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Who Hunts State Land??

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petherss

New Member
Hi Guys and Gals. My brother and I are planning a bowhunt in your fine state this year. We are trying to figure out what zone to apply for. Not having the pleasure of knowing someone with private land, we will be hunting state land. My question is, if you hunt state land, do you see much hunting pressure where you hunt? Would you mind devulging the WMA you hunt? I understand if you do not want to give out that information on a public forum. We will only have a week to scout and hunt, so you have a really good shot at not seeing us anyways (besides, there will only be two of us).

For those of you fortunate enough to hunt private land, while driving past state land, do you see a lot of vehicles parked there? Being from a state that has a truck parked around every corner come hunting season, we're wondering what to expect. Thanks!!!
 
The problem isn't usually the first two guys coming here to hunt for the first time, its when they go home and tell their buddies about this spot then they tell their buddies and so on. Then the next thing you know is you have guys in your honey hole every year.
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A few tips is to get away from the big cities, and don't overlook the small parcels. Check out aerials and you will find a spot.
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There are a couple guys I know from Minnesota who hunt a farm local by me and they just started knocking on doors and get private land to hunt. Like LIV said, get away from the big cities and pick up a Iowa Sportsman Atlas and that should be your ticket.
Just remember for every 10 Nope's you will get a yes more then likely.
 
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The problem isn't usually the first two guys coming here to hunt for the first time, its when they go home and tell their buddies about this spot then they tell their buddies and so on. Then the next thing you know is you have guys in your honey hole every year.
grin.gif
A few tips is to get away from the big cities, and don't overlook the small parcels. Check out aerials and you will find a spot.
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I know how this will sound but I live next to a large public area here in SE Iowa called the Eldon Game Area and there are very few deer here. I know that some on here will tell you that with tounge in cheek, but I really mean it. There are a little over 2000 acres here that I hunt along with my own farm and neighbors. 4 of us hunted the first weekend of 2nd shotgun season and killed only 4 small antlerless deer and saw maybe another 1/2 dozen. Since then I have spent 6 mornings and 8 evening sitting and still hunting by myself and never had a shot opprotunity. If you want to you can check other post of mine that will verify this.
 
Sounds like you might be talking from experience LIV, I know Ive seen it happen a million times over the years.
 
With Iowa ranking in the lowest percent amoung the nation in amount of public land access I would have to agree about keeping your public land hunting spot a secret. I had an experience last fall where 5 out of state hunters came in and bowhunted for a week in the same area as I did. They also had 2 more coming into their party. They hunted the same land everyday and had no concideration for me or my partner. I know there are not many people who would walk right past you in your stand and block your vehicle in but I am not about to share what little ground I hunt.
 
Buckcrack, I am in no way trying to steer you away from Iowa, but you should look into northwestern Missouri. There is a ton of public land, and the caliber of bucks is as good or maybe even better in spots. My cousin and alot of his friends travel to Chilicothe, Northern Missouri, and bow hunt public land, and this year all went home with a buck, biggest being a high 160, smallest being 135. Really your not gonna find a better spot to hunt publically, with the amount of deer, better than Norhern Missouri. And trust me, when you see the price of the Missouri tag, it will save alot of money on that, and you don't have to be drawn in. The big deer hype is in Iowa now, everyone wants to hunt here, but everyone forgets about norther MO, just because they haven't killed a 280 inch monster there in awhile. Still alot of big bucks and a good deer herd there.
 
i just hunt public ground. You better expect a lot of people, and use that to your advantage. I would guess that you will not have very good luck if you just show up that week you gunna hunt. spend sometime at the place your going to hunt this summer.
 
I hunt public land occasionally! depending on who is pheasant hunting at the time and who blows up my hunting spots on private land! but when that does happen.. i move to public land.. but i dont do that without sitting there for a couple days of the week to see what all is comin in and out of that area! so scout for a couple weeks and hope u get the big one!! good luck on ur choice!!
 
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Buckcrack, I am in no way trying to steer you away from Iowa, but you should look into northwestern Missouri. There is a ton of public land, and the caliber of bucks is as good or maybe even better in spots. My cousin and alot of his friends travel to Chilicothe, Northern Missouri, and bow hunt public land, and this year all went home with a buck, biggest being a high 160, smallest being 135. Really your not gonna find a better spot to hunt publically, with the amount of deer, better than Norhern Missouri. And trust me, when you see the price of the Missouri tag, it will save alot of money on that, and you don't have to be drawn in. The big deer hype is in Iowa now, everyone wants to hunt here, but everyone forgets about norther MO, just because they haven't killed a 280 inch monster there in awhile. Still alot of big bucks and a good deer herd there.

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I couldn't agree more I had a few buddies from out of state go down there with simalar results
 
I know a couple of guys that Hunt IA and MO. They hunt IA by themselves and they take their kids to MO. They have done very well in MO. One 12 old boy got a 150 class buck this yr.
The biggest issue I've seen on public land in my area is simply lazy hunters. We have some good areas but it's a good mile walk, through thick timber, back into the best area. Most people don't want to walk that far, and sure don't want to drag 200lbs back through it. I no longer hunt deer on public land, but I did for several years.
 
if you are willing to work hard and get back to where nobody hunts, public land can be some of the best ground to hunt. id rather hunt huge tracts of private land, simply for the guarunteed privacy, but i dont have that option.
 
Thanks for the replies fellas. I know what you mean about inconsiderate hunters. We have plenty of them here too. My brother and I are used to hunting hard, walking miles and we have drug bucks 1/2 mile out of the woods. And these are bucks that you guys would laugh at if you saw them.

I ordered the iowa sportsmans atlas about a month ago and have been pouring over that ever since. Looks like some counties you can all but rule out due to lack of state land. But some have plenty.

It's very good to know that some folks still grant access to their private land. My brother and I are very respectful of other's properties and grateful to hunt private land. However, here in Michigan, landowners are not as receptive to the idea (to say the least). We plan to scout hard and knock on some doors and try our luck. Thanks for all your input guys, we really appreciate it!!
 
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