Iowa NR deer tag applications
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: t-roy
04-May-18
The application period to apply for NR deer tags in Iowa opens tomorrow and closes June 3rd.
Good luck!!
From: skull
04-May-18
Thank you, with 4PP I hope I’ll draw tag for zone 4 Union country
From: jdee
04-May-18
Thx t-roy
From: olebuck
04-May-18
i'll be applying for zone 4 as well. looking at hunting Nov 5th -10th. hope my 4pp get me there!
From: Shawn
04-May-18
I have 3 pts now so I won't apply this year at all. 3 points will draw unit 3 next year. If I waited 3 or 4 years to draw a tag I would be hunting for more than a week unless I was hunting with an outfitter. I plan on 15 days minimum. Best of luck folks!! Shawn
From: BULELK1
05-May-18
Thanks for the heads-up t-roy
I am hopeful as many others are.
My 4pts for Z-5 should get me a tag.
#LovinLife
Robb
From: Trial153
06-May-18
I originally planned to hunt Iowa the last week of oct and first two weeks of November, however as of now I have only secured one 30 acre property in addition to the public land I as going to hunt. If something doesn’t pan out in the next two weeks I think I might just grab another point and skip Iowa. As much as I have enjoyed my Iowa hunts in the past the cost of the tag and points, is getting getting a little out of hand. I have had some great hunts in other states at half the cost. I might just burn these points and take Iowa off my list.
From: Shawn
06-May-18
Why do you feel you need more then public property to hunt? If you have 3 weeks you should do just fine on public. Lots of big bucks come from public, depending in the zone you apply for. Shawn
From: Trial153
06-May-18
I have had way better hunts on private ground in iowa vs public. It pays to headge your bets
From: deerslayer
06-May-18
Going to buy my 4th point. Hopefully next year I can nail down a plan to fulfill my Iowa dream....
From: Don K
06-May-18
Ive had great hunts on public land in Iowa for archery. Plenty of public if you do your homework you can have a great hunt
From: Shawn
06-May-18
Trial, hedging your bets, from your post you are not betting at all. You said you just may burn your points, that makes little sense. Private is tough to come by is all I am saying!! Even some residents have a tough time getting private land to hunt. I have scouted Iowa for a couple years now and have hunted there once in the past and as I said and as others have said the public is very good you just need to spend some time figuring out some areas. Shawn
From: Trial153
06-May-18
Shawn, This will be my fourth Iowa tag so I have some actual experience in the bowhunting state. Maybe you don’t understand some terminology, once I burn my points and draw a tag it will be in likelihood be the last time I accumulate points in Iowa. Plus Iowa points don’t expire. Burning points means drawing a tag. What do you think it means drawing it and ripping it up lol? I. As to if makes sense to you, that is of little concern to me. I haven’t had tough time gettting permission on private in the past, and through networking I will have private land to hunt in the future. I have also hunted public as well in zones 5 and 9. While Iowa’s public land hunts well it doesn’t hunt as well as private land with limited access. If you can’t see where-waiting to have both public and private land access to hunt a tag that takes 3 to 5 years to draw isn’t hedging your bets ...well I can’t help you there.
From: Zim1
06-May-18
If you have the coin, I agree with Trial. As good as Iowa Public is, I’d still seek some private land to burn 4 points. I don’t have that kind of expendable money so it’s off the table for me.
I have hunted zone 5 for 25 years, scouted 8 days the spring prior, hiked in to the most remote spots I could, yet still had unexpected company from other hunters. Seen a lot of 130 bucks daily, but just a few better. I hunted for 4 weeks.
From: Rob in VT
06-May-18
I hunted zone 4 Union county last fall. Started Nov 5. I took a nice buck on Nov 7th and saw lots of deer but it seems there was a lot more chasing a week earlier around Halloween. Still a good time. Good luck to all who draws a tag.
From: Shawn
06-May-18
Ok, I see what you are saying. Maybe you have hunted the wrong zones then. I understand how everyone thinks 5 is awesome and 4 very good as well as a couple others but I have found that it is the zones that are off the radar that produce better deer the last few years. I have been scouting as well as researching other areas of the state and I do not need that many points to hunt where I know big deer are being taken. Just like Kansas, don't hunt the most popular units of years past and you can do very well! Shawn
From: Brotsky
07-May-18
Shawn, post like this ^^^^ are what put your "off the radar" areas on the radar. I'm not sure advertising that is a good idea but feel free.
