What county?

[Sligh1]

Is it really that bad in the well known counties in Iowa? I figured not having the gun season during the rut would offset the high grading to a large extent.

Hunters have become too effective if at least a few high potential bucks can't slip through the gauntlet even in Iowa.

Absolutely has taken a beating. I talk to folks in any direction from me… any distance… 2 miles or 20 miles …. The average farms are for sure much harder & the amount of mature bucks way less. I’d guess I’ve had “500” of these discussions & just listening to guys in the last 10 years.
On flip side- Is there still some mature bucks- absolutely- ANY county or area… Could be guys in “jasper, Greene, Marshall, Floyd, Hancock,” WHATEVER…. All of them will have pockets or guys that say “look at this giant I hunted or got”
Adair is another sleeper county I think has some super hunting.
In the end…. If it has habitat, low population of people & good genetics/nutrition (which is more farm& area dependent) …. It all then just comes down to your exact NEIGHBORS - PERIOD. “Im in the “BEST” county but I have horrible neighbors” - u r gonna be in really rough shape. “I’m in the “worst” county but neighbors are amazing” - great hunting. This whole “I need to be in this county” is madness when it’s the main or only thing guys focus on. Is it a “place to start”? Sure. But I personally think at a county level- u cannot beat counties with ample habitat & less people. After that…. It’s NEIGHBORS, period. These deer are not traveling “5 miles”. Most don’t travel half a mile - except during the rut maybe. You get 2 miles away from “a great farm” - almost irrelevant at that distance. In most areas im in …. I’d say around the 160 acre mark is a mature bucks core range other than rut. On my own farm it’s for sure less for MOST bucks….. maybe 40-60 acres. If I have a mature buck at xyz location on my farm & I tried to kill him a half mile from there…. Almost no chance. Except rut or if I only had food at that location late season & he moved in.
For guys on here or anyone open to where they want to hunt or own land …. Lowest population you can find. With that the ground is lower price- far better value. It’s also easier to get permission. Good habitat. After that- anywhere: NEIGHBORS!!!!!!!!! 1 maniac group can hurt an area bad. If all the neighbors are maniacs - no way could I do it. I’d much rather have a farm next to me where shotgun groups pushed it vs 5, 10, 20 dudes roasting it hard from oct 1 through every season. The neighbors that are there all season & smash every 2, 3 or 4 year old with great genetics… IMHO- the worst scenario a guy could dream up besides like poaching or eradicating deer with depredation tags.

 

[Tim Tracy]

People aren't shooting pumpkin slugs with a bead during shotgun seasons or standard blackpowder during late season anymore. It's AR style 350s, 450s, even 35 Whelen and then smokeless sniper muzzleloaders effective to 3-400 yards. From mid October to mid January, it's an onslaught for any buck 140+ regardless of age, unless you have a truly huge farm or substantially picky neighborhood.

And add EHD to this mix, just think of how many bucks have died from this. Western IA is a shell of its former self, I turkey hunted that area this spring and the lack of buck sign from last fall has to be seen to be believed, I honestly had no idea that any part of IA could look that much like the areas I get to hunt in MN.

 

[Daver]

That. Long seasons, increased range and efficiency for weapons, increased technology for surveillance, etc. Then you add in that average parcel sizes have gotten smaller and smaller through the recreational land boom over the last two decades, and here we are.

ALL of those things ^^ are big factors, I totally agree. But the biggest, IMO, is the cell cam surveillance that is so prevalent. I still remember tying fishing line across a deer trail to see if it got knocked off to then know that a deer, most likely, had walked a given trail. Stone age stuff compared to now.

Nowadays...I have heard MANY stories to this effect, but one was a big buck on public land that was known by multiple hunters and one guy reported counting 40+ cams in a relatively small area that the buck was frequenting. Presumably, the cams were heavily concentrated in this area due to Mr. Big being in there. Ain't no buck can dodge all of the hunters in all of the seasons with that type of surveillance.