Alright, I live and hunt in Iowa and haven't gone outside Iowa since '91 (Wisc hunt).

There are good and bad parts of the state.

I hunt (average) private ground (I own half, in-laws own the other half) and have been pretty lucky. Then again, I've hunted this ground for 20 years and I'm getting it figured out.

Hunting has changed dramatically for the better since I started hunting these properties in the late '80's. Used to be I'd only see a couple of decent bucks all season and would be lucky to get a shot at a buck. Granted, I wasn't a very good bow hunter then nor did I bow hunt as much as I do now. Now I see many more deer (both bucks and does).

This past year, the deer moved in the morning (I'd climb out of the stand at 10-11 am) and the evening (usually the last hour of legal shooting time). I did spend a couple of all day hunts during the rut but there wasn't much activity mid-day. I hunted many days this year and I think there was only one hunt that I didn't see a deer (not talking within range, just seeing a deer). I filled my buck bow tag on Nov. 5, so that slowed down my hunting somewhat, though I have continued to hunt the does pretty hard (every weekend and a few days during the week, day after Thanksgiving, etc}.

Permission is fairly easy for me to find, though it's getting harder every year.

The good things about Iowa? IMO, no gun hunting during the peak of the rut, limited non-resident tags, genetics, agriculture and roughly 98% of the land is privately held.

Things that I think threaten deer hunting in Iowa? Outfitters, leasing, non-resident landowners and changing the current restrictons on non-resident licenses (quota numbers and preference points). Selfish concerns on my part, maybe....