A friend and I are looking at taking a trip to Iowa next fall for a bowhunt and are wondering if anyone could help us out with a good starting point. Are there any good areas of public land with good deer hunting? How tough is it to get permission to hunt private land for an out of stater and how tough is the draw for a non-resident tag? Any help would be greatly appreciated. We would much rather have a do it yourself hunt than hire an outfitter.

Bowhunting North America Videos has a informational video, map package covering Ill., Iowa & Ws. deer Bowhunting, Public access. for under $20. 1-563-243-7877
If you plan on Iowa-they have Preference points in the draw-better start applying.
Illinois is 1st come 1st serve by phone -all N.Res. Lic. sold out in 4 days this year.
Ws. is over the counter plus you can get bonus doe tags.

iowa has some new tag for out of staters, call the holiday tag, or something like that. check out the iowa dnr' s site. another good place for info is www.iowawhitetail.com

The Holiday Deer License is for muzzleloaders only. You bet there is good hunting on public ground! Even the hardest hit areas during gun season are sometimes good for bow hunters. Jim

A good starting point for S.E. Iowa deer would be Irish Ridge Outfitters near Burlington, Iowa. Good success rate and very large deer in the area.