Iowa or Kansas whitetail hunting!
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: Brant22
08-Nov-20
Want to try something new. What is everyone's thoughts on Iowa or Kansas? Public ground.
From: t-roy
08-Nov-20
Do you have any preference points banked in Iowa? If not, it will most likely take you 2-4 years to draw a tag in most zones.
Don’t know anything about Kansas. Maybe reach out to Thornton. He’s a wealth of information on a lot of different subjects ;-)
From: Brant22
08-Nov-20
No preference points but I'm a couple years out anyway. And if the wait is worth it. I don't mind waiting till I draw in iowa.
From: Michael
08-Nov-20
I would hunt Kansas when you can. Depending on the area you could draw every year.
Then when you can drawniowa Hunt Iowa.
From: Brant22
08-Nov-20
Michael, that's not really an option. Maybe might be able to pull it off once every 10 years. I mean I want to see deer but I'd really like the opportunity to go after 140+ without guides.
From: Outdoordan
08-Nov-20
You and 9 million other hunters...
From: jingalls
08-Nov-20
I’m from KS and own land here. Given your time frames I would definitely pick IA. Much better herd than KS. IA does a better job of managing the amount of tags issued. KS allows crossbows during archery season and liberal amounts of tags has hurt the quality of our herd. We do not have a lot of public ground to hunt. I have no idea how much public IA has. They may be in the same boat we are in? If you do decide to come to KS, PM me and I can give you some ideas on public options. Good luck!
From: pointingdogs
09-Nov-20
Only 1% of all the land in Iowa is PUBLIC. The least of any state in the country. That's not to say that you can not find public ground to hunt. Good luck.
From: Boone
09-Nov-20
Just returned from zone 4 in Iowa. I was there in 08 11 14 and now 20. The deer numbers are dropping fast where I hunt. The farmers are basically getting unlimited tags and they are taking care of the population. 3 of us went down there and 1 guy shot a 145inch 10 and 2 does for the week. Sure the weather wasn't perfect by any means but we have decided Kansas is where we will be officially spending our money now. Remember 3 points for Iowa and a 650$ tag your at $800 to shoot 2 deer.
From: Thornton
13-Nov-20
T-Roy just doesn't want you to shoot any of his Iowa bucks. I'd tell you all the big deer in Kansas have been killed, but Facebook would make me a liar.
From: JohnMC
13-Nov-20
What are most people that wait several years to hunt IA doing. Are they going with outfitter, knocking on doors, or hunting public?
From: 4nolz@work
13-Nov-20
Boone I have a house and land in Zone 4 where I grew up I sure haven't heard of these "unlimited tags" and all my farmer buddies know nothing about it.Wheres your info word of mouth or DNR or?
From: spike78
13-Nov-20
Boone 4 deer shot in a week by 3 guys is damn good. Bring yourself to MA and 3 guys may get 1 for the week. I will take IA all day long!
From: Carbon Defiant 34
13-Nov-20
Possibly they are the Prededation doe tags that the DNR can allow the farmer to purchase due to crop damage and the quantity of does present.
From: Pete-pec
13-Nov-20
Without an outfitter, there are plenty of other states to pick from. I'm not sure there's ever been a greater emphasis on deer antlers, than today? I might consider another state, that's not necessarily on the mind of all the other hunters who suffer from the "grass is greener" syndrome. Don't get me wrong, Iowa and Kansas have great deer, but so do (easily) 10 other states with equal or better opportunities, and at a better value.
From: 4nolz@work
13-Nov-20
Seems like Kansas will end up like Pike Co Illinois did years ago
From: MichaelArnette
13-Nov-20
I live in Kansas, have hunted public for 4 years and haven’t seen anything over 140s yet. I’ve been pretty happy with the 115-125 bucks though. Have no idea what Iowa is like but I’d hunt whitetails closer to home. They are just whitetial and live everywhere
From: Pat Lefemine
13-Nov-20
Some areas of Iowa have been hit hard with EHD and it’s gonna be a while before it’s back to normal.
It’s still a fantastic hunt due to good management.
Kansas is always good. Don’t overlook sleepers like MO, NE, OK, and OH. It may be easier to find access there.
Good luck
From: writer
13-Nov-20
Kansas has 1.7 million acres open to public hunting, don’t be afraid to go where the trees are few. If you do Kansas, look into special areas like Fort Riley for the season. Some state parks offer draw hunts, too. Don’t rule out private ground. Some people had made good connections through churches, civic groups or being able to trade hunting and fishing trips. Our legislature hastaken management away from our game department . Crossbows are legal, muzzleloader season runs with early archery and baiting is allowed on private lands but not public. But we’re a rare one buck per residents in the Midwest. EHD didn’t hit as hard as some states the past few years.
From: 4nolz@work
13-Nov-20
Northeast Missouri is a hot spot.OTC NR license rifle rut
From: SIP
13-Nov-20
Thornton, you’re a real peach. The world needs more people like you
From: writer
13-Nov-20
Wow, Thorton, just when we think you can’t get any lower.
You don’t have but about five friends and you pull this crap on one of them. (I’m talking about your blistering first post, not the wimped out, edited version.)
I provided accurate information to someone wanting to travel out of state...it’s not like you don’t gun or bowhunt other states.
SIP, you can have that one!
From: Thornton
15-Nov-20
As I've said many times before Writer, I've never hunted a state or Province that didn't have millions of acres of public land. The few animals I've taken on guided hunts were on public land except for 1 elk. Kansas has a tiny amount of public. Over the years, I've seen you edit your share of outbursts. I'm tired of losing property to NR leasing. Tell your buddies at the state to lease good WIHA and not the crap they waste money on around here that doesn't have any game on it.
From: Boone
15-Nov-20
4nolz@work the one farmer said directly to me. They shot 60 deer off there 1000 acres in 2018 in 2019 they shot 80 deer off of there 1000. To me that's considered unlimited tags.
From: greg simon
15-Nov-20
Even if the limit was 60 that is a lot of deer!!!!
