Thinking about applying for Iowa Non-Resident Archery Tag. What do I need to know

100% agree. Indiana is cheap as well..hate it.

 

My grandpa owns several hundred acres in iowa but due to costs for nonresident ive never even tried, nor will i

 

I am from PA, my friend and I have been looking at trying to draw an Iowa gun tag due to the chances being better. We figure we could gun hunt and scout for future archery hunts. We used that approach in Indiana and it worked great. It seems like a risk to burn our points on a gun tag when our main goal is archery, but if we can make our archery hunt better it may be worth it. We are both 29 so we figure even in Zone 5 we can get in a couple good hunts through the years. Anyway, any insight on this approach would be greatly appreciated it.

We have been doing out of state DIY hunts since college so we have an idea of what it takes to be successful, we are just looking to maximize opportunity when the time comes and if that results in dropping points on a gun tag then that’s what works for us. We know nothing beats boots on the ground, we just want to know if we would be better served saving points and heading out on one big (2 week?) archery trip to start or heading out with a gun and learning the land.

 

If you want to go on a gun hunt then by all means just go and enjoy it. However I think that the gun Hunt is going to be very little use as far as scouting for a bow hunt that will take place 5 years later. Most likely what happens on the gun hunt insofar as movement and pressure is not going to be typical or indicate what may take place during a archery hunt in November.
If a bow hunt is your primary goal and you want to succeed I think you're way better off drawing a bow tag and spending a day or two in the area you're planning on hunting before the season doing a little scouting.

 

Thank you. That’s definitely crossed our mind. The gun hunt wouldn’t yield much tangible info for exact deer movement or activity but would allow us to learn the land. Is that worth burning points for... probably not.