Everything that made it great for camping made it bad for hunting as I spent 6 days chasing deer with my muzzleloader in Iowa at the end of the year and start of the new year.
Day One:
I arrived in Iowa on Thursday afternoon, December 28th, to high temps of 54 degrees and bright, sunny skies. Post rut, no snow, and thick winter coats told me right away not to expect great things on my trip, but with a sales meeting for work coming up the following week, this was the only time I had to hunt so I had to make the most of it.
I had access to a few great farms yet the food sources on each were pretty spread out. The main farm I was targeting is all wheat stubble with sporadic new growth here and there. There had been little rain out there so scouting for tracks was made more difficult.
I had enough time upon arrival to drop my popup camper, grab my gear and head for an observation sit for the evening. After just a short walk over a hill from my truck I chose a wide open, bare tree on a hillside which would allow me to glass the several field pockets 400-600 yards in the distance.
As I finished hanging my Lone Wolf climbing sticks and stand, I had about an hour of shooting light left and already saw a couple does 500 yards in the distant field. The awkward shape of the tree only allowed me to face my stand south even though all of the fields I intended to watch were north of me….hence, I was sitting backwards on my seat; not very comfortable and very difficult for filming.
Over the next half hour, I glassed about 12 does and one small buck in the distance. I occasionally would glance at the field pockets nearer to me on my side of the big wooded draw I was looking across. With about 10 minutes of shooting light left, I noticed a deer had stepped out just 160 yards from me.
As I raised my binocs to check it out, I literally whispered to myself, “Oh crap!” It was the first hour of my 6 day trip and I was looking at a solid, 145-150″ 8 pointer, wide with heavy, thick tines. I quickly sized him up as having about 9-10″ G2’s and 3’s, good beams and about a 20″ inside spread. I was more than tempted to end things right then. As I reached for my muzzleloader and settled my crosshairs on him, something kept me from touching the trigger. I’ve killed 3 good bucks this season and knew there were some GREAT bucks on this property. I had 6 days left and it was getting too dark to film this buck. He would live to see another day. I would hunt other days.
Day Two:
Morning hunt produced zero. Evening hunt produced about 6 distant does along with one mid 120-class buck that looked like a good two or average 3 year old.
Day Three:
Morning hunt…zilch. Evening Hunt was extremely frustrating for a while. I went through 2 different setups that I wasn’t happy with. I’d get up a tree with several sticks and wasn’t happy with the visibility so I’d move and re-scout. Twice I went through this. It was starting to get late and I was getting irritated. Finally, I found a spot overlooking a secluded CRP field and with an hour and a half of light left was in position. With a half hour of shooting light left, I glassed 200 yards across the field to see a buck walking along the edge. I was ready this time with the video camera and starting filming as I looked him over close. I could see right away he was a 3 year old 10 point that’d go about 140″….good beams, decent tines, short G4’s, not much mass. I got pretty good footage of him as he walked across in front of me about 150 yards. He too would live another day and I would hunt another.
Day Four:
Morning hunt…it was clear there wasn’t much moving in the mornings and each day found me feeling sicker and sicker as the cold I was getting kicked in worse. I slept in as rain beat down on the camper. I rested up for a late morning scouting mission that would hopefully reveal where the deer had gone to bed that morning.
I ended up setup on a different property overlooking a winter wheat field. The spot looked hot but only 6 does and one little year and a half old buck made an appearance at LAST light.
Day Five:
More scouting in the morning. This time I woke and went for a drive about a half hour before daylight. I shined the fields in my hunting area and didn’t see a single deer. They were obviously bedding well before light. I went back to my camper for some breakfast. Then I went for another long walk with disappointing discoveries so I headed for a different property that my buddy had driven me by the second day out here. It had a large expanse of CRP with an adjacent winter wheat field and a few distant cut corn fields. A quick walk of the field perimeter told me there were a lot of deer using it. It didn’t seem to have any recent human traffic so I felt optimistic for the evening hunt. The tree I chose, however, was a real challenge.
I learned from Infalt a long time ago to really take your time (when you have it) choosing the tree you hunt from. Examine and visualize every scenario and make sure you give yourself the best options for getting good shots. There was a climber tree that would work well in getting up high, but it was quite windy that day and there would be no closeby trees to use as a gun rest. If I got a shot it was going to be at least 150-250 yards so I needed something with a good rest.
I finally chose a tree about 4 feet across…it was huge, with about 5 main trunks that split off 15 feet up. It was right on the side of a riverbank that dropped WAY off on one side. Well, 5 screw-in steps and SIX climbing sticks later, I was about 45 feet over the riverbank and about 25 feet over the CRP field I could now shoot out into.
Temperatures were finally a bit colder this day…low 40’s for a high and it had dipped into the 20’s overnight. I was hoping to finally see some deer moving before last light…and I did. With about an hour of light left and the sun still in the sky even, a small buck that had already shed its antlers walked past at 10 yards and out into the wheat field. Following behind him closely was another year and a half old buck that was busted off at both bases. A few minutes later a spikehorn came out. Then another yearling buck exited the CRP, this time on the far side, entering the wheat field at about 250 yards. As the clear, cold evening began to settle in more, a couple does made their way past me and into the field. Then I looked towards the back edge of the CRP and saw a dark blob.
I raised my binocs and saw it was an antlered buck…looked to be a 2 year old about 110″…a couple busted tines. As I glanced to his right I could see a nice rack sticking out of the tall grass…it was a better buck. I grabbed for my muzzleloader and started recording with the camera as I settled in to give him a good look.
The buck stepped out and immediately started walking directly away from me. He looked to have a tall 8 point rack with maybe a 16″ spread. He looked like a 3 year old about 130″. I chose to pass him.
As darkness settled, a couple more does entered the field. Most stopped in the wheat field but were intent on the distant cut-corn. I snuck out quietly, leaving my stand in place for another sit on my final day.
Day Six:
Morning – I did another pre-dawn drive around and saw nothing. It feels like a waste sometimes to not hunt the mornings on out of state hunts when you’re only out there for a certain number of days. But I was still feeling sick and had zero confidence in morning deer movement so I felt it best to rest, scout, and prepare for my final evening hunt.
It had been over a week now since I’d shot my gun so I decided to do a little morning practicing. After popping a milk jug a couple times at 200 yards I felt a renewed familiarity with my weapon and was ready for one last evening vigil over that CRP field.
No happy ending here. It was a beautiful evening on stand, one that I found myself reflecting often on the past season during. Several of the same small bucks entered the fields again before dark but no shooters. My 2006-7 deer season would end with three good bucks down…2 from Wisconsin and 1 from Illinois, but nothing from Iowa. As I drove the long 8 hours home, I felt a sadness of the season finally ending but a joy in looking ahead to next season.