I have hunted Iowa once and have 2 points now and am applying this year to go back. I bought preference points the last 2 yrs, because it is almost impossible to draw a bow tag with less than 2 points. Especially if you are trying to hunt the Eastern zones. I agree that zone 9 holds some good bucks. That is where we were and we all saw some good bucks. Good Luck and enjoy Iowa it is a good time during the rut.

Hunter wants me to tell you he is still shooting those also with his BB gun and bow. In a matter of fact he got his first bow kill, a chipmunk, when he was 7. Of course he missed a lot before he got one but he eventually succeeded.

I have had a lot of guys ask me the question about the harnesses. We wore them out in the woods to drag the deer out, because they are a lot easier to drag with a harness. My son decided he wanted to wear his also and help. I think he was more of a hindrance than a help. I attached a picture of our set up.

Team 2 scores more. This is an 8 pt. The G3’s are broke off from fighting but they both measure more than an inch, even though it is hard to tell from this picture.

I’m in.

I would like to join. Thanks

I hunted in Allamakee 2 yrs ago on public land. I heard the same thing about there not being a lot of pressure but I counted over 12 guys hunting on the piece we spent most of our time and we talked to another guy that was hunting a different piece and there was over 10 guys hunting that piece. These are some pretty big pieces of land but it is some seriously rough terrain. Lots of steep ridges. I have hunted in Colorado for elk and the ridges in Iowa are just as steep but not as long. It took us 2 points to draw there also.

Thanks for the heads up, I was looking for some snow camo. It is on order, this is a great deal.

That is a tough call. I hunt in MI and one year we went to the U.P. We had our spots picked out a month in advance and our areas were prepared and baited this is when it was legal to bait. I do not usually bait but in th U.P. the deer are few and far between and it is a good tactic up there. Any ways we showed up two days before the gun opener to bow hunt. While we were in camp a guy showed up on his four wheeler with our bait and dumped it on the ground. He told us he has been hunting on that side of the road for over 15 yrs and we should stay on our side. Now when I say side I am talking several hundred acres. He said our spot was 500 yds from his camper and where his wife was hunting and he did not want us there. We did not push the issue with him and moved out but we definitely had the right to stay there. Your situation was different and those people were definitely rude, but it is public property and they were there “first” sort of. It was not right of them to do that, especially if they knew you hunted there. If it was me I probably would have moved just because I would not be able to be that close to someone.

Me and my buddies all put in for a point Saturday. I wish I would have known they were going to raise the price on points, otherwise I would have done it earlier. I hope the prices stay where they are because if they go up to $850 there is no way I can afford that much. The price is pretty steep with the $100 hike. I hope it does not go up any more because I would like to hunt Iowa again.

The bigger buck was bedded with a doe down low in some tall grass. Yea he got it mounted. Maybe some day I will make it over there and get some pictures of the mount.

I forgot to mention that it had a 19 3/4″ inside spread.

