RIVERTON WMA
This is another of southwestern Iowa’s best bets for trophy-class deer. “I’d recommend trying Riverton,” said Priebe. “The old established portion of the area north of 250th Street provides the best opportunities for bowhunters. The floodplain area receives more deer hunting pressure than the uplands, but deer are abundant throughout the area.”

The wilder sections of the WMA border the Nishnabotna River. Woody, marshy areas offer good bowhunting habitat where archers can set up in concealment.

Parking areas dot the landscape; archers can walk in from the lots. Come prepared to hike into the interior areas to connect with the bigger bucks. Riverton has classic trophy-class potential that’s capable of producing racks that are more than worth the effort.

Priebe suggested taking a doe rather than a button buck at this area as well. High-quality bucks take a few years to develop, and there’ll be a lot more of them when hunters pass up a shot or two at younger ones.

The area covers 2,721 acres two miles north of Riverton in Fremont County. Contact the Riverton Unit at (712) 374-3133 for additional information.

SAND CREEK WMA
“Sand Creek WMA is probably one of the best bowhunting areas in the Mt. Ayr Unit,” said Chad Paup, the area’s wildlife biologist. “Deer numbers are good and the trophy potential is excellent. Deer in the 140 class are very common in this woods.”

According to Paup, the key to hunting Sand Creek is to visit the IDNR’s Web site and check out the interactive map of the area. The satellite view of the WMA shows natural funnels and pinch points that are a lot more productive to hunt than what a hunter can stumble on bysimply keying in on the area as a whole.

“Go to the interior to get away from other hunters and find the bigger bucks,” said Paup. “Most guys who are just dropping in for a short time will only walk 200 yards or so. The bucks may be deeper into the timber than that.”

Good access into the area is available via the gravel road from the east. Another access road is north out of Grand River on the southeastern corner of the WMA where the most extensive timber is located.

Sand Creek covers 4,400 acres and is one of Suchy’s top southern Iowa bow hunting picks.

Sand Creek is in Decatur and Ringgold counties three miles north of Grand River. Archers will find a lot of tapering draws and ridges, bluffs, oak-hickory stands, marsh and river-bottom habitat. For additional information contact the Mt. Ayr Wildlife Unit at (641) 464-2220.

ADAIR WMA
“The deer numbers in the Bays Branch Unit are very good,” said wildlife management biologist Ron Munkel.

The harvest of antlerless deer over the past several years is having an impact on the herd, said Munkel. Deer numbers are still high in some spots in his unit, so it would be good for hunters to thin out their antlerless deer a bit -- but even in those trophy-class bucks are available.

At Adair WMA, a little 350-acre public hunting spot surrounded by privately owned deer habitat in which hunting is limited, elbow room can disappear on a busy day; during the week, however, Adair may only hold a couple of hunters. Big bucks that may never see a hunter can freely roam onto the public lands. A little pre-scouting can set you up for that shot you’ve been waiting for.