I went the leased land route the last time I hunted Iowa and it was a terrible experience. The one thing I have learned in all my years of hunting the Midwest, every year is a big unknown! Everything is so dependent on weather, what kind of neighbors are around the property and numerous other factors. For example, I lost a really good deer on my farm to EHD and most of the known survivors from last fall have not shown back up. My days of leasing private land are on thin ice. I'm sick of spending thousands of dollars to hunt average deer. I say all this to highlight the fact private land is not necessarily the smartest thing to do when it comes to Iowa and what you have invested. The odds of you leasing a private farm at an affordable price that holds above average whitetails are low in my personal opinion. If you go that route, I would strongly suggest you try to find some public within close proximity as a fallback plan.

I have been sitting on enough points to draw IA for years now while waiting on the prefect opportunity to fall in my lap. Well, that perfect opportunity hasn't come. I did the same thing the first go around and made a bad decision after my patience ran thin. I've decided to just hunt public when I do go and start building points again. I've wasted so much time by just sitting around waiting on the prefect opportunity to justify the time and money involved with hunting that state.