Iowa

[brock ratcliff]

IMO, there is no comparison between Ohio and Iowa. There are few people there, as Ron said. A trophy deer in Ohio would be a lot easier to kill if there weren't two hunters in every block of timber. In Iowa, there isn't.

 

[Fletch]

I agree, but I will add...I think that there's a lot more wide open crop fields, CRP and large tracts of timber in Iowa. In the SE part of the state where is was. Most of the roads were in square miles and the farms and or dwellings were few and far between. Large privately owned farms with less pressure, sure helps those bucks get older.
Great genetics, fertile farm land and crops and low hunting pressure surely makes it hard to beat!

Definitely agreeing with you on the great genetics,fertile farm land, crops and low hunting pressure. All these factors contribute to a healthy and robust deer herd. Large privately owned farms definitely make a dramatic difference. Then QDM can be practiced and the bucks get older. I'm not a resident of Ohio, so let me ask you guys.... Is Ohio overrated?? 2 years ago I leased a small piece of land in S/E Ohio and it actually had a lot of bucks on it. Just nothing over 125 inches. At least the ones we saw or had on camera. I didn't shoot anything though as I was hoping for bigger and don't just shoot a deer to fill my tag. We gave up on it and didn't re-lease it. I'm sorry I gave up on it as haven't found another piece. And before anyone says anything about leasing land. I was approached by 2 guys that always hunted it and they said " I guess we lost our spot "... I replied, not really, heres the week Ill be here hunting, feel free to hunt it any other time. Just keep an eye on it and don't steal any cameras. They were happy. QDM is key... This past year on one of our farms in Illinois during the 3 day firearm season I passed 14 bucks on day one.... 10 bucks on day two.... and 12 bucks on day three... I ate a $300.00 tag. But that farm should be great this year. Strange thing is that on this same farm we hung camera's in July and when we went back out in Nov. we had numerous shooters on cam that disappeared.. If it wasn't such a far drive I'd be out there every weekend looking for sheds.

 

[Bigslam51]

Is Ohio overrated? Kind of a tough question. There's parts of the state that hold good numbers of deer and others that don't. IMO hunting pressure is the main problem. I have 3 farms to hunt, the smallest being 80 acres, and I don't have any of them to myself. If the neighbor or another guy hunting the farm is being a jackass then I'm damn near screwed.

 

[Fullbore]

Ohio has awesome Genetics IMO, but so much hunting pressure. Ohio has produced world class bucks every year and for that Ohio gets its well deserved reputation. However, with all the private leasing and Hunter competition for hunting land, it's hard to gain access without breaking the bank. So to answer question on over rated? No, but it's hard to gain and keep access, without others also hunting it too.

 

[Fletch]

Well I'll tell you guy's one thing don't plan a deer hunting trip to New Jersey you will definitely be disappointed. I live to hunt but I haven't bought an archery tag here in many years. Years ago the deer herd was booming and many nice bucks roamed Jersey woodlots. But with mis-management the herd has been decimated in many areas. But what can you expect with deer seasons starting in mid-Sept and just ending this week. And that's with almost an unlimited doe bag limit.. The deer don't get a break. What we still have is a very good bear population. So I do buy a bear tag and get out for them. The game commission is dead set on ruining that too, as next year they are having an early season. And we have some bruisers, they are not your Canada or Maine bears. I have bears on cam pushing 600 lbs.

 

[Fullbore]

Well I'll tell you guy's one thing don't plan a deer hunting trip to New Jersey you will definitely be disappointed. I live to hunt but I haven't bought an archery tag here in many years. Years ago the deer herd was booming and many nice bucks roamed Jersey woodlots. But with mis-management the herd has been decimated in many areas. But what can you expect with deer seasons starting in mid-Sept and just ending this week. And that's with almost an unlimited doe bag limit.. The deer don't get a break. What we still have is a very good bear population. So I do buy a bear tag and get out for them. The game commission is dead set on ruining that too, as next year they are having an early season. And we have some bruisers, they are not your Canada or Maine bears. I have bears on cam pushing 600 lbs.

Our ODNR seems to be trying the same thing here with our deer herd. I understand keeping the herd healthy, but it getting a little carried away!

 

[Bigcountry40]

I would like to be a resident of Iowa for about 5 years so I could compare Iowa and Ohio, based solely on the amount of sheds one of our members posted on here and along with the stop sign rubs, I have come to the conclusion that Iowa is better. I agree with everyone above, i think the Ohio pressure is getting overwhelming. Iowa is surround by "outdoor states" so I think some of the pressure is deflected, whereas because of several variables Ohio is a magnet.

