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Iowa recap

Here’s a quick little recap of our Iowa hunt this last week.

My brother and I started building points and scouting during the spring the last few years. Many attempts were made to acquire permission on private ground but no luck. So we dug into the public ground a little deeper.

We made a trip down in the middle of October to find lots of buck sign and the woods to ourselves. I went back the last weekend of October and some great encounters. Once again I had the woods to myself.

We went back down on Saturday to find trucks at almost all of our prescouted locations and a hotel parking lot that reminded me of a trailhead in an otc elk unit. License plates from all over the country.

I went one way and my brother went another to a spot he looked at on aerial photos. He set up over fresh sign and shot one within a half hour of being on stand.

I kept hunting through the wet weather without a whole lot of encounters. Rattled in some small bucks but rut activity was slow.

On Tuesday afternoon I went to an area where I saw a big deer cross the road the night before. Did a big loop to get the wind right and scouted my way in. I went into an oxbow of the river to see if they were using this particular kind of habitat. Jumped a Small buck right away. Got back to the riverbank and saw deer running on the other side. Thought I jumped them but it turned out to be a big deer running a doe and chasing off a smaller buck. I shadowed them from across the river hoping he would run her back my direction. At one point he bedded with her about 100 yards down the river so I looped around so I could come straight at him. While doing so he chased off the small buck again and then re bedded with the doe in a windfall

I snuck into 54 yards and waited for probably close to an hour. He just layed in his bed chewing his cud. At one point a bunch of teal landed in the river between the buck and I. They were making a splashing sound and I think the buck thought it was another deer. He stood up, grunted and rubbed his forehead on an overhead branch before walking down to the rivers edge. I drew back, stood, and double lunged him at 48 yards. Thought I saw him go down through my binoculars. Waited an hour and he was laying right where I last saw him

Not really how I envisioned the hunt going down for either of us but I’ll take it. Now I have a few more days to fill my tag back home.

Beautiful buck for sure. You turned bad to good by changing tactics, that's hunting.

How often does it go like envisioned? Assume buck, great story!

Congratulations! Thanks for sharing

That sounded more like hinting than what you probably had intended. Great hunt. Fantastic deer. Iowa doesn't make it easy to draw, but they grow some phenomenal deer.

Good story. Congrats and thanks for sharing.

Congrats. Way to stick with it. I sent for my first point this year.

Good story and nice deer! Congrats on the hunt and thanks for sharing.

Thanks guys. Good luck and stay safe this gun season

Congrats. What part of the state? It's been 3 years since I have been bow hunting Iowa and hopefully draw next year. We try the southwest corner of the state

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