deer in this field,,maybe two in another.Never alot of deer around. Two 2 yr olds, and if lucky a 3 yr old during the rut, hunting most every day. All I can say is the pop certainly must vary from area to area.
 
Neighborhood specific of course. I do think counties with far less people and publicity hold more deer than folks think and have more big bucks than folks think. Monroe isn't exactly a secret to anyone. SW IA on the other hand is a big time sleeper! I think SW iowa is much better than many folks realize. I'm sure it's something to do with your neighborhood BUT I'm happy to come on down to good old SW Iowa anytime!
 
Monroe may not be a secret, but its got a lot of deer. Reason why is because the amount of acres that are tied up. When you have 1000s of acres that only one person hunts, of course you're going to see an increase in deer population. DNR fly overs show that certain areas in Monroe county have almost twice as many deer this past year as the year before. Its going to turn into a problem.

One reason people see more deer in certain areas, lets say SW Iowa, compared to Monroe county this time of year is because lack of avaliable cover. Monroe county has much more cover for a deer to hide in then many areas in SW Iowa that I know of.

Hunting whitetails in heavy cover can be tough and frustrating, and certain farms (high amt. of timber) can be very hard to figure out. Give it some time (two weeks) and I guarantee that your deer sightings will go up.

From my own personal experience in hunting areas with high amounts of timber, I have had my best luck setting up in funnels and hoping a big guy will cruise through. Some farms I hunt consist of large draws, and I personaly feel these farms are easier to hunt (less cover area for bucks to travel). Large amounts of cover leads to a large amount of areas for whitetails to go.

Give it a few weeks, pick a good funnel, and wait for a pig to walk by. :way:
 
SW Deer Sightings

Plant dbltree's recommendations.

I did his rye, awp, clover mix and have been seeing 25+ deer a sit (in Fremont County-very SW county in Iowa)

Not much "green" now in Iowa and is why rye (i also added wheat and oats) and clover mix is attracting deer like crazy.

Time will be on your side also in the future!

Take Care,
Cory
 
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