I hunted public land there last year and it is some of the best hunting I have seen. I was there for around 10 days during the rut and only saw 3 vehicles that were hunting and they were all out of state and I killed a 135" 11 point. I had a few thousand acres of land pretty much to myself. One of my friends lived in Iowa for about 4 years and all he hunted was public land even though he had permission to hunt several hundred acres of private land. He killed a couple of 160's and some 140's while he was there. I know another guy that lives near Davenport and he said the public land close to the MS River has got some B&C bucks on it. I am planning on going back up there in 2012 with some of my family. I would much rather hunt public land than worry with an outfitter. The only downside is not knowing the area when you get there.