All right for the story on this buck. As you know Dan’s post stated that we visited Iowa early to do some scouting in Clayton County, and knock on some doors. We went down in September and met up with Dan and he showed us around, after knocking on several doors in Clayton County with out any permission we reverted to scouting state land in Allamakee. I had been doing a lot of research on line and bought topo maps, Iowa sportsman maps and plat books for both these counties, and also talked with Tony P, so I was ready for this scouting trip. Well we checked out three areas and two really caught our eyes. We decided on a place and then headed home. Our trip was planned for the first week of November. Well as you all know who are from Iowa the first week of November was in the 70’s and it really limited the buck movement from early morning to late evening. We left Halloween night and arrived early AM Saturday. We were not able to hunt until Saturday night, because we had to set up camp and get things around. There actually was four of us on this trip and we were pumped. After the first night of hunting no one saw a deer and my buddy and I hoped we picked the right area. Well the next morning proved to us we did. At about 9 AM I had a 10 point walk about 60 yds from my stand that would have went 140″ plus. He ended up going up a ridge that my buddy was hunting on top of. I was totally expecting my buddy Steve to shoot this buck. Long story short he was unable to get a shot but was not to discouraged because it was only our second day out of eight days. On Monday, my buddy Brian’s (the one in the picture) dad had an encounter with a huge 8 point. He got to his stand late and had just got in his tree when he heard some deer coming at him. He hurried up and knocked an arrow and before he could get his release out of his pocket he said a nice 11 point ran by at 15 yds. He heard something behind him and that is when he saw the monster eight following a doe. Unable to get his release on he decided he would finger shoot his bow. He practices with fingers occasionally in case this scenario ever happens to him. Brian and his dad do not use sights either they both shoot instinctive and are very impressive shots. The only problem is he has limited feeling in his hands due to arthritis and as he was drawing his bow the string slipped from his fingers and sailed harmlessly through the air. The doe and the Big 8 took off but the 11 point offered several shot opportunities through out the morning, but he did not shoot it because of how impressive the 8 point was, unfortunately he never saw him again. Skip ahead to Wednesday. Early AM Brian gets in his stand, it is getting daylight and a couple of does go under him. Not to long after he hears a couple of grunts and looks back to see a decent buck he had seen on a couple of occasions but passed on, being followed by the one in the picture. The deer passed within yds of his tree, he said it was so close that he had to stand on his toes to get over the front bar on his climber. He shoots and the deer takes off breathing very heavy. A few minutes go by and he finally calms down, but only to be disturbed by a coyote. He said it came by on trot and smelled the blood and took off on a run following the blood trail. Not really knowing how well he hit the deer he climbed down and checked his arrow after about 30 mins of waiting. The blood on his arrow looked good, so he decided to start tracking immediately due the coyote. He said he tracked the deer for about 500 yds and was getting real nervous, but kept going because of the coyote. He was on top of a ridge and notice the deer was heading down hill, so he got out his binocs and started glassing down the ridge. He caught a glimpse of an antler with the sun reflecting off it. He walked down the ridge to it and noticed the coyote had ate part of the hind quarter out of it. The deer had run this far because he only hit it in one lung. This buck was aged at 3.5 yrs and grossed 153 7/8″, and netted 148 1/8″. The picture is hard to see but it is actually an 11 point. I will try to post different angle pictures so you can see the other points. As luck would have it Brian was trying to fill his doe tag and saw a buck he said he could have put these antlers inside of. It was bedded and he walked upon it and it got up and trotted off at 25 yds quartering away, and stopped broadside at 50 yds and looked at him, trying to figure out what he was. He said it was the biggest buck he ever saw in his life. So if you are wondering yeah we will be back in 3 yrs for another round. Hope the story was not to long and boring. Jason

I sent you a PM on a different subject.

I shoot one on my bow and like it a lot. I was wondering though if it is better above the sights or below the sights. Mine is below the sights right now.

I personally like my Summit Viper SS. For hunting all day this is the most comfortable stand I have used. There is a bar in the front that makes it a little difficult for shooting sitting down with a bow, if you shoot sitting down. That bar is nice though for climbing the tree and a rest for rifle hunting. It weighs in at 20 lbs which is not bad for the comfort the stand offers. I tried sacrificing comfort for weight and it is not worth it. I hunted out of this stand all day several times this year and never had a complaint. I recommended it to a couple of my friends also and they are very pleased as well. Hope this helps.

I have hunted in Colorado for Elk twice with my bow. It is definitely some awesome scenery. We saw a lot of elk and was in range of a couple of nice bulls but never got any shots off. While we were elk hunting we had some nice mule deer bucks in range but we had no tags. But I really want to shoot a big whitetail buck also. That is why I am paying the big bucks for the tag because I know there are a lot of big bucks in Iowa. I forgot to mention that all those elk and mule deer were on public land and they were do it yourself hunts

Thanks for all the info. I will more than likely be hunting Allamakee County. I am from Michigan and a lot of the bucks that people think are nice around here are most of the time passed up in Iowa. I am looking forward to the hunt and am sure I will be seeing some nice deer. I am trying to do all my homework so that this trip will be one to remember. Again thanks for the info and keep it coming.

Thanks for replying that is definitely a shooter buck. I guess that answers my ? Thanks