Private land hunting southwest Iowa

B

Bob Peters

Well-known member
At the wedding this weekend I saw one of my cousins, and he invited me down the try his in-laws hunting spots. They've got a lot of spots spread out by Clarinda. I've driven through the area a few times on the way to Missouri. I looked at the Iowa survey map, and SW looks like the lowest pheasant numbers in the state, but might be some quail around. Anyone ever hunt within 60 miles of there, or have advice what I should ask the owners about the land they have to determine whether it is worth making a trip? Almost zero public spots down there.
 
Asking if they have ever seen or heard pheasants is a good start! Pretty hard to miss the crowing of a rooster when out working in the mornings.

No clue about quail.
 
Bob Peters said:
At the wedding this weekend I saw one of my cousins, and he invited me down the try his in-laws hunting spots. They've got a lot of spots spread out by Clarinda. I've driven through the area a few times on the way to Missouri. I looked at the Iowa survey map, and SW looks like the lowest pheasant numbers in the state, but might be some quail around. Anyone ever hunt within 60 miles of there, or have advice what I should ask the owners about the land they have to determine whether it is worth making a trip? Almost zero public spots down there.
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Bob: years ago , when I hunted Iowa, we were based at Atlantic. We found the farther south one goes from Atlantic the more quail country you experience. We hunted around Wiota and, Anita. Before the Atlantic times we were based in Carroll and hunted south to Atlantic.

Have not hunted Iowa since 1990....Good luck!
 
jonnyB said:
Bob: years ago , when I hunted Iowa, we were based at Atlantic. We found the farther south one goes from Atlantic the more quail country you experience. We hunted around Wiota and, Anita. Before the Atlantic times we were based in Carroll and hunted south to Atlantic.

Have not hunted Iowa since 1990....Good luck!
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I'm with Jonny, Carroll to Atlantic. Around Adair too. You have to try it to know. Boots on the ground
 
Hunt some private and public spots in the area. We always see and get birds. Live an hour away, worth the drive.
 
I hunted not too far from there for 21 years straight, sometimes twice a year. Still have a good contact and friend there. A few years ago he told use he was seeing a lot of quail and a few Phez. So we went back for the 1st time in 12 years. It was worse than it was when we quit going there. 2 guys, 4 good dogs, 5 days. Killed 6 quail and 1 rooster.
 
birddude said:
I hunted not too far from there for 21 years straight, sometimes twice a year. Still have a good contact and friend there. A few years ago he told use he was seeing a lot of quail and a few Phez. So we went back for the 1st time in 12 years. It was worse than it was when we quit going there. 2 guys, 4 good dogs, 5 days. Killed 6 quail and 1 rooster.
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I hunt SW Iowa and NW MO pretty regularly, and this sounds about right.
 
I hunt that area somewhat regularly for quail. It’s the best area in Iowa for quail. Quail numbers were as high as they’ve been in decades several years ago but we had a rough winter a couple years ago that decimated the population. The numbers have bounced back some but not nearly what they were 5 years ago. My pointer was in her prime during that time and there were a couple years where we averaged 4 or 5 coveys a day in that area.

There are pheasants around but it’s not a destination. If you find decent cover there are probably some around.
 
Wind River said:
I'm with Jonny, Carroll to Atlantic. Around Adair too. You have to try it to know. Boots on the ground
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I used to stomp around Anita and Adair area in the 90's and we hunted exclusively private ground with moderate success and we had to work for the birds. Last time we hunted was 2013, some public on the area but low numbers and haven't been back since. As mentioned further south you go more quail.
 
If you want someone to run up and check it out for you let me know. I’m only a couple hours south of there. 😂 spent many a day east of there around Bedford. Was a fair number of birds around there in the early 90’s
 
Bob Peters said:
At the wedding this weekend I saw one of my cousins, and he invited me down the try his in-laws hunting spots. They've got a lot of spots spread out by Clarinda. I've driven through the area a few times on the way to Missouri. I looked at the Iowa survey map, and SW looks like the lowest pheasant numbers in the state, but might be some quail around. Anyone ever hunt within 60 miles of there, or have advice what I should ask the owners about the land they have to determine whether it is worth making a trip? Almost zero public spots down there.
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Same deal here over in Ringgold County next door. Check with the game warden and/or DNR biologist who cover Page County, and they will set you straight. Many times, the biologist is the person who did the roadside and whistling counts, and often they are bird hunters themselves. I never try a new area without using these resources. After that, stop the mail carrier or a county sheriff's deputy.
 
Bob Peters said:
At the wedding this weekend I saw one of my cousins, and he invited me down the try his in-laws hunting spots. They've got a lot of spots spread out by Clarinda. I've driven through the area a few times on the way to Missouri. I looked at the Iowa survey map, and SW looks like the lowest pheasant numbers in the state, but might be some quail around. Anyone ever hunt within 60 miles of there, or have advice what I should ask the owners about the land they have to determine whether it is worth making a trip? Almost zero public spots down there.
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Not very far Southeast and Southwest used to be the best for quail form there. Find some habitat and you'll probably find some quail. You'll also find that they will be some of the fastest toughest quail you'll ever hunt.
 
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