I was thinking about taking a family trip to Iowa to hunt there gun season can anyone give me and tips on how the public land hunting is out there or a what a good zone would be? And input is appreciated! Thanks in advance!

I think you have to put in or buy points for 3 or 4 years to draw a tag.

Look here for some information.

https://www.iowadnr.gov/Hunting/Nonresident-Hunting

NiceBuck

Better start applying for a buck tag now as it will likley take 3 to 4 years and a few dollars to get one.

Its expensive. $50 per point and about $600 for a buck and doe tag.

My buddy Tad Proudlove gets drawn about every 3 years there.He shot his biggest buck a booner there as well.

Iowa is one of the most expensive and hardest to draw states in the Midwest......as stated by others. Be a fun once in a lifetime hunt. I'm looking at trying Missouri in a couple years for something different. Happy trapping! ScottW

Costs me $33.00 ...its way overrated IMO.

What would you be hunting for? Deer and turkey require a $pecial tag.

Getting drawn for an archery tag in one of the better zones is often a 3-4 year process. Getting drawn for a gun tag though can often happen just about every year. Simply, the demand for archery tags is more competitive relative to the number of tags available. While there are certainly good bucks available on public land, it is also true that you are very likely to encounter plenty of other hunters and the likelihood of an unpressured hunt is not that high. It is more likely to be high pressure during the two "shotgun" deer seasons and then less likely to be highly pressured for the last gun season, the late muzzleloader season FWIW.

The Hunting Public(THP) guys sort of make it look easy, but it really isn't. They work their tails off scouting nearly all year long and are very skilled in what they do and how they do it. IMO, it would be quite difficult for someone that doesn't live fairly close to where they will be hunting to do enough quality scouting to have a real good chance at a big buck in an Iowa gun season on public land. Yet...big bucks do exist and some are shot every year on public, so it certainly is not an impossible task. Just one that is quite a bit more challenging than it might appear via watching Youtube videos, etc.

Thanks.Good information to know.

all our deer either died of blue tongue or got hit by cars....we got squirrels though!

Just for a reference on toughness on getting a big buck during shotgun season dads hunted deer for 60 years and still has yet to get one to put on the wall and we have some of the best habitat in the area the deer just know how to hide here usually in town.



At least you have squirrels here the owls and eagles have hit them hard.

I know what you're saying, but I think they actually do a good job of NOT making it look too easy. They have many many hunts where they don't get anything, not to mention often they have 2 or 3 different guys in an evening getting skunked. I just started watching them a couple months ago and think they do a good and realistic job. They definitely do hunt their hineys off and and I'm sure scout a pile. Not to mention accrued knowledge from year to year which is key. If I ever do it I would probably do archery. My dad's girlfriend has about 600 acres spread over 3 properties just west of Humboldt. I just have a hard time swallowing the $$$ for Iowa when I can hunt elk for that much elsewhere.




Same thing in MN! :-)

Happy trapping! ScottW

Lol....very few deer in Maine to die off.

I got my Iowa bow tag before season started... never went bowhunting all season. I'll sell the tag for the $33 I got in it if someone wants it. You out of state guys won't find a better deal than that.

I think I'll pass on that one but thanks for the offer! :-). Happy trapping! ScottW

I'm hearing a lot of nice ones were got this year near me