Iowa Deer Hunting - Private Land Self Guided Deer Hunts
Iowa deer hunting within Mid-America Hunting Association is within the Grand River Watershed. This is Iowa grain farm country. All hunting land is in non-resident Iowa management zones 4 and 5.
The Association provides the private deer land access. Currently over 20,000 acres. The hunter, if allocated an Association slot, has access to an online map library of all farms. All land is numbered. The deer hunter will make a telephone reservation to the numbered farm for the days he wants to scout/hunt.
2011 Association Iowa Deer Hunting Lease Land
Iowa's reputation for trophy Whitetail Deer rivals Kansas. Iowa tags are significantly more difficult to draw than Kansas. For years when not drawing an Iowa tag the Association Kansas and north Missouri deer land is available for hunting. Those that secure an Iowa tag may place a good bit of time into pre season scouting our lease land.
The Association benefit to success is not limiting any one deer hunter to just hunting one spot. All may scout, hang stands and hunt as many farms as they have time to develop. This is an approach of hunting the deer of choice rather than the land of choice. Most deer hunters find up to five farms they would like to hunt. During a week's hunt most will hunt hard two to three farms. It is by this method of seeking out the buck of choice that results in the success seen in the gallery.
Association Iowa Deer Hunting Land
Hunting land that provides the best trophy deer is agricultural land. This is more farm ground than woody cover.
The only place on this web site we publish the last name of the hunter and state of harvest. This is Billy Kindrek. We do so for this picture that has been much abused by outfitters. Billy did harvest this trophy off Association hunting lease land. Not any other spot as implied with this picture being used on other outfitter advertisements. He harvested this deer off agricultural land within a lightly wooded drainage.
There are many good deer hunters that have shared their hunting pictures freely. They know well that each picture makes their Association stronger and likely to acquire better private hunting land. One such hunter is Kevin shown at right.
Not A Hunting Club
It is the case this Association is not a hunting club. It is a business. It is also that it works to be more than a business exchange of money for service. All pictures on this web site are at the courtesy of the hunter. A return courtesy from the Association partners to those hunters is a copy of the logbook of what the Association partners have seen throughout the year and what land owners have told them. The two Association partners, Jon Nee and John Wenzel, cover more ground than any other. More than a handful of hunters each season hunt and get eyes-on quality bucks over farms from this exchange of courtesy.
Traveling Deer Hunters
Many compare Iowa ground to their home state and shy away from this hunting land. A frequently comment includes lacking sufficient deer cover. However, when the entire region is of this similar hunting habitat and the region is known for its trophy Whitetail Deer production then perhaps it is the hunter that should change his perspective and give Iowa a good hunt.
We manage our Iowa lease land in the same manner as our other states. And, in all three states we have had hunters reject hunting land that has produced racks in the 140 to 186* class (* best Iowa whitetail in the Association with third party scoring, Missouri has the highest scoring rack at 214, Kansas brings in the most 140+).
Golden Nugget Spot
An aerial of one golden nugget Iowa lease marked by the yellow square and shown with surrounding acreage of adjoining farms. This is the agricultural region responsible for big deer and turkey with strong winter survival. Hunting land use ranges between 50 and 55% farming. The overall size of the aerial below is 1 1/2+ by 1 1/2+ miles.
There is much this aerial does and does not show. In the case of this entire picture the majority of the land use is pasture. Our 160 acre lease is in row crop, soybean and corn. The same for the lighter colors to the SW from our lease and some to the NE. This is for one hunter.
The Same Hunting Land Above Enlarged and In Color
It was the grass and brush of the southeast corner that held the deer. Low to the deer eye level protective cover. This is where the multiple aged beds were found. The southern half of this spot is out of direct observation from the road. The mature open timber and crop land narrowed down where the deer occupied.
Not our best hunting land, not our worst. A representative average of the hunting land that we hunt.
