Is Iowa "worth it"

[<DK>]

What I have leanred about public and going in blind is that if I can’t find large tracts of land with total crap access I can’t hunt big deer. What I mean by this is my style of hunting lends itself to first finding a large tract of land usually bc I can out walk people increasing my sightings significantly. Next is land with terrible access bc 99-% will hunt easy before they hunt hard. Sooooo with all that said and I know we all knew that stuff already, start hunting for public land rather than a state then picking land. The area I was in in Kansas this year is somewhere I would never return to. It was all super small parcels, bird hunters, coyote hunters, deer hunters, etc walking in on me all day. Imo that absolutely torpedos chances of consistence success. I couldn’t out walk them, no hard access. So find what will make you successful and find public land that holds those keys.

Agreed

[thwack16]

My opinion is that if you're going to only make a trip somewhere every four years, then shoot for Iowa. If you're going somewhere every year, pick one of the handful of states that offer buck quality in the tier under Iowa and learn the heck out of them.

[Octoberjohn]

October john, what did your buck score?

My buck from 2016 scored 121". I'll try and post up a picture a little later on. All of my stuff was on Photobucket that I had on here.

[mainebowhunter]

What I have leanred about public and going in blind is that if I can’t find large tracts of land with total crap access I can’t hunt big deer. What I mean by this is my style of hunting lends itself to first finding a large tract of land usually bc I can out walk people increasing my sightings significantly. Next is land with terrible access bc 99-% will hunt easy before they hunt hard. Sooooo with all that said and I know we all knew that stuff already, start hunting for public land rather than a state then picking land. The area I was in in Kansas this year is somewhere I would never return to. It was all super small parcels, bird hunters, coyote hunters, deer hunters, etc walking in on me all day. Imo that absolutely torpedos chances of consistence success. I couldn’t out walk them, no hard access. So find what will make you successful and find public land that holds those keys.

Agreed

Same thing with where I was in nebraska. However, I picked the area to learn it because it was in close proximity to my ks ground.

Wiha ground used to be so much better than it is now. So much of it is now gone.

[<DK>]

What I have leanred about public and going in blind is that if I can’t find large tracts of land with total crap access I can’t hunt big deer. What I mean by this is my style of hunting lends itself to first finding a large tract of land usually bc I can out walk people increasing my sightings significantly. Next is land with terrible access bc 99-% will hunt easy before they hunt hard. Sooooo with all that said and I know we all knew that stuff already, start hunting for public land rather than a state then picking land. The area I was in in Kansas this year is somewhere I would never return to. It was all super small parcels, bird hunters, coyote hunters, deer hunters, etc walking in on me all day. Imo that absolutely torpedos chances of consistence success. I couldn’t out walk them, no hard access. So find what will make you successful and find public land that holds those keys.

Agreed

Same thing with where I was in nebraska. However, I picked the area to learn it because it was in close proximity to my ks ground.

Wiha ground used to be so much better than it is now. So much of it is now gone.

And now politicians are giving public land away!

[mainebowhunter]

What I have leanred about public and going in blind is that if I can’t find large tracts of land with total crap access I can’t hunt big deer. What I mean by this is my style of hunting lends itself to first finding a large tract of land usually bc I can out walk people increasing my sightings significantly. Next is land with terrible access bc 99-% will hunt easy before they hunt hard. Sooooo with all that said and I know we all knew that stuff already, start hunting for public land rather than a state then picking land. The area I was in in Kansas this year is somewhere I would never return to. It was all super small parcels, bird hunters, coyote hunters, deer hunters, etc walking in on me all day. Imo that absolutely torpedos chances of consistence success. I couldn’t out walk them, no hard access. So find what will make you successful and find public land that holds those keys.

Agreed

Same thing with where I was in nebraska. However, I picked the area to learn it because it was in close proximity to my ks ground.

Wiha ground used to be so much better than it is now. So much of it is now gone.

And now politicians are giving public land away!

Neither ks or ne had much to begin with.

[<DK>]

What I have leanred about public and going in blind is that if I can’t find large tracts of land with total crap access I can’t hunt big deer. What I mean by this is my style of hunting lends itself to first finding a large tract of land usually bc I can out walk people increasing my sightings significantly. Next is land with terrible access bc 99-% will hunt easy before they hunt hard. Sooooo with all that said and I know we all knew that stuff already, start hunting for public land rather than a state then picking land. The area I was in in Kansas this year is somewhere I would never return to. It was all super small parcels, bird hunters, coyote hunters, deer hunters, etc walking in on me all day. Imo that absolutely torpedos chances of consistence success. I couldn’t out walk them, no hard access. So find what will make you successful and find public land that holds those keys.

Agreed

Same thing with where I was in nebraska. However, I picked the area to learn it because it was in close proximity to my ks ground.