From: Quinn @work
07-May-18
Brotsky,
Ya think????
He already advertised his area in Kansas and showed his pictures. I'm just glad I don't hunt near there. I guess in all fairness he's not the only one out there on the interweb doing the same thing.
From: skull
07-May-18
I just applied You guys better don’t tell my wife I paid $800 US for a deer tag
From: Boatman71
07-May-18
Well crap I better get my application in!! LOL j/k !!
From: t-roy
07-May-18
Skull.....I’ll sell ya a fully guided hunted hunt at my place on private land for less than that. I’ll even pay for your Iowa tag! ;-)
From: skull
07-May-18
t-roy Just noticed, fixed, thanks if you are close to Lorimor iowa first week November I’ll buy you a beer LOL
From: Shawn
08-May-18
That is the problem with folks, no one wants to say a thing to anyone for fear it will wreck their hunting. Either way in Kansas or Iowa there are only so many tags and all the info I give is already out there. You just have to research it a bit to find out. I doubt it is going to wreck my hunting! Shawn
From: Cheesehead Mike
09-May-18
Yeah but it could influence more people to apply for the zone you're hunting and make it much harder for you to draw. There are only so many tags so there won't be any more hunters but you might end up with more competition for tags which reduces your odds of drawing one...
For every person posting on a thread there could be hundreds of people who read the posts but don't post.
Helping is one thing but it's much wiser to do it via PM's because that way you're responding to one person at a time rather than possibly hundreds...
Don't underestimate the power of the internet...
From: Cheesehead Mike
09-May-18
From: 12yards
09-May-18
Exactly Cheesehead Mike. Right on the money.
From: Shawn
09-May-18
Trust me, it is not posting n sites like these. it is the constant bombardment of the hunting shows on OLN and others. It has been and was happening long before I or anyone else has been posting on the internet and if you don't know that than you are very naive. Like I said I doubt very much my posts are influencing hundreds of more folks to apply for tags. Shawn
From: IdyllwildArcher
09-May-18
You can literally look at the changes in recommendations that HF and Eastmans make and see an uptick or downtick in app #s that year. And then the app numbers generally stay the same thereafter unless another change is made. When I see big upticks in applicants, it's often because of that and sometimes, I think that when you don't see a new report, then there was one of the big app services that started dumping everyone into that pool.
Every time it gets out that a 400+ inch bull was killed on public land, that unit will get swamped with apps. Same thing with a monster sheep in a unit that wasn't known as the best unit in the state.
As far as Iowa goes, I'll be hunting western Iowa. Eastern Iowa absolutely has all the big deer and you all should apply there; it is known.
From: Shawn
09-May-18
I know exactly where I am hunting in Iowa and Kansas and the rest pf you folks keep dreaming about what you "think" the reason is these places get over run with people. Shawn
From: Brotsky
09-May-18
LOL...this is awesome.
From: sticksender
09-May-18
Got my app put in today. Looks like the good news is that the total cost to apply hasn't gone up since my last license 4 years ago.
From: Firsty
09-May-18
I plan on applying this year too, I will probably just follow Shawn around......
From: Pyrannah
09-May-18
I’m headed this year, if i draw
I’m not sure what data people are using to justify where to and not to go.. I just downloaded a ton of data and ran it through a bunch of graphing and analyses tools.. nothing too surprising but maybe one or two zones.. I do data analysis for work so wasn’t a huge task.
I wonder what I’m missing...
Either way, I know where I’m going if I draw,
Good luck to everyone!
From: 12yards
10-May-18
Shawn, you don't hear folks on tv saying what zones they are hunting. An increase of 10 or 20 applicants can make a huge difference in how long it takes to get drawn when fewer than 80 nonresident permits are given.
