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Best Iowa Counties

Sligh1

Sligh1

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My question really may not have an answer AND my question isn't which has produced the most trophies (like on DNR website), (those with most habitat for one) BUT let's say you could have an infinate amount of acres to manage and do whatever you needed to so you could let EVERY SINGLE buck get to "potential" say you owned 30,000 acres. Which counties or areas in Iowa (NE, below Des Moines, South Central, South East, etc.) would produce the biggest bucks on average? In otherwords- which would you have the best chance at growing 200" deer? Or you took an average score of 100 bucks in the area that were 5&1/2, which area would average the highest?
The guys in Decator like Drury's and Kisky's own enormous (say 2000 acre contiguous- which is awesome) and can essentially manage massive amounts of bucks on an unbelievable level AND the last few years I know groups hunting pieces like that in Decator have shot many 200" deer and above. Which areas will grow the biggest bucks if you have an opinion? Some might say where best soil is, or south for lighter winters, better weather patterns for drought, closer to riverways like the Mississipi or Des Moines river, whatever.
*A slight part of this is i am selling my 2 farms to get something a little closer to home BUT really I am just curious what the consensus is (not that there will be one!)?
Skip
http://www.thedeerhunt.com
 
I'll throw my hat into the ring and say south central Iowa. Mainly due to the vast expanses of interconnecting hardwood timber tracts. Plus there's fewer homesteads due to a smaller population compared to other areas in the state. Less human to deer encounters is good. There's plenty of ag there but also a lot of pasture ground. If you were managing your own tract though, you could have all the elements in large quantities.
 
This is a tough one...

You are basically looking for the area with the best genetic potential, and the best habitat, throw hunting pressure and a bucks ability to survive out the window...

Call Mike Hines of Timber Ghost Ranch, and ask him why MILLIONS of dollars where spent in the Mississippi River Bluffs to produce giant whitetails.

Seriously, river systems, good nutrition, controlled buck harvest, and you can pretty much grow a 200 inch whitetail anywhere in Iowa.

I am curious to hear other responses to this and why?

So far this year, I have have seen pictures of 200 inch deer from across the state...

Good luck and good hunting!
 
This is a easy question. The best place to hunt in iowa is the Mississippi river islands!! especially down here around lock 18. burlington iowa. A guy i work with went out with 10 other guys and they got 25 deer on 4 islands. Im jealous. The cool thing is they are public hunting.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Ghost</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Seriously, river systems, good nutrition, controlled buck harvest, and you can pretty much grow a 200 inch whitetail anywhere in Iowa. </div></div>

Bingo.
 
Not going to give you any counties but I'm willing to bet that the western side will start to get some attention soon. Don't forget we've got a river over here as well and also the closest damn thing you can get to mountains, the Loess hills. If you've walked 'em you know what I mean.
 
cedar river valley, that is where i would get land...or um wait, i might just be saying that cause that is where my land is.....hmm yup i would say cedar river!!!!
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Ghost</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
MILLIONS of dollars
river systems, good nutrition, controlled buck harvest, and you can pretty much grow a 200 inch whitetail anywhere in Iowa.

</div></div>

I would have to agree, Ghost.

May take you some more time in certain parts of the state than others, but with time I think I could be done most anywhere.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> cedar river valley, that is where i would get land...or um wait, i might just be saying that cause that is where my land is.....hmm yup i would say cedar river!!!! </div></div>

I'm guilty too.

I say give me the time and land along the Mississippi River, Missouri River, Des Moines River, English River, Iowa River, Cedar River, etc. etc. and I can grow ya a 200 incher.

River Valley's all the way.
 
Of course any place in Iowa can, does and will grow 200" deer. Considering, weather, soil, terrain, agriculture/food, habitat, GENETICS, etc. which areas have the best possibilities and which could on average grow the biggest bucks or the most that top 200" for instance? I know there is some areas that will be better than others.
 
There was a really nice one killed near the English river this year kind of been looking for it to be posted but haven't seen it yet. I may ask about putting it up. Really, food, cover, time is what it takes.
 
This is interesting.....

I believe you can have all the great food, cover, water, management...etc... but without GENETICS to get the deer to 200"s you are waisting your time....... but if you dont have the great nutritional supplements you are waisting you time also.

So with that being said..... We all know we have awesome food sources in Iowa, some areas just more then others and the genetic traits are better in some areas then in others

So after adding 1 + 2, sounds like in Iowa all you would need is TIME! If you had the above in place and controlled. Best place for that in Iowa is ......... anywhere. Right now you best chances at this given moment.... I would say southern 2 tiers of counties for the best odds anyway, just because of the vast majority of awesome habitat the deer have.
 
Skip you are in a great area now. Its just the neighbors to the north dont give them the time to grow. You have some giants in the area of your farms its just the orange clad shotgun toting fudds shoot everything with horns.
 
I would have to go with any souther counties. I live right next to Wayne County in Mercer County, MO............I have to say it is very impressive and would be my pick, but I am sure lots of other counties are just as good if not better.
 
I'd say Ringgold and Decator co just real rough ground with patchy crop ground .I need to get the Amish pictures from ones this yr by Redding up .
 
Obviously anywhere in IA will produce huge 200" deer. Nutrition is pretty much a given anywhere in IA. As far as habitat if a buck doesn't get bothered much he'll live in a small draw in the middle of nowhere and get huge. They don't need much just a low stress life.

But if i had to pick an area with vast acres I would have to pick the central part of the state like north of Des Moines along a river system. It's my understanding that the mineral content in the ground is best there. I believe if you had that many acres you would be able to produce the most big bucks there because of it. If I had that many acres as well I would really prefer it to be draws and very small timbers rather than a lot of timber. Just easier to kill em. But I do believe minerals do have a lot to do w/ antler size as well as stress of life. The whole key to it all is age though. If they get there they will be big.

Sure southern IA and NE IA have spotlights on them but if I could have alot of acres in any part of the state it would be where the mineral content is best.
 
I would say S Central IA. The habitat is good and the terrain is rolling rather than steep river corridors where the winds are so inconsistent. I hunt a lot of river corridors and the winds just kill you on many sits. I would think setups would be much more consistent in the rolling terrain in S Central IA. Lots of trophy management going on in that part of the state also.
 
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