Can someone give me an idea in years applied/preference points needed before you draw a nonresident Deer tag?
Thanks
Last I heard it was the third year for sure.
Depends on the unit. I used to hunt unit 10 in the north central part of the state and out of the 5 or 6 years I only failed to draw once. I've heard the more popular units in the southern part of the state are 2 or 3 years as macbow said.
You need 2 or 3 for all the southern units, 3,4,5. Not sure on the rest, 2 gives you a fighting chance.
It generally takes three points to draw zone 5.
about three year, maybe by then will have some deer back so nows a good time to start buying preference points.
Thanks guys, I appreciate it. It gives me an idea of what to expect
It's worth the wait, I been 3 times diy public land and have had a ball and killed my best buck there.
I will have 3 this year. Looking for a good spot in Unit 4 or 5.
Better check out what's happened to our deer population before you get too excited.
QuoteOriginally posted by BAK:
Better check out what's happened to our deer population before you get too excited.
X2
:knothead:
X3 :banghead:
I think part of IA's issue is our small amount of public hunting land. Most of our hunters are on public land and when our deer #'s were higher and we were shooting a lot of does, it really hurt the population down stream on the public land. Now 10 years later we're at a pretty bad point on most of the public land (at least where I hunt). If you have an 'in' with a land owner in a good area, it's still worth the hunt, but our public lands are not nearly as good of hunting as they were (same with a lot of states). I hunt all season and struggle to fill 2 tags. It would be really for a NR to come for a week and fill his/her tags. Not saying it can't be done (it can, surely), but you may be disappointed in what you see vs. what the TV shows say are here.
It took me 4 pts the last time in NE Iowa zone 9. The 2 previous times it took 3
I agree with my other residents above. My taxidermist told me today he down about 50 heads from norm.
How much does a non resident archery license cost in Iowa now ?
ChuckC
Yup, deer numbers seem to be down all over Iowa. I only saw one mature buck while hunting on private land. Between hunting on my own land in Wisconsin and here in Iowa I was out sixty times. I saw some really nice bucks in Wisconsin, but it's a different story here.
I hope nonresidents don't set their sights (pun intended) too high!
Bernie Bjorklund
NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin
Here is a good read from a guy who has a good pulse on what is going on in your fair state...and he is in nirvana sitting right between Larry Zach and Roger Rothhaar. That is a GIANT block of the best private/managed land in the state.
Winke\\'s "Recipe for Collapse" (http://www.midwestwhitetail.com/publish/posts/3238/the-recipe-for-collapse.html)
I'm going to sit on my 4 points for now.
I'm with Steve on this one. Hunted Iowa in 2008 about 20 miles southeast of the area that Steve is referring to. At that time it was phenomenal. Sitting on 4 points right now, couldn't justify spending another $50 to get number 5 last May when 4 points will get you into zone 5. Don't know if I'll ever go back at this time, the cost of tags and the points needed to get there is astronomical now. Did Missouri this year with 400+ acres to hunt, a cabin to stay in and tags for two archery deer and two fall turkey ALL for a total price less than the cost of a tag in Iowa.
Mike, be fair. You get that "free" doe tag with your $551 buck tag. Oh, and don't forget the $150-200 additional you spent on points...
Numbers are the lowest I've seen here in Central IA. If people keep killing as many does as they can it won't get better. But I did manage a big mature 9pt this year, tough hunting though
I also am on the fence this year. I have drawn the tag 3 times and have 2 points going into the draw this year. Did not hear much good from last years hunters. I may get another point and then wait till things turn around. ?????
Heres's a link to your odds http://www.iowadnr.gov/Portals/idnr/uploads/Hunting/drawing_statistics.pdf
QuoteOriginally posted by Steve O:
Mike, be fair. You get that "free" doe tag with your $551 buck tag. Oh, and don't forget the $150-200 additional you spent on points...
It is a sad state of affairs really. And I know Steve was joking, but the tag isn't free as they force you to buy a mandatory doe tag after you draw. It is a dirty process that leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I will draw this year w/4 pts, and I am fairly sure, this will be the last. Beautiful state. Nice deer. Nice people. They just have a crappy way to treat you when you spend lot's (too much) money to hunt there.
I don't know if there are better places, but there are very good places that are cheaper and you can draw or get over the counter often.
Drew Unit 7 twice. In both cases it took 2yrs. Having said that, after several trips out there, we are done with Iowa! Land is locked up. leases way too high and deer #'s are down. Add to that,the cost of a license is ridiculous.
My how things change. I grew up in Iowa in 60's & 70 ' s and deer were pretty much non existent. People came from all over the world for the pheasant back then.
I think we're getting close to the bottom of our cycle (I hope). Maybe we'll see some tag # changes for next year and start to see some of our herd come back. With a huge influx of hunters since the mid 1990's, my feeling is that we need to keep a healthier herd # to sustain all the hunters. We also don't have enough public land to go around in my opinion. Hopefully we'll see the herd come back in the next couple years but if we continue to over harvest it's not going to end well.
I spent 25 days in iowa this time I drew a tag, best year ever for encounters, hunted public land saw 5 deer in the 140 to 150 range, missed 2 of them.
Iowa is still better than any OTC counter state in a bad year. I ran into folks not seeing as many deer locals, but they are still around.
I saw very few people.
A lot of taxidermists in our area of Il are also way down. Some as high as 50% and are looking for part-time jobs. :(