From: Shawn
10-May-18
My point is go to you tube, thousands of videos posted of Iowa deer hunts and they get a hell of a lot more hits then my posts on bowsite!! You can watch videos for days straight on hunting Iowa public land. Point being although bowsite is a great on line hunting site. It pales in comparison to the people you tube and the hunting shows people watch. Sorry but come hunt the Northeast sometime and than hunt Kansas or Iowa even on public and tell me which is easier to figure out and kill a good buck in. Shawn
From: Pyrannah
10-May-18
That’s def true... NE public grnd can be brutal.. I have some private which is nice but still hunt a lot of public grnd
From: Cheesehead Mike
10-May-18
I don't have cable or dish and don't watch much TV so I guess I am naïve...
I do agree with what you say about YouTube videos on Iowa public land though... there's pretty much an endless supply.
However, when I do research on specific units or specific parts of states, the first place I go is Bowsite...
From: Shawn
10-May-18
Mike, that is because you contribute here. Like I said I doubt very much the posts on here influence a huge number of people to apply anyway. Also Mike if folks did not post stuff that you are looking for, you would not come here. So to say it is bad to post units and zones and such stuff than you would just go to you tube, or computer for stats and such. I just get a kick out of people who claim to love bowhunting and want to spend time on social media with other bowhunters at how many people bitch when folks give out a little info. It crack me up that folks are so insecure and worried their hunting will be wrecked forever!! Give me a break, as I said I doubt very much this thread will make one bit of difference whether I draw next year and where I hunt won't matter a bit to anyone! Shawn
From: SaddleReaper
10-May-18
Interesting debate. I just drove to Iowa last week/weekend, from NY, just to get boots on the ground and scout prior to deciding on a zone. I have never hunted Iowa but have been getting the PPs, doing my research, and saving draw statistics as well for the last 4 years..... Information is out there no matter what is posted here. But certainly to cheesehead mikes point, there are a lot of "lurkers" on bowsite gleaning intel from posters, I being one of them... been on here since 2007 and couldn't even begin to sum the things I have learned on here.
With that said I am very fortunate to have some great contacts in Iowa, and relations to landowners which will allow me to pursue filling my tag on private ground if I so chose. I meet some nice people in my few days down there and got even more funny looks with my NY plates :)
From: Shawn
10-May-18
Saddle I 100% agree with Cheesehead but your post proves my point. I doubt my posting that I am going to hunt a specific zone is gonna make about as much a difference as a drop of water in the Atlantic ocean. Shawn
From: TREESTANDWOLF
10-May-18
I get there every two years.. but not with my bow. I just cant hold out for 3 or 4 years, so I opt to go every two.
I'm enjoy brutal cold weather with my muzzleloader and Iowa has the late season, right on point.
Point is acquired.
Best of luck to all you guys bowhunting Iowa, special place indeed.
From: Trial153
10-May-18
Shawn you never disappoint me in how misinformed you are. If you think that running your yapper on here or any place on the Internet doesn’t have an exponential effect on getting the word out on units and states your sadly mistaken. People searching on the internet for these things are not limited to logging on to bowsite or being members in order to read these rants. Just plug key words into a google search and any line typed here or in any forum becomes open anyone who wants to read its. Go to a search engine and type in Iowa zone bowsite and you can read till your eyes hurt.
From: Lovehunt11
10-May-18
Zone 5, 4 is good bucks density. I hunt on private land zone 4, I don’t know much about public land. Iowa public land is very limited
From: Shawn
10-May-18
Trial and you never disappoint me in how ignorant you are, so I guess we are even. As I keep saying you can do a search that just says Iowa non-resident bowhunting and get millions of hits. What is funny is you just proved the point of what I have been saying all along, I am a drop in the ocean. Read that til your eyes hurt and maybe you will finally see my point is exactly what you just posted! Shawn
From: Arrowone
10-May-18
Shawn is correct. There are so many good spots in Iowa that to think his post is having any measurable effect on anyone else’s future hunt is absurd. Zone 4 awesome. I hunted Zone 5 last year and it was awesome. I had a friend go to 3, he killed a buck in the 160s on his 3rd day a half mile from the road on public. Oops sorry, I just narrowed down someone’s hunting choices to 100,000 acres. What’s the point of Bowsite if hunters can’t share information?
From: joehunter8301
10-May-18
Troy sssshhhhhh
From: Boatman71
11-May-18
Arrowone dangit, your giving my spots away!