Wiha ground used to be so much better than it is now. So much of it is now gone.

And now politicians are giving public land away!

Neither ks or ne had much to begin with.

Thats why I can never down my state of MO... we have lots of public to run around on. Hopefully it stays that way. IDK how it compares to other states really... I do know that I was shocked at Nebraska small parcels...

[mainebowhunter]

What I have leanred about public and going in blind is that if I can’t find large tracts of land with total crap access I can’t hunt big deer. What I mean by this is my style of hunting lends itself to first finding a large tract of land usually bc I can out walk people increasing my sightings significantly. Next is land with terrible access bc 99-% will hunt easy before they hunt hard. Sooooo with all that said and I know we all knew that stuff already, start hunting for public land rather than a state then picking land. The area I was in in Kansas this year is somewhere I would never return to. It was all super small parcels, bird hunters, coyote hunters, deer hunters, etc walking in on me all day. Imo that absolutely torpedos chances of consistence success. I couldn’t out walk them, no hard access. So find what will make you successful and find public land that holds those keys.

Agreed

Same thing with where I was in nebraska. However, I picked the area to learn it because it was in close proximity to my ks ground.

Wiha ground used to be so much better than it is now. So much of it is now gone.

And now politicians are giving public land away!

Neither ks or ne had much to begin with.

Thats why I can never down my state of MO... we have lots of public to run around on. Hopefully it stays that way. IDK how it compares to other states really... I do know that I was shocked at Nebraska small parcels...

It sure has made me appreciate my own state thats for sure! Maine is not perfect but man it has an endless supply of ground to learn and hunt. AND there are some really great deer running around.

[Stanley]

I think Iowa is worth it to some a and not to others. I used to travel to neighboring states because they were much better than Iowa. Iowa started to get better when the DNR didn't allow does to be killed. The gun hunters used to get all exited when they drew a doe tag. Now there are lots of does and the buck populations are up because of that. Does are the buck producers no matter how you look at it.

[bowhunter15]

I think Iowa is worth it to some a and not to others. I used to travel to neighboring states because they were much better than Iowa. Iowa started to get better when the DNR didn't allow does to be killed. The gun hunters used to get all exited when they drew a doe tag. Now there are lots of does and the buck populations are up because of that. Does are the buck producers no matter how you look at it.

Reminds me of MN right now in certain areas. Buck only, lottery doe, hunters choice in many units to allow the population to increase. I've seen lots of does and yearling bucks on public which speaks well to the next few years. Could MN be on the verge of an upswing? One could only hope lol. It will probably always be limited somewhat by firearm season timing.

[bowhunter15]

$700 is a lot to drop on a Whitetail tag. My Colorado mule deer was only $385 and I had a blast and memories for a lifetime. WI is $160 with the chance of a giant. MN accidentally produces some giants every year. A chance at a big whitetail, for me personally, isn't worth $700.

[ihookem]

It all depends on your net worth. If you make the wages I do it is not worth doing it one time. If you make the wages to the likes of Jackson Marsh, Dewey , and Stanley, by all means go every three yrs .

[Dewey]

It all depends on your net worth. If you make the wages I do it is not worth doing it one time. If you make the wages to the likes of Jackson Marsh, Dewey , and Stanley, by all means go every three yrs .

Stanley is a resident.

I bought my Iowa license with the money I saved not buying scent reduction products.

[Stanley]

I think Iowa is worth it to some a and not to others. I used to travel to neighboring states because they were much better than Iowa. Iowa started to get better when the DNR didn't allow does to be killed. The gun hunters used to get all exited when they drew a doe tag. Now there are lots of does and the buck populations are up because of that. Does are the buck producers no matter how you look at it.

That’s very interesting Stanley. What ratio do you believe is good for public land?

I really don't think anyone has a real handle on what ratios are the best. Some claim to know what ratios are the best, I don't claim to know. I do know this, the more does you have the more bucks are being born. I would rather hunt an area that can support 20 does than an area that can support 4 does. I mean, I don't like hunting areas that have small numbers of deer.

[Jackson Marsh]

It all depends on your net worth. If you make the wages I do it is not worth doing it one time. If you make the wages to the likes of Jackson Marsh, Dewey , and Stanley, by all means go every three yrs .

I agree that Stanley and Dewey are loaded. I heard that Stanley has dozens of head mounts, so he is definitely rich and maybe a little crazy.

Some people spend $50 to $150 a month on TV. Some people pay yearly property taxes on hunting land and cabins. Some people buy expensive boats, campers,motorcycles and vacations.

Some people run expensive trail cameras and burn gas and batteries checking them. Some people drive randomly around in circles with spotlights looking for deer.

Some truly disturbed individuals spend a small fortune on golf. I do almost none of the above.

Money...You can't take it with you, so you might as well enjoy some of it while you are alive.