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bow only public land

jdslyr

jdslyr

Member
Is there any bow hunting only public land in IA?
Couldn't find any on the IA DNR website.
I am going to be bow hunting public land in IA for the first time. NR and heading to zone 5.
Any advise on where to go?
I have a few places in mind already.
I might be hunting solo, or with a hunting partner.
PM me if anybody wants to hook up and do some serious whitetail bow hunting on public land.
 
no, there is no "bow only" public land. any and all public hunting land is open to any hunting that is in season.

not sure what area you are in, what towns will you be near? best bet would to pick up an iowa sportsmans atlas at your local sporting goods store. all public land in the state is listed. your best chance to hunt private land would to come out durring the off season, and do some scouting and knock on some doors
 
I can think of atleast one place that is public and bow only for deer atleast, the area does allow shotshell hunting but no slugs. Not sure what zone it would be, but there is one so there maybe more.
 
Actually there is a bow only zone in Iowa, but not zone 5. I have been hunting it for a few years now. But its location is top secret!
 
I know it's not near zone 5, but there is a primitive weapons only public piece up here in the northern part of the state. Archery and muzzleloader only. It's pretty small though.
 
This particular area I'm talking about is not listed on the DNR website, I have never been able to find it listed anywhere. It is only around 360 acres of state land, but has another 185 acres of federal land attached to it that is NO hunting.
 
There are a few places around that I can think of that are bow only.Usually they have the white wildlife game management area signs. I didn't think you could hunt them but I inquired about a particular piece with the DNR and he said I could bowhunt it, but no firearms allowed. So they are around, you just got to find them. I do not think it necessarily means they are dynamite places to hunt though. Usually they are smaller pieces close to residential areas. I have no clue where zone 5 is either though.
 
I'm not sure of any specific bow only zones, but for the most part, the early bow season means bow only. The only overlapping gun season is early muzzleloader.
 
There are several primitive weapons only; federal land parcels in nothern Iowa. You won't find them on the dnr site. The parcels I know; are regulated to protect endangered frogs and mushrooms.
 
biggest buck said:
Actually there is a bow only zone in Iowa, but not zone 5. I have been hunting it for a few years now. But its location is top secret!
Click to expand...

biggest buck said:
This particular area I'm talking about is not listed on the DNR website, I have never been able to find it listed anywhere. It is only around 360 acres of state land, but has another 185 acres of federal land attached to it that is NO hunting.
Click to expand...

Why would you even post this? Your not helping jdslyr, your not asking a question to help yourself, and your wasting the rest of our time. What is the point of your posts?

P.S. Sorry I cant be of some assistance directly related to your question, but the Iowa Sportsmans Atlas is worth the money.
 
I looked at the map, I bowhunted Sedan bottoms quite a bit when I used to live down there. Seen a couple in the 160-170 range,but I know there was bigger down there somewhere. Not sure what you are looking for though. I don't think it would be too hard to shoot a 150 incher down there in a weeks time. The place has alot of grass mixed with timbered draws etc. It gets down right nasty in that place with tall grass and shrubby stuff. I didn't notice hardly any pressure down there during bow season, but I primarily hunted throughout the week. It could be different on the weekends. I did see a few bird hunters working the fields, but they never bothered me where I was hunting.
 
Well forgive me Super Bowhuntr for wasting your time. Next time just skip over my posts, OK! Its guys like you who make a site not worth visiting, why dont you stick to the MN whitetail site if you dont like what people have to say here. Besides, the original question was "Is there any bow hunting only public land in IA?" "Couldn't find any on the IA DNR website." Then teeroy posted "no, there is no "bow only" public land. any and all public hunting land is open to any hunting that is in season".
Why dont you quote and ask NWBuck why he is wasting everyones time too. He replied "I know it's not near zone 5, but there is a primitive weapons only public piece up here in the northern part of the state. Archery and muzzleloader only. It's pretty small though."
Or how about LIVs 1st reply? Don't you think their posts are just as "useless" as mine?
Go away if you dont like it bud!
 
I know of a spot that is limited to bow's only for deer...also limited to shot only for guns. I haven't a clue how big it is, but it's possible that it fits the TOP SECRET 365 with an additional 200acres of Federal land.

There's a HUGE trail the runs through this land too. I see all sorts of critters using it.
 
Isn't the Sedan Bottoms slated to be underwater? I believe the dam building is a little behind (like a year). Never been down there, but always wanted to give it a try.

If I ever won the lottery, I would buy a huge chunk of ground. I would hunt the inside perimeter and let resident-county-bowhunters hunt the perimeter by some sort of lottery. They would keep people out, and we'd all be happy for a while.
 
John Deere,

I haven't been to Sedan bottoms in 3 years, so I am not sure if they are going to make it into a lake or not. The place is relatively flat, so I don't think they could make a huge lake in it, and any lake they did make in it would probably make the deer hunting better.
 
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