Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting how good is zone 5 in iowa ?

got an invite to go deer hunting there and was wondering what you iowan's could tell me about zone 5.

slug guns correct ?

thanks

Not from Iowa, but if you add up all the time I've hunted there, it would come out to nearly a year of my life over the last 20 years (most of that pheasant hunting). The southern half of zone 5 is a really good area (the northern part may be too, but I've not hunted anything north of the Lucas/Monroe county lines). I've seen some real monsters here. As a comparison, I've hunted all of Zone 4 and would tell you that there doesn't seem to be much difference in deer quality or density. Anyway, I killed this buck in zone 4 just across the dividing line of zone 5. I think you can expect to see deer like this in Zone 5.

You are correct, its a slug gun or muzzleloader state. Handguns firing non-bottle neck cartridges are legal too.

One other thing. I'm pretty sure the world record non-typical was killed in Zone 5.

I hunt Iowa zone 5 with archery tackle when I draw A tag, I should draw this year. The hunting is best I have seen. I have hunted Kansas, IL and MO, and this hunt is worth the wait for A tag.

Apply for 1st shotgun season (Early December usually) get an accurate slug gun and go. World class whitetails be there. Trust me.

I live in the Golden Triangle and I still deer hunt in Iowa. I would have drawn this year, but decided to go to Africa instead

Any idea on number of archery points needed to draw in 4 or 5. I drew 4 with 2 this year, but wondering if 1 is enough.

the problem i'm going to have, is that, nm's cow elk season is about the same time frame.
also, from what i gather, iowa's application period runs from may 1st to june 6 (? i think). nm's results aren't posted til sometime in june.
so if i apply for iowa, get drawn, and if god smiles on me this year, draw a nm cow tag. i'm screwed.
which do i go on ?
good chance to kill a big whitetail, or finally after 14 years of applying, get an elk tag, and hunt where i live ?
possible trophy or a freezer full of meat, hunting close to my house....

maybe next year, so i won't put in for nm, but what are the odds of drawing a shotgun tag for iowa ?

if i don't do nm, and only apply for iowa, and don't get drawn, i run the risk of not hunting much again. based on drawing a tag, which is highly unlikely for me, due to past history in nm ....

i got a good feeling i'm at least going to get drawn for a nm unit 52 tag, or maybe right by the house a unit 2 cow tag.
i keep praying for my first choice of the seargant's...

remember, there are two shotgun seasons. check and see if one or the other is a better fit. You will have about a 60-70% chance of drawing a shotgun tag. Even if you don't draw, you can usually buy a doe tag over the counter. Since most folks in Iowa party hunt, as long as you have a tag you could probably go with just your 1 doe tag if ok with your host. An archery tag will probably take 2 preference points. There is also a late muzzleloader but it might be residents only, I can't remember. My son and I have drawn the last 3 years. Also, you can buy a preference point (50 bucks I think) and hold it til next year at which time you would be assured to draw for shotgun. Every true whitetail hunter dreams of Iowa.

splatter-your odds of drawing with no preference points are not particularly good. If the opportunity to hunt Iowa is available next year, I would buy a preference point this year and plan for next, or the year after. You're just about guaranteed with 3 points.

Unless the rules change for 2010, non-res. can hunt either shotgun season. You guys must really be lucky, but for zone 4, I've never drawn consecutive years.

Again, unless the rules change for 2010, out of state residents get both doe and buck tags. Its how Iowa justified a nearly $400 increase in out of state tags several years ago.

Having said that, the biggest doe I've ever seen was laying up on the banks of the Grand River. So help me, if she wasn't an honest 180 lbs, she wasn't an ounce. Had I not been bird hunting at the time and was deer hunting, I would have killed her just to weigh her.

i gotta to my friend.
we'll chat on the phone tomm.
i threw the idea of me coming over there last year, and he just sent me a pm from another site a day ago about coming this year.
i'll have to fly, so i gotta see where he lives compared to what airport.
i will stay at his house, and he even offered a shotgun.

so air fair and tag money plus a lil exspense money is all i need.
he and his friend posted pics of some pretty nice bucks last year.


a guy at the range goes bison hunting every year, a meat cow costs 1k, and it's not far.
so between where i want to go and what i got to spend....

well we'll have to see how it all works out..


50 bucks for a preference point eh ?
hmm, might just do that for next year.


my 2 buddies bucks from last year.

gotta to talk to greg.

I applied for zone 5 last year with 2 pref points and did not draw, so hopefully I will this year with 3 points.

yes you can hunt either shotgun season but you have to apply for one or the other when you send your application (unless the rules have changed). If you get an early shotgun, it will not be good if you decide to go for the later one. They are (or at least were) date specific.

Huntaria-

That's a great buck.

Zones 4, southern 5 and 6 all have great whitetails.
I've hunted 5 and will be doing so again, dependent on the draw, likely next year.

Thanks! I've killed some pretty nice bucks, but he was the best. On that same hunt a friend killed one in the same league.

Believe it or not, while pheasant hunting Ringgold, Union, Madison and Lucas counties, I've seen his big brothers. A hint to all those that go--hunt these bucks like pheasants. They will absolutely lay up in the middle of CRP and let you walk by them. I've actually seen antlers in the middle of a 320 acre CRP field and when a dog would cast nearby, they would lower their heads. They will try to wait you out. Another good way is to slowly work your way through sloughs. Be patient and you will kill a nice deer.

Just remember that Iowa RAPES out of state hunters with high $ fees. That being said, great deer. Really great deer.

Yeah, buddy! It wasn't always that way, but it is now. Still not as bad as SD, though, but they seem to be headed that way.

Sorry for the hijack. Has anyone hunted Adelia Iowa? It's just west of Des Moines. I don't know which zone it's in but I have a buddy who has a 200 acres out there. Which season would be the best?

Do you mean Adel? Its in Zone 4. I've hunted nearby in the country south of Guthrie Center. It has big deer too. Saw an enormous 10 point (he would have easily scored 170) laying near-death after a fight near the Racoon River. He was cut up pretty good. I stood over top of him while he was heaving for breath. I didn't have a tag, but I told the landowner where he was. I always wondered what happened that deer.