# Looking for Quality Iowa Bowhunt



## DeerSlayer36 (Feb 21, 2009)

I just bought my 6th Pref Point for Iowa Deer Hunting. Looking for a quality bow hunt operation.

Looking for recommendations where folks have had personal experiences, would like opportunity to harvest mature whitetail buck.

Please advise.

Thanks,

Mike


----------



## shanny28757 (Feb 11, 2006)

Did you apply for a tag this year or did you apply for a 6th point in 2020 and are looking for a 2021 hunt? 

I can't help either way, just thought it might clarify for somebody that might be able to.


----------



## thill (Aug 23, 2006)

Look into whiskey Ridge Hunts. They're in zone 6 and possibly 5. Great reputation a few guys from this site have hunted with them.


----------



## AntiHuntersLoveMe (Apr 18, 2012)

Why would you hire a outfitter when you can hunt public land? 

I've got 2 points and hiring a guide never entered my mind. I plan to live out of a motor home for as long as it takes the year I draw. 

Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk


----------



## steelyspeed (Apr 10, 2016)

AntiHuntersLoveMe said:


> Why would you hire a outfitter when you can hunt public land?
> 
> I've got 2 points and hiring a guide never entered my mind. I plan to live out of a motor home for as long as it takes the year I draw.
> 
> Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk


Yea, why would you hire an outfitter when you can buy a motor home? 


Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman


----------



## pigeon (Jan 25, 2009)

Not sure on outfitter but u just wasted 120$ because all u need is 4 points to 100% draw anywhere in the state just a heads up do throw any more money away when already going to have 1200$ in tag lol , Good luck with your search , I hunt zone 4 with gun and we lease


----------



## thill (Aug 23, 2006)

pigeon said:


> Not sure on outfitter but u just wasted 120$ because all u need is 4 points to 100% draw anywhere in the state just a heads up do throw any more money away when already going to have 1200$ in tag lol , Good luck with your search , I hunt zone 4 with gun and we lease


Theres a few guys on this site that didnt draw last year with 4 points. I was one of the lucky ones. Based on the drawing results from the year before, only 44% were successful with 4 points.


----------



## pigeon (Jan 25, 2009)

thill said:


> Theres a few guys on this site that didnt draw last year with 4 points. I was one of the lucky ones. Based on the drawing results from the year before, only 44% were successful with 4 points.


I find that hard to believe that they didn’t draw with 4 points mabey if they were in a party and one of they members had less then 4 points then it with the member with the less points , How can u tell the percentage That drawled with 4 points with the Data the dnr gives us?


----------



## thill (Aug 23, 2006)

pigeon said:


> I find that hard to believe that they didn’t draw with 4 points mabey if they were in a party and one of they members had less then 4 points then it with the member with the less points , How can u tell the percentage That drawled with 4 points with the Data the dnr gives us?
> View attachment 528659
> View attachment 528659
> View attachment 528661
> ...



You were right, I was wrong. My bad. I looked at my notes from last year and I had 3 points going into the draw, not 4. And the guys that didnt draw also had 3 going into the draw.


----------



## AntiHuntersLoveMe (Apr 18, 2012)

steelyspeed said:


> Yea, why would you hire an outfitter when you can buy a motor home?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman


Let's see..... Iowa Outfitter, $2,500 for up to a week (probably only 4 or 5 days) or a DIY hunt for a month for the same amount of money . Kinda seems like a no brainer to me. We all got time and money, just depends on how you spend it. 

Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk


----------



## lreigler (Dec 23, 2009)

AntiHuntersLoveMe said:


> Let's see..... Iowa Outfitter, $2,500 for up to a week (probably only 4 or 5 days) or a DIY hunt for a month for the same amount of money . Kinda seems like a no brainer to me. We all got time and money, just depends on how you spend it.
> 
> 
> I don’t know about that, for some of us time is more valuable than money. I know myself that I may only get a week to get away and hunt, I can’t fault a guy for wanting to guarantee his experience by paying for an outfitter.
> ...


----------



## WMU05 (Oct 16, 2004)

I'm hunting with Whiskey Ridge this fall. Strong personal recommendation from @johnhunter247 on this site.