 

[bthompson1004]

On a few other sites I have seen lists of deadlines for applying for big game hunts in many different states...the only deadlines I see posted for Whitetail Hunting are for:

Iowa
Iowa (Preference Points)
Kansas

Do any other states have the same "draw system" or are these the only 2...for example...Can I just buy a non-resident license and deer tag for Illinois and go hunt?

 

[Fletch]

On a few other sites I have seen lists of deadlines for applying for big game hunts in many different states...the only deadlines I see posted for Whitetail Hunting are for:

Iowa
Iowa (Preference Points)
Kansas

Do any other states have the same "draw system" or are these the only 2...for example...Can I just buy a non-resident license and deer tag for Illinois and go hunt?

Illinois has a lottery system, BUT.... Since they increased license cost's there are always leftover permit's,which are sold over the counter. I held off buying my gun permit till I got out there last year in Nov. Gun permits are county specific. Example if you buy a Pike County permit you are limited to hunting only in Pike County during gun season. Archery tag's are valid throughout the state. The gun season is split in two segment's. First being 3 days. Fri. Sat. Sun. prior to Thanksgiving. The second is 4 day's. Thurs. Fri. Sat. Sun. after Thanksgiving. Your gun tag is valid for both segments. So if you live in Western Ohio its not a bad drive to go back for the second season. Takes me 18 hours to drive back.

Iowa as we know is a draw state. If your a big archery hunter you can expect to go every 4 years.. That's the one big disadvantage to Iowa. Wait 4 years to draw and go out there with great expectations and get hit with warm temps,rain and wind and a weeks hunt can be disastrous. So I'd plan to allow extra day's and avoid that dreaded full moon.

Then we have Missouri... Tag's are over the counter and relatively cheap. A lot of great deer shot in Missouri. Remember your better counties in Iowa are the Southern ones, so find some property in Northern Missouri bordering Iowa and you might find a gold mine. Missouri is also a rifle state.

If anyone want's to try Illinois this year. Give me a shout as I'm involved in a very small outfitting business and can help. We only have about 10-12 guys a year. I currently have a 180 acre piece in Adams County I'm thinking about leasing. This will depend on getting 2 or 3 more guys. So if interested give me a shout.

 

[ajupsman]

Fletch, it sounds like you have experienced deer hunting in a lot of different states so I'm going to ask for your honest opinion. I'm from New Hampshire and come to Ohio for 1-2 weeks every year. It's about a 14 hour drive but it's worth it to me for the adventure of hunting a different state and the hope of what could pass by my stand at any time. Iowa would be about 20 hours for me. If I want to archery hunt the rut in November in Iowa on public land is it worth it to buy a preference point for the next 4 years and plan on a trip in 2019? The key here is public land. I prefer the challenge of public land and it's obviously cheaper. Thoughts?

 

[Fletch]

Fletch, it sounds like you have experienced deer hunting in a lot of different states so I'm going to ask for your honest opinion. I'm from New Hampshire and come to Ohio for 1-2 weeks every year. It's about a 14 hour drive but it's worth it to me for the adventure of hunting a different state and the hope of what could pass by my stand at any time. Iowa would be about 20 hours for me. If I want to archery hunt the rut in November in Iowa on public land is it worth it to buy a preference point for the next 4 years and plan on a trip in 2019? The key here is public land. I prefer the challenge of public land and it's obviously cheaper. Thoughts?

Honest opinion??? First off I have no experience hunting public land in Iowa. So planning a trip to Iowa in 2019 would be a crap shoot. Too many varibles to figure in. First and foremost, even above the cost factor would be the possibility of disappointment hunting public land AFTER WAITING 4 YEARS'S... Wow that would be a bummer. Then your back to square one waiting another 4 years. Second you just blew $749.00 in license fee's (preference points and license). Add in traveling expenses,food,lodging etc and you've spent some serious change. So my thought's on a public land hunt.. I wouldn't do it. What I would do is try and get together with a few guy's (either friends or maybe even on here) and plan a hunt in Iowa in 4 years. Maybe two years prior to going try to secure some private property out there. Run an ad in a paper out there, check craigslist, call a farm supply store out there and leave your phone number, Basecamp leasing even has good properties from time to time. So turn over some stones out there it may surprise you. Then even if you still want to hunt public (cause you like the challenge)... you'll have some private land to fall back on. Hope this helps.

 

[ajupsman]

Thanks for your opinion. I assume you do think it's worth the trip to hunt private land.

 

[Fletch]

Thanks for your opinion. I assume you do think it's worth the trip to hunt private land.

Definitely worth the trip to hunt private land... I may go this year as I have 4 point's... I Pmed you my phone number..