Is Iowa "worth it"

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Dewey
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Re: Is Iowa "worth it"

Unread postby Dewey » Tue Dec 05, 2017 8:06 am

DEERSLAYER wrote:
Dewey wrote:
timberwolf311 wrote:I don’t see how people have issues with the price of the tag. If you can afford the travel and the time, then money for the tag should be the least of ones worries. You have to be honest with yourself about money and where you are leaking it. 365 days a year and it takes you 3 years minimum, so you have 1095 days. If the tag and preferences points total out to $900 then that’s .82 cents a day. It’s hard to believe anyone with an internet connect via phone or a computer participanting on this forum couldn’t afford .82 cents a day.


That may sound a little rude and I don’t want it to. I really want guys and girls, esp younger broke ones lol, to not be held back by finances. So sure plenty of us couldn’t fathom the idea of dropping $900 on a tag but what if someone told you you could hunt Iowa every 3 years for .82 cents a day?

My tag last year plus 4 preference points was just under $750.

Was it worth it?......absolutely.....every single penny. Will I do it again?......you bet as soon as I draw again.

Small price to pay for some great hunting in a state that actually knows how to manage their deer herd and produce nice bucks in higher numbers. My first impression when stepping on my first piece of public land there was Iowa DNR really cares about the herd. Quality of the habitat was incredible on every single piece I scouted and the deer sign proved it.

For the guys that think it's a lot of money it's obviously not for you and hunting in your home state is probably better. For what it's worth I spent more on western hunts including tags, gas, lodging and never seen anywhere the quality of bucks I saw in Iowa. With a 4 hour drive from home I can be in the best deer habitat in the country. This makes multiple trips scouting and hunting very easy to do. Breaking it down that way I can easily get my moneys worth compared to guys that drive there from across the country and then only hunt one week with zero pre-scouting then drive all the way back home to make a big pot of tag soup.

The guys that are crazy are the one's that spend $750 on a tag then tack on $3000+ to hunt with an outfitter in Iowa. No thanks. :hand:

Dewey, do you put in the same amount of time, effort and money into hunting Wisconsin every year as you did into hunting Iowa?

I think if people would put as much into hunting their home state as they do hunting other states they would be much more successful at home.

Not money but time and effort are equal no matter where I hunt. My effort out of state isn’t a yearly thing so I’m not a real good example for this. On average I hunt out of state every 4-5 years. Many guys here hunt multiple states every year.

I do pretty good in Wisconsin but comparing it to Iowa is kind of a joke. I should probably hunt western WI and my opinion may change but thinking likely not otherwise WI guys that live there wouldn’t be hopping the border.

Wish I could have hunted Iowa 10-15 years ago when it was really good. That is my biggest regret.


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Re: Is Iowa "worth it"

Unread postby mainebowhunter » Tue Dec 05, 2017 11:20 am

Its crazy. I travel 3.5hrs to a "better" state to scout it lands me in Massachusetts :D If it were IOWA next door. FOR SURE. And Missouri...and KS... :lol:
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Re: Is Iowa "worth it"

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Tue Dec 05, 2017 11:53 am

Iowa is good, but the best hunting I have ever had was when I went to southern Ohio. I have been wanting to go back ever since but I guess I haven't made it a high enough priority. I have had two trips planned for Ohio since but the people I was supposed to go with backed out both times.

Ohio has reasonably priced over the counter licenses too. Another place I think would have awesome hunting, even better than Ohio, would be the Archery only or 4 point to a side area's in Missouri. Also over the counter.
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Re: Is Iowa "worth it"

Unread postby exojam » Wed Dec 06, 2017 3:05 am

DEERSLAYER wrote:Iowa is good, but the best hunting I have ever had was when I went to southern Ohio. I have been wanting to go back ever since but I guess I haven't made it a high enough priority. I have had two trips planned for Ohio since but the people I was supposed to go with backed out both times.

Ohio has reasonably priced over the counter licenses too. Another place I think would have awesome hunting, even better than Ohio, would be the Archery only or 4 point to a side area's in Missouri. Also over the counter.


Deerslayer,

Were you going to use an outfitter or just head to some public you know about? Thanks.
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Re: Is Iowa "worth it"

Unread postby rutjunkie » Wed Dec 06, 2017 3:39 am

DEERSLAYER wrote:Iowa is good, but the best hunting I have ever had was when I went to southern Ohio. I have been wanting to go back ever since but I guess I haven't made it a high enough priority. I have had two trips planned for Ohio since but the people I was supposed to go with backed out both times.

Ohio has reasonably priced over the counter licenses too. Another place I think would have awesome hunting, even better than Ohio, would be the Archery only or 4 point to a side area's in Missouri. Also over the counter.

Ohio is on my list. Giant deer and cheap tags. The only thing iowa has over Ohio is limiting the pressure. Nice part about Ohio is your tag is not weapon specific, so u could bowhunt and then gun hunt on same tag. Missouri is good, but you will have company.
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Re: Is Iowa "worth it"

Unread postby muddy » Wed Dec 06, 2017 3:56 am

Iowa, nothing to do since 1772

The state fair is pretty good tho

Better off hunting Indiana, Ohio, or Kansas
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Re: Is Iowa "worth it"

Unread postby Kraftd » Wed Dec 06, 2017 9:17 am

Never hunted Iowa, but hard to compare a state with 120,000 gun hunters and limited NR draw and fairly cheap OTC tags and 600,000+ hunters in Iowa and WI. I don't think one approach is right or wrong either. We have certain goals as very serious hunters who largely want to pursue big bucks, but I think it's kind of selfish to think that makes our thoughts on deer management correct. They may be correct for our goals, but that doesn't mean everyone has to agree with our goals. Fairly clearly, Iowa provides better overall opportunities at larger bucks based on the situation they have created. That not being the goal of WI, or MI, or another state, doesn't necessarily make Iowa better at game management, just big buck management, and maybe overall deer population management.

Economics matters, and my guess is that drives each state's approach and often times isn't left in the hands of the qualified resource managers, but more driven by politics. Say WI takes the Iowa approach to NR tags. Would probably be good for the overall deer herd and quality of bucks, but you can bet there would be an uproar from the tavern league, and local chambers of commerce, etc. decrying the economic impacts. The ploticians would hear that and the decision would be taken away from the resource managers. Certain parts of the state would still be attractive enough to bring in big numbers of big payers, but not the whole state. Established hunting cultures matter, and states like MI, WI, PA have established hunting cultures and associated economies that will be difficult to alter. As Stan has said many times, wasn't all that long ago finding any deer in Iowa was almost impossible. The culture there is much younger and, thus was easier to mold and drive a different direction.

Stanley, interesting thoughts on what is a good buck:doe ratio. Most of Iowa and southern WI can probably support much higher than QDM recommended ratios. That may be in conflict with other management goals for certain vegetative habitat types or other species that rely on them. If it is not, I'd lean towards higher deer numbers as well. Obviously in the northwoods, the land can not sustain that many deer.
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Re: Is Iowa "worth it"

Unread postby Mike32 » Mon Jan 08, 2018 1:12 pm

It's worth it to me. I've always wanted to try it out there I s on my bucket list for Whitetail's.
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Re: Is Iowa "worth it"

Unread postby Tim H » Tue Jan 09, 2018 3:06 am

I started earning PP last season for Iowa. I'm planning on doing a Public DIY and scouted some public last spring. It was really neat how different it is compared to northwoods Wisconsin. In March I plan to go back again to shed hunt and learn the area better. For those of you that have hunted Iowa, what zone would you prefer? I'm probably going to hunt zone 4. :D


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