Hunting Iowa (Advice Please!)

[2in1shot]

I need some advice. I have a friend whose family lives in south east Iowa, unit 6. I currently have 2 priority points, which means that there is a good likelihood I could get drawn for an archery tag next fall. Does anyone have any experience hunting the later gun hunts vs the bow hunt? Which hunt is the best and why? What should I expect in either scenario? Thanks in advance!

 

[AT Hiker]

I have 2 points myself and plan to hunt the archery rut hunt.
I was told the late hunt can be good if you have the food. I hear hunters do a lot of deer drives in IA too, so that may help get the deer moving on you.


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[AT Hiker]

I will add, I want to experience a rut in Iowa. I plan to have plenty if time devoted to the hunt. Id like to hunt a couple days before halloween and go for a solid week or more.


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[PickettSFHunter]

I would be interested in starting to apply if there are some good public options. Waiting to see the advice you get


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[2in1shot]

Thanks AT! I've hunted southern IL but never ventured that far north to deer hunt. The land I have to hunt is a working farm but I doubt there will be any standing grain left by December. I like you would prefer to hunt the rut and take 5-7 days off work to really get a good experience in Iowa. Do you think late October would be better than November 3-10?

 

[TN Whitetail Freak]

Ask the Aaron guy of midwest whitetails, he just killed a bruiser on public land in that area I believe

 

[Tennessee Lead]

Ask the Aaron guy of midwest whitetails, he just killed a bruiser on public land in that area I believe

Aaron Warbritton


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[fairchaser]

I hunt NW Iowa and just got back from an archery rut hunt. This is a DIY hunt but on private land. This part of Iowa is all farm land and AG. We tried the December shotgun hunt a few times and never again. The locals party hunt and run the deer all over and for miles. You might be lucky and have deer chase by you but if you prefer to hunt deer in their natural state, I recommend hunting the first two weeks of November. The weather is much nicer as well.

 

[chris1976]

I hunted zone 6 for an entire season two years ago. Hunted both public and private. PM me with any questions, glad to help. And the first two weeks in November are magical there.


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[nwsg76]

I hAve hunted iowa for over 10 years. You have to decide do you want to experience the rut every 3-4 years or go gun hunt about every yr. I started out gun hunting until I learned the area....then focused on archery. Archery in that zone may need 3 or 4 points going into draw to get drawn. 2 may not make it uneeds very lucky. Many folks have been sitting on side lines for several years due to die off in iowa. MaNY cashed in this year....and points needed went up in most zones.
Archery is great and mthere's good ground in zone 6. I prefer private land and it's typically better.
Shotgun can be a zoo but that typicaly helps if you don't have a great place. I would stay away from public shotgun season. First gun is decent weather but 2nd is very cold as well as muzzloader season.
Late muzzle can be good if you have food and no pressure. But the deer can seem hard to get on
Oh yea....gun season tags are typically drawn with o to 1 point. So you need to decide a weapon and keep applying for archery or burn your points in 2017 for gun.

 

[2in1shot]

Thanks to all who have replied. I will be sending some pm's.

 

[Winchester]

If you have private farms to hunt with good food, and only 2 pts, your likely better off with the late gun season imo.

 

[2in1shot]

What are you calling the late gun hunt? The Dec 3-7 or 10-18 or the late muzzleloader Dec 19- Jan 10?

 

[nwsg76]

Looked at iowa draw numbers for 2016. Zone 6 had 60 people draw archery tag with 2 points....so it's was possible in 2016. But not a guarantee. I think he is referring to late muzzloader season. If you have land that is not pressured and food the late season can be good. But typically you only hunt afternoons to keep pressure low. You need very cold temps to put deer on feet during daylight. Any day in iowa is way better than the rut in the south....

 

[Vermin93]

Any thoughts on the best deer unit for an Iowa DIY public land hunt? I have 4 points banked and I'm thinking about making 2017 the year to actually apply for a unit now that my mini hunting camper is fully operational.

 

[elknturkey]

We're heading to zone 5 hopefully. Got 3 points going in

 

[AT Hiker]

Any thoughts on the best deer unit for an Iowa DIY public land hunt? I have 4 points banked and I'm thinking about making 2017 the year to actually apply for a unit now that my mini hunting camper is fully operational.

I will go through some old Huntin Fool
Magazines and see what they have to say. Iowa is not known as a DIY public land state in the general sense but I do know pockets of public land exist, require some pre season scouting to fully monopolize and can produce some bruisers. Oddly enough they get most pressure during bow (rut) from what Im told.
Check out "Chasing November" on Carbon TV. They have a few public land Iowa hunts that might give you an idea.
On a side note; Im friends with a taxidermist in Iowa that lives on a small lake. It is surrounded by public land and he usually mounts a Booner or two from that area every couple years. So the hint is to check out the water access areas.


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[Vermin93]

Any thoughts on the best deer unit for an Iowa DIY public land hunt? I have 4 points banked and I'm thinking about making 2017 the year to actually apply for a unit now that my mini hunting camper is fully operational.

I will go through some old Huntin Fool
Magazines and see what they have to say. Iowa is not known as a DIY public land state in the general sense but I do know pockets of public land exist, require some pre season scouting to fully monopolize and can produce some bruisers. Oddly enough they get most pressure during bow (rut) from what Im told.
Check out "Chasing November" on Carbon TV. They have a few public land Iowa hunts that might give you an idea.
On a side note; Im friends with a taxidermist in Iowa that lives on a small lake. It is surrounded by public land and he usually mounts a Booner or two from that area every couple years. So the hint is to check out the water access areas.


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I really want a public land Iowa buck. I have a small, motorized canoe that may very well be part of my strategy. I plan to make my first scouting trip this winter. Just need to settle on a unit to focus on. With my mini camper I basically have a small hotel room on wheels, so I'm well equipped to scout and hunt several public areas in whatever unit I go with. I'm excited to get up there.