Zone 9

[browninggold9]

Is it worth it to pay an outfitter pretty big $$ or can a NR just knock on doors and get pretty good hunting (with maybe a few $)?

 

[Hardcorehunter]

Bow hunting you can meet landowners in cafes and there is also plenty of public. Gun hunting; private land will be very hard. I try to never hire an outfitter unless in Canada as it is required. Good luck.

 

[muddy]

Ask that question 10 different times and you'll get 10 different answers. Coming from Pennsylvania I'd say you should try and make at least one trip out during the summer and try to scout some ground out. Door knocking is pretty productive, cheaper too!

 

[moosehunter]

There are several very good public hunting areas in zone 9. But like almost anywhere else, if you looking to hunt the rut you'll likely be sharing the woods with other hunters. At least on the weekends. My advise is if you can get away for a long weekend it would be worth the effort to come out and knock on some doors and do some scouting. If you hunt the public ground you may want to concider the last part of Oct. Less pressure and the deer are a bit more predictable. Here is a link to some arial photos and topos I use all the time.

use this

 

[Waukon1]

I would not pay for an outfitter. There is public ground that does not get hunted during bow season if your willing to walk.

 

[River1]

It took you a bit to draw your zone 9 tag I imagine. One of the benifits of that is that you have less competition and knocking will still open doors for you. Zone 9 is in pretty much most of the Driftless region, with lots of hills, bluffs and rugged terrain. I spend time up there every year and wish we had terrain like that in my area. Finding funnels and deer travel patterns doesn't seem quite as hard in that area. So, my 2 cents would be to take an extra couple days here and do some door knocking, scouting, and forget the outfitters.

 

[knelson70]

We own 720 acres total in Zone 9, so i know a little bit about it. The others are correct, theres a lot of public land. Try Sny Magill(public something, i dunno the exact name, we just call it Sny Magill around here)..Bloody Run Park..Yellow River State forest..all are in Allamakee/Clayton County, near the river, best big buck areas around. They get hunted by others, but if you do legwork, you'll be fine.

I'm sure if you came out in july with a platbook and full tank of gas and covered some ground, you could find some farms to hunt if you're bowhunting.

PM me, i can get some more detailed information for you if you need it.

 

[jjohnson]

[ QUOTE ]
I would not pay for an outfitter. There is public ground that does not get hunted during bow season if your willing to walk.

[/ QUOTE ]

What he said. Emphasize "walk"...