Public Hunting

[Coach1310]

Hello all. I am from MN and am looking for a place to hunt in Iowa. My Wife's sister is moving there and we plan to go down and hunt deer with her husband when we visit this fall. Can anyone tell me what season options there are and if there are any decent public hunting areas near Cedar Rapids? Thanks for your help.

[Walleye Guy]

I hunt pheasants in Iowa quite a bit but not near Cedar Rapids. Some areas of the sate have quite a bit of state land and WPAs.

I would suggest you go out to the Iowa DNR webiste and check into the deer hunting section. I believe they have a lottery for non-resident deer licenses. You should check the site to be sure however.

[st.crioxfishin]

Coach, You may be aware of this and possibly have already gotten a license, but there is a lottery for deer hunting in Iowa and non-res. license can be spendy (at least for me).

[NWBuck]

Iowa does not have a lot o public hunting areas when compared to some states, but there are several decent areas around Cedar Rapids. Depending on the season you hunt, these can get quite a bit of hunting pressure, although not as much if you can hunt during the week.

As you already read, Iowa holds a lottery for any sex nonresident tags. You still have the option of antlerless only tags based on individual county quotas. Check the Iowa DNR HSOforum and it will tell you how many nonresident antlerless tags are still available in each county. Let me know if you need help...I can give you the link.

[Coach1310]

Thanks for all the help. I will hit the Iowa DNR site and do some searching for public areas. Thanks! What is the late muzzleloader season like for Public hunting area pressure?

[NWBuck]

Around this part of the state (NW), hunting pressure drops pretty dramatically during late muzzleloader season. That's why it's my favorite time to be out. Weather conditions can make it tough to be out there, but if you can find a decent food source, filling a doe tag is usually not real difficult. The worse the winter weather, the better the hunting will be. Good luck.