----------



## WMU05 (Oct 16, 2004)

AntiHuntersLoveMe said:


> Let's see..... Iowa Outfitter, $2,500 for up to a week (probably only 4 or 5 days) or a DIY hunt for a month for the same amount of money . Kinda seems like a no brainer to me. We all got time and money, just depends on how you spend it.
> 
> Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk


No brainer for you. Not for me. I don't have the time to pre-season scout or hunt for a month. If only taking a week off, using an outfitter is a logical choice.


----------



## johnhunter247 (Mar 12, 2011)

WMU05 said:


> I'm hunting with Whiskey Ridge this fall. Strong personal recommendation from @johnhunter247 on this site.


I sure hope you have a great hunt. You will be hunting with one of my favorite people (Tommy)in my favorite place on the planet. If you hit the prime time there is usually lots of action and it gets pretty exciting. Good Luck!


----------



## johnhunter247 (Mar 12, 2011)

AntiHuntersLoveMe said:


> Let's see..... Iowa Outfitter, $2,500 for up to a week (probably only 4 or 5 days) or a DIY hunt for a month for the same amount of money . Kinda seems like a no brainer to me. We all got time and money, just depends on how you spend it.
> 
> Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk


I will agree with you 100% if you have the time to burn and are leasing a farm. But if your waiting 4 years to draw an Iowa tag and deciding to go at it hunting stateland I will have to disagree. Way to many variables out of your control to have to deal with. That NR coveted Iowa bow tag is way too hard to come by to decide stateland is your option. No thanks...


----------



## kingfisher 11 (Jan 26, 2000)

johnhunter247 said:


> I will agree with you 100% if you have the time to burn and are leasing a farm. But if your waiting 4 years to draw an Iowa tag and deciding to go at it hunting stateland I will have to disagree. Way to many variables out of your control to have to deal with. That NR coveted Iowa bow tag is way too hard to come by to decide stateland is your option. No thanks...


John I do have 3 points now. I am going to scout the Iowa property I will have access to through my MO leasing guy. If that does not look good I will take your advice and book with Tommy. Thought my points went away but they did not.


----------



## johnhunter247 (Mar 12, 2011)

kingfisher 11 said:


> John I do have 3 points now. I am going to scout the Iowa property I will have access to through my MO leasing guy. If that does not look good I will take your advice and book with Tommy. Thought my points went away but they did not.


Nope, as far as I know once you have the points you can sit on them until you want to go hunt. So you can get three points and then just sit idle for as long as you want and then apply for the tag in the month of May on the year that you are ready.


----------



## Skibum (Oct 3, 2000)

AntiHuntersLoveMe said:


> Let's see..... Iowa Outfitter, $2,500 for up to a week (probably only 4 or 5 days) or a DIY hunt for a month for the same amount of money . Kinda seems like a no brainer to me. We all got time and money, just depends on how you spend it.
> 
> Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk


We don't all have equal amounts of time or money. It's always a compromise between the two. If I were in position to hunt for a month I'd go on my own although I'd likely look for a lease to have another option. Reality is I don't have a month so I booked with Tommy as well. From a cost standpoint I'm fortunate my income allows me to do so. Now in another year or two when retirement beckons...


----------



## whitetail&walleye (Dec 13, 2017)

A month? Holy smokes. 


Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk


----------



## bwlacy (Jul 10, 2012)

I've done both in Iowa. Hunted with Jack Schuler in Indianola two different years. No idea if he's still guiding. I also went the 3rd trip on a diy trip on public land.

Hunting private managed land with all the stands up is way more productive. We all saw some decent deer on the public land hunt, but nothing like the private land. Now we were in a different zone also. I don't think I'd spend the time and money to draw again and hunt public land. A person might get lucky and stumble on to a piece with no pressure and see some good bucks, but don't let anyone tell you there isn't pressure out there on public land. 

Really depends on what your looking for I guess. I didn't wait years to draw to shoot a 130 inch buck. For some people that would be what they are after. That is probably doable on public land if you know how to hunt. There's nothing wrong with that either.

What ever you decide to do, good luck and have fun.


----------