From: Starfire
11-May-18
I've heard the best spot is west of the Mississippi and east of the Missouri, but don't think I'm dumb enough to give away that its next to the big oak tree.
From: Cheesehead Mike
11-May-18
Shawn, how do you know that all those guys who post videos on YouTube aren't lurkers who found their spots by researching Bowsite?
You don't...
Neither one of us can prove that we are right or wrong.
Maybe your words are drop in the bucket, maybe not... One thing is for certain, advertising your hunting area on the internet won't help matters and therefore I prefer to play it a little safer. And I guess I'll never share any secrets with you... ;^)
Oh, and I could agree with you Shawn, but then we would both be wrong! LOL ;^)
From: t-roy
11-May-18
Cheesehead Mike...PM me a few of your elk spots and I’ll share with you a few of my whitetail hotspots! ;-)
From: Busta'Ribs
11-May-18
I've been buying points for a few years now. Just checked and I have 6 points (time flies). Anyway, does it make sense to buy another point for $50 of am I good with this many points in the bank if I decide to apply for a tag in the next year or two?
From: 12yards
11-May-18
You've already thrown money away buying more points than you need. You are pretty much guaranteed to draw with 4 point anywhere in the state.
From: Busta'Ribs
11-May-18
Figured that. I was thinking I had 3 or 4, but wasn't really sure, which is why I checked this year before buying another point. And I was surprised that I had that many. Thanks.
From: stick slinger
11-May-18
Busta. I’m pretty sure you can draw any unit with six and you don’t lose them. It’s easy to find draw stats in the Iowa DNR page.
From: Shawn
11-May-18
Again, there are a lot of locals that post videos that hunt public land and they post plenty of informative videos. There is a kid that is about 20 years old and he does some awesome stuff. Very knowledgeable for a young man and his videos are very good. Tons of others doing it too and I am sure they are not bow-site lurkers. I should also say that I like a challenge and maybe thats why I post on bow-site. Seems like a lot of challenged folks on here! :-) !! Shawn
From: stick slinger
11-May-18
Is there a place to find success stats that are unit specific? I haven’t dug around much and it won’t change where I go, but it would be interesting to look at.
From: TEmbry
11-May-18
As if I don’t have enough stuff on my plate, I’ll start building points this year as well. Cause why not.
From: Trial153
11-May-18
Trevor when your ready pm me and i will give you all of shawns spots.
From: pav
12-May-18
Point creep for limited draw tags is real. There was a time I could draw Iowa every other year rather than every 4 years. There was a time I could draw my favorite CO elk unit every other year rather than every 4-5 years. The list goes on...and on....and on.
Any time you "advertise" a LE hunt unit, you run the risk of reducing your own draw odds. Yeah, point creep is probably going to happen regardless, but why speed up the process?
From: Cheesehead Mike
12-May-18
Yeah I just hunted zone 5 last year and I was going to start building points to hunt it again in 4-5 years but Shawn convinced me to apply for one of the easier zones that I might draw this year. See you in November Shawn... that is if I don't draw your tag ;-)
From: Trial153
12-May-18
Guys don't try to explain point creep to Shawn. It's like 6 steps above his pay grade and his head may explode. On 2nd thought explain away.
From: Shawn
12-May-18
Point creep is what it is but again when you deal with someone with as limited intelligence as Trail it does no good to explain things. He cannot even see that he just proves my point with a couple of his points. One thing ya can't fix is stupid. Again I am flattered that people think my posts contribute to point creep and folks not drawing tags. sorry but it is inevitable. Look people talk about it when it comes to Elk hunting and other draws and I have never even mentioned Elk hunting or other draws. Trial just can't wrap his head around facts he lives in a fantasy world like so many others. Its scary to think he is a fellow NY'er! Shawn
From: Trial153
12-May-18
Shawn you should be proud. Your not only considered the local idiot your the bowsite idiot as well. You better stick to hunting mead lane otherwise the only other place you go with regularity is fantasy land. Your just too much of a simpleton to undertand that with a limited number tags given out in a unit the more hype that unit receives the more applications its receives. And that fact alone insures that it will take more points to draw in the future. It isnt as simple as " it is what it is" but your just to ignorant to grasp otherwise.
