Iowa Pheasant Hunting
This article is intended for those not familiar with Iowa pheasant hunting. For those that are the links at the page bottom may be more interesting.
Self Guided Iowa Pheasant Hunt
The early Iowa pheasant hunting season is seen as an advantage to many. The reality may be different as warm late October temperatures are as common as are many of the crop fields left with standing corn making the opener more of a nature walk to all that have big running bird dogs while others find limits easy.
Iowa Habitat
A field grown up in weeds surrounded by grain fields. Our phrase to others looking for where to pheasant hunt is: Iowa has half the pheasants of Kansas and twice that of Missouri.
A good day's hunt, a limit, at 9 months old, first season pup.
To hunt with us as a self guided hunter is a process that starts with the break-in year of learning the different regions of habitat and birds. By the third year the hunter has settled on his favorite upland bird habitat type and bird of preference between pheasant and quail. By the time the next pup comes along most hunters have more bird spots identified on their maps than time on any trip to cover and that pup is into more wild bird action his first year than have that hunter's previous dogs. By the time the next pup comes around the hunter has well entered into the tranquility and leisure hunt stage of knowing full well the hunt quality that is available and any ancestry many hunters feel when hunting season rolls around of where will they be able to hunt is a forgotten memory.
Hunt Quality
Iowa pheasant hunting for the do it yourself hunter that has his own dogs, wild hunting skill and equipment.
When talking to the general pheasant hunter about upland bird hunts most will comment that Iowa as being the best to be experienced or at least second best compared to South Dakota. These pheasant hunting quality assessments are largely based on total number of birds harvested within a single season and regardless of any other quality. This seems to be pervasive amongst pheasant hunting magazine articles as much as it is amongst hunters both in and outside of the state.
While there is no doubt that Iowa pheasant hunting is good, it also will not be argued that the best is in localities, good in general throughout a great portion of the state and some areas not worth the time to travel there to hunt.
Iowa is also different than that of Kansas or Missouri in terms of winter habitat.
Bird dogs are worked along the thinly wooded, heavy in brush and grass dry drains that make up the many watersheds that dissect the large gain crop fields, that is the prime Iowa habitat. These two key environmental factors in combination is what makes up the best Iowa pheasant habitat, that is, row crop fields of large grains and miles of brush and grass tributaries make this hunt what it is.
This is true also due to Iowa not having the large tall prairie grass fields (Kansas) or softer farm field edge existent is less efficient agricultural areas (Missouri). This by default makes pheasant hunting the remaining habitat type in Iowa, the brushy drain the place to find the birds.
That habitat advantage contrasts with some of Kansas' best pheasant habitat of the more dry land small grain fields such as milo with the cover habitat being tall prairie grass or more heavily wooded larger watershed tributaries both dry and wet. In this case the prime upland bird holding watershed is composed of the brush filled draw surrounded by crop. A habitat cover type likely to hold pheasant as quail.
The more wooded creek bottoms make for tougher shooting, less rooster habitat and more likely to find Bobwhite Quail. The tall prairie grass that holds ringnecks by the flocks is disdained by many as being too hard to hunt or their dogs simply do not have good enough check back to allow for closer in points.
For others the tall grass is good for a day or two. After that every grass field is the same and most find the easy to find birds no longer a challenge and the grass walking hard. A chance to get on some easier crop edge quail and pheasant mixed hunts with more eyes on the dog action becomes more appealing than just another limit.
In any case we offer wild upland bird hunts and all the challenges that come with such hunts along with the hunter being able to select his habitat of choice.
Farm Comparison
Missouri pheasant hunting is also different compare to Iowa as Missouri's creek and river bottoms have steeper slopes that make for tougher walking conditions and the more rolling terrain allows for less efficient agriculture and larger bands of soft edge habitat. These winding edges of variable cover make many a loafing spot and increases the upland bird diversity.
The further south traveled from the Iowa state line the ringneck numbers decrease just as the habitat quality does and Missouri's Bobwhite Quail density increases.
Where To Hunt
Pheasant Forecasts as for recommendations where to hunt are collected from state agencies and our own summer time travels and during season hunts.
A rooster we spotted while on a land run that stuck around long enough for a picture.
Iowa Ditch Hunts
More Than Limit Mentality
Pheasant hunting memories of just a one day snapshot to last a lifetime.
Jon, Thanks for the great places to pheasant hunt. We found a CRP field with stubble in it and it really held the birds. I don’t know if I have ever seen this many birds in a field before. My son and my 12 year old Golden really enjoyed the pheasant hunting! Steve
Iowa Wild Bobwhite Quail
Iowa Bobwhite Quail as found during a late September land run to renew a lease contract. This particular property has a very good pheasant holding brush and grass filled draw running for a mile through a corporate pig farm. The quail are a bonus. See also Iowa Bobwhite Quail Hunting
Iowa pheasant hunting opening day pheasant hunter traditions and free land hunter mishaps such as the often describe road side ditch hunts or gang drive hunts are not what we offer. All of our wild pheasant hunting is within the property lines of private land we lease for our exclusive use, not to share with anyone else. Those that find ditch hunts an acceptable practice are discouraged from contacting us.
Building on this pheasant hunting contrast, our northern of our three states where we lease land, the self guided Iowa pheasant hunter will enjoy the easier walking of the more shallow open drains. Pheasant hunting along these Iowa drainage's typically allows for the single hunter to have observation of both sides of the drainage habitat as well as its center so that when a dog goes on point or flushes a rooster it is readily seen and more likely there will be blue sky shooting opportunities. A pheasant hunting advantage less common elsewhere.
This is pheasant habitat where the hunter's buddy can score some friendship points by being the cameraman capturing dog, pheasant and hunter all in one picture. A tough task with many settling for just two of the three at best.
For the most part working bird dogs is what the upland hunter is after and Iowa pheasant ground is where more eyes on the dog will occur. This is not just due to the more open habitat it is also due to the pheasant mixed in with Bobwhite Quail. The bird dog hunter will find the added advantages of an earlier opening season and generally cooler climate of this most north of our three central mid-west pheasant hunting states.
Bobwhite Quail
There is one additional advantage to our upland bird land lease within Iowa's southern region well known for some of the best Iowa pheasant hunts to be found and that is quail also exist in huntable numbers comparable to northern Missouri or some areas in Kansas.
This is one of the most consistent regions in Iowa for a mixed bag quail and pheasant hunt experience to be had on the same day and overall during the same trip. A superior bird dog experience as well to be on two upland birds on one hunt, especially for those working first season dogs. The disadvantage is sometimes to the quail hunter with a small bore shotgun not well suited to pheasant.
Do It Yourself Hunts
The remaining links below will gain increasingly detailed information about our do it yourself hunts and more with picture spreads of what our organization is all about. Have a good read as all of our web pages are built to get the information out without fancy graphics or advertising. A web site for hunters about our private land hunting and that alone. Keep the idea that our Iowa pheasant hunting is just one of the options available to all MAHA hunters.
2010 Iowa Pheasant Hunting Land
