Midwest Public Land

[JDH]

Not familiar with the Omaha area, but I look for restricted weapons areas or “lesser known” pieces of public. I hunt a ton of suburban spots that are archery only, which gets me away from small game folks. There are also a number of WPA that allow hunting and are mostly void of deer hunters. Mostly. It’s a pretty rare day that I’m the only one on a piece of property. Once you come to terms with seeing other people, having them walk through your spot, etc things get a whole lot easier!

I lived in Lincoln for a year. I noticed that public land during deer rifle season was crowded - and that's coming from someone who is used to hunting Indiana. Look at the Public Access Atlas that NE puts out every year. There's quite a few smaller parcels that may not hold deer but could have waterfowl and small game. I looked at a few when I lived there that consisted of creek bottoms and field edges.

 

[Pucky Freak]

I still hunt there, but primarily on private. Ive seen the exact opposite. Archery hunting especially has gained in popularity exponentially? Do you hunt western iowa?

Yes, I lived in western Iowa 2013-2016 and hunted locally. By the time I left I had access to 2000 acres for bow hunting just through networking and volunteering, maybe 8-9 different landowners. Gun deer was probably x10 harder to gain access. I think over time I have become conditioned to avoid popular areas and popular times on public ground. I hunt a lot of marginal habitat during the week and it’s unusual to see another person.

 

[FlatlanderAZ]

Interesting thoughts here. I always thought whitetail, waterfowl and turkey hunting was a way of life in the Midwest. Seems like it may only be for a select few.

 

[nontyp]

Interesting thoughts here. I always thought whitetail, waterfowl and turkey hunting was a way of life in the Midwest. Seems like it may only be for a select few.

It is, but with states like IA and KS being 98% private land, it’s a different dynamic than western hunting. I think there are a lot of waterfowl, upland, and turkey opportunities on public and private. There’s some tremendous walk-in hunting for upland in western iowa. Deer hunting has gotten much more competitive and exclusive over the past 10 years in my experience. Many landowners would probably let you hunt turkeys, but not deer.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Interesting thoughts here. I always thought whitetail, waterfowl and turkey hunting was a way of life in the Midwest. Seems like it may only be for a select few.

To some degree, hunting culture or the lack thereof is a reflection of the landscape. Iowa is 6% timber, 70%+ cultivated. Many areas of the state, such as north central and northwest are gently rolling hills, very few fence lines, crops with few weeds, and drained potholes. Habitat for game can be sparse. NE is similar in many ways. You’re only going to have so many hunters with minimal habitat, and access challenges. Iowa is very much a small community culture with modest amount of hunting.

 

[IsThisHeaven?]

Interesting thoughts here. I always thought whitetail, waterfowl and turkey hunting was a way of life in the Midwest. Seems like it may only be for a select few.

Why do you think you see so many Midwest license plates in the West?

 

[iawhitetail3]

The amount of pressure on public land in Iowa change dramatically last year with the Covid shut downs. Normally you would’ve been able to find relative quiet Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday and most of Friday but last year it was busy every single day. This year is looking like it is going to be similar to last year for the amount of people on public land. It is not just hunters. There are birdwatchers dog walkers and everybody else using the lands too. Will this be the new normal? I hope not, but I fear it may be.

Couldn't agree more. I've saw more people out on public lands than ever before in '21. Especially during pheasant season. Every time we showed up to a public spot, there were already guys there, even during the week. There were WELL over 20 guys opening day on the public we hit. In the previous years there were only a handful. Never seen anything like it.

 

[BrentD]

Couldn't agree more. I've saw more people out on public lands than ever before in '21. Especially during pheasant season. Every time we showed up to a public spot, there were already guys there, even during the week. There were WELL over 20 guys opening day on the public we hit. In the previous years there were only a handful. Never seen anything like it.

I have to agree. It has been very different and I don't think these ways will go back in the bottle anytime soon.

 

[BrentD]

How long ago was this? I started hunting IA in 2002 and access has become easier over time, and crowding has dipped. Boomers are hanging it up in droves, creating ample new opportunities.

this has not been my experience. I've been here for 30 years and and 6 days.