This thread got me thinking so I did a little bit of research comparing the two states in a more data driven way.


Iowa has 56,875 square miles of land and 401 sqaure miles of water. Iowa ranges from 480 to 1,670 feet in elevation the mean elevation being 1,100. The deer herd is somewhat above 250,000 and is currently below the peak population of around 300,0000, 3 or 4 years ago. The 2006 deer harvest was about 150,000 deer, 60% of which were antlerless. Iowa currently limits nonresident any sex (buck) tags to 6,000, chosen by lottery and other factors.

The human poulation of Iowa is 2,926,324.

Maryland has 9,775 square miles of land and 2,633 square miles of water. Maryland ranges from sea level to 3,360 feet in elevation, the mean elevation being 350. The deer herd in Maryland is above 250,000. The 2006 deer harvest was 92,000 deer, 65% antlerless. Maryland does not limit its nonresident deer tags.

The human population of Maryland is 5,296,324.


The main thing I take from this is human population. In Iowa I compete with less than 3,000,000 people for access to deer. In Maryland you compete with tens of millions because of a lack of restriction on nonresident tags. No wonder it costs so much for someone from Baltimore to hunt. If he does not have an in with a relative, it means he will probably have to pay for access by joining a club or daily tresspass fees. In Iowa, I have an in with my cousin who farms. His family does not hunt but he hates deer. It costs me about 100 dollars for licenses to take small game, one buck, and I buy at least one doe tag.

In Iowa you still can get pemission to hunt by knocking on doors. It helps to have a rural county license plate but my boy hunts and fishes all over with his Polk County (DesMoines) tag. It is often easier to get permission to fish, then, if you see game it is matural to ask about hunting later. Non residents have more trouble this way but there is no telling what an ad in a small town paper might provide. People look to bring customers to the busnisses in town, the motels and restaurants. Once you get permission once, you are polite, you obey the owner's rules, then you are trusted and you have found your own "in".

Can you knock on doors to hunt in Maryland? I would like to know.

For deer, turkeys, coyotes, geese, and pheasants, if hunting is your main criteria, it is Iowa with great public schools to boot. If your thing is clams, sea ducks, stripers, oysters, crabs, urban life, and great scenery, then go to Maryland. With all due respect, while Iowa is probaly safer than Maryland, I'm sure there are places where doors are left unlocked there, just as I know there are places in Iowa where I would never leave anything unlocked.

Every place is what you make of it. I live in a Northwest suburb of Des Moines, and people complain about the 20 minute commute to downtown (light traffic) if traffic causes it to be 5 minutes longer.

Bob