Iowa points?

[2eagles]

Zone 4 Season 4 applications nearly doubled last year when compared to 2017. I found this very interesting and pretty sure I know the exact reason why apps increased. Its the same reason I went to Iowa in 2018. A particular show shows a lot of turkeys dying on Iowa public land and people take notice!

Zones 4 and 6 are some of the best deer and turkey hunting because they have a lot of land not as suitable for farming. Those other zones have the best ag ground in the world and that is not turkey habitat. But yes the hunting shows make a big difference. I'm not stuck to a zone as a resident, but hunt primarily public land in zone 6 and almost never see another turkey hunter thanks to our four season turkeys hunting.

[captpete]

Since we are discussing Iowa turkey hunting, what are the prospects for hunting public land there?  How much is there,...how much hunting pressure,...and how's the turkey population doing?...

Compared to a lot of states, in my honest opinion, Iowa doesn't have a lot of public ground. The DNR says there is just under 720,000 acres for public hunting and not all of that is turkey habitat. There are several areas that are marsh and grasslands...prime areas for waterfowl, pheasants and doves. In the county I live in the biggest piece of public ground is 360 acres. About 1/3 to 1/2 of that is grassland & wetlands for pheasants & waterfowl. It sits out in the middle of no-where in the middle of a bunch of ag fields. The only other trees around for several miles are the ones you see around the farm houses.
As for the turkey population, it seems to be holding steady in my area(the middle of non-resident zone 6). I can't really help with the hunting pressure question. I'm fortunate enough to have access to several pieces of private property to hunt.

Here is a link to an inter-active map of the public ground in Iowa:   https://iowadnr.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=f9161b90cddb4fcfb35a96901882a4b7

[bdirks]

Since we are discussing Iowa turkey hunting, what are the prospects for hunting public land there?  How much is there,...how much hunting pressure,...and how's the turkey population doing?...

From what I have been told, numbers have taken a hit, especially in the southern tier, the southern two rows of counties north of the Missouri line. Some biologists are speculating increased depredation from Bobcats. Last year was my worst year. I ate 2 Iowa tags. I had hens galore in the decoys but no Toms. My friends who hunt other parts of the state have said that they have seen decreased numbers also. Hopefully things perk up this year.

Not trying to be a smarty pants at all, but a question here. Are the bobcats only eating the Toms? If you have lots of hens in your decoys, I suspect there is a good population and the Toms are with other hens.

Let me clarify a little. I have numerous contacts around Washington, Ottumwa, and Mt Pleasant. All of my contacts have said that their numbers appear to be down by quite a bit. Areas, public and private, that had numerous birds in past seasons seem to be very limited. Guys aren't seeing or hearing birds. When my friends have asked the DNR biologists about the decline, they all point to increased depredation by bobcats. They seem to think bobcats are especially tough on polts. A co-worker of mine has been hunting in NE Iowa near Garnavillo and he said that for some reason he didn't see as many birds last Spring season or this deer season.

In reference to my issue of only seeing hens, I suspect what you mentioned is exactly what is happening. I tried to keep grinding in hopes of killing a Tom but it just never came to be.

[1iagobblergetter]

They proud of their turkey in Iowa.

We have very special turkeys in Iowa and they're worth every penny of the cost of a tag. Come and spend!

If you think were proud of our Turkey's then you should try buying a non resident deer tag. We're not just proud,but love them.

[Iaguntrader]

Since we are discussing Iowa turkey hunting, what are the prospects for hunting public land there?  How much is there,...how much hunting pressure,...and how's the turkey population doing?...

I believe someone else mentioned the states total amount and provided a link to the atlas, in the county I live in there is roughly 12,000 acres. I hunt 3rd and 4th seasons, I don't see a lot of pressure except on weekends and even then considering the size of the tracts I don't consider it heavy. I like to take a few week days off work for third season and generally only see a couple other vehicles.

I think the turkey numbers are down. I have seen more coyotes this fall/winter then I have in a long time. The state also increased the number of bobcats we can kill a season so their numbers must be increasing, as others have mentioned. I believe that and the terrible drought we had for a couple of years contributed to the turkey numbers.

With that being said we had success last year and seen several toms. I think the public ground in our area is generally great hunting.

[Boyer12]

I went for 3 days in zone 6 season 4 in the middle of the last week to try and avoid other hunters. But still had two gobbling turkeys bumped by another turkey hunter and then a mushroom hunter ?? Nothing you can do about that. I still had more opportunities that just didn't shake out for whatever reason and I have plenty of excuses for just ask me ? I ate very expensive tag soup but it was still a blast. Also I underestimated just how steep those northeast Iowa hills are ?