MORE DEER COVERAGE • 2004 Deer Outlook, Part 1 • 2004 Rut Report in North American Whitetail Forums

By Dan Anderson

Two significant events occurred in 2003 that underline the quality and numbers of trophy deer available in Iowa in 2004.

In September 2003, 15-year-old Tony Lovstuen of Albia used a muzzleloader during the Youth Deer Season to claim national fame when he killed the legendary Albia Buck. Now known as the Lovstuen Buck, the corn-fed non-typical whitetail scored 319 4/8 inches, making it one of the top five Boone and Crockett racks and the largest whitetail rack ever harvested by a hunter. (The only B&C racks that were larger were found on dead deer.)

While news of the Lovstuen Buck kept whitetail hunters buzzing for months, a less-noted milestone for Iowa deer hunting occurred earlier in the year, when Matt Pohlman entered a whitetail rack from Pocahontas County in the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' Trophy Deer Registry. That typical rack, taken by bow and arrow, scored 153 5/8 inches, and became the first whitetail rack from Pocahontas County ever entered in the registry.

The significance of the Lovstuen Buck is obvious: It proves that Iowa has world-class whitetail bucks. The significance of Pohlman's entry in the Trophy Deer Registry is that it verifies that trophy-quality deer are available in every Iowa county - even cornfield-flat Pocahontas County.

"The Trophy Deer Registry is voluntary, so I'd like to believe there have been other bucks taken in Pocahontas County that would have qualified, but their owners didn't take time to enter them," said Willie Suchy, IDNR deer management biologist. "The registry isn't an official count of all the trophies taken in Iowa, but it's a valid way to get an idea of trends on where our hunters are taking the most trophies."

The bottom line is that we now have proof that there are trophy bucks, some of them world-class, in every county in Iowa. And with Suchy and other game management officials predicting hunters may kill a record 200,000 deer in Iowa this year, the potential for a hunter to add to our list of trophies is better than at any time since deer hunting was re-instituted in Iowa in 1953.

Hunters interested in tagging a trophy Iowa whitetail will increase their chances by taking advice that's the exact opposite of the famous disclaimer stockbrokers use to cover their backsides: Past performance is not an indicator of future results. When it comes to deer hunting in Iowa, past performance is the key to future results. The best way to find a trophy is to look where trophies have been found in the past.

Photo by BillKinney.com

With that delay in mind, it's safe to say that the best place to tag a trophy in 2004 will be the same place where the most trophies were tagged in 2003 - and 2002, and 2001: Allamakee County. This county in far northeast Iowa again leads the state, with 341 trophies entered in the Trophy Deer Registry since the IDNR began keeping records in 1953.

Marion County, in south-central Iowa, again claims second spot in the registry, with 251 total entries. Clayton County, in far northeast Iowa, earned third place with 241 trophies entered. Warren County, in south central Iowa, took fourth place with 237 entries, while Appanoose (far southern Iowa) and Jackson (far eastern Iowa) counties tied for fifth place with 226 trophies.

The blend of northeastern, south central, far southern and eastern counties in the registry's top five standings is significant. For many years northeastern counties dominated the standings. Prime deer habitat in that corner of the state produced more deer, and more deer generally means more trophies. But in the past decade, numbers have mushroomed across the southern and eastern half of Iowa, and trophies are much more common in those areas.

(An aside: An analysis in the November/December 2003 issue of Iowa Conservationist of size and county of origin of the most recent entries in the registry shows that entries from northeastern counties trended toward 150- to 160-class racks, while south-central counties seemed to produce more racks that fell in the 160-plus range. Both regions produced 180 and larger racks, but there was a subtle but discernable trend for racks to average a little larger from south central counties.)

The rest of the registry's top 10 trophy-producing counties are names familiar to trophy deer hunters in Iowa. Monroe County (No. 7, with 224 trophies), Van Buren County (No. 6, with 205 trophies), Des Moines County (No. 9, with 181 trophies) and Lucas County (No. 10, with 180 trophies) are all regular members of the Top 10. All members of the second half of the top ten are from southern Iowa and reflect the number of deer in that region.

"High deer populations are good indicators of trophy potential," said Suchy. "There will always be a few bucks that manage to escape hunters long enough to develop trophy racks in counties with low deer populations, but there will be more trophy-quality bucks in counties where there are more deer. The fact that we've had a bonus antlerless deer season for many years in the southern two tiers of counties, and recently in the southern half of the state, reflects the number of deer we have in that area."

Western Iowa is represented in the registry in the 11th position by Monona County, which boasts 177 entries. The rugged Loess Hills of western Iowa earn credit for that county's population of trophy deer.

"There aren't necessarily more trophies out there, but the bucks that are there seem to maybe be a little bigger," said Suchy. "The total deer harvest from the (Loess) Hills isn't significantly better than other parts of the state. It's just that the Hills are so irregular and tough to hunt that bucks have a chance to live longer."

Lee County in far southeast Iowa earned 12th spot with 173 entries in the registry's most recent rankings. Madison County, just southwest of Des Moines in central Iowa, earned 13th place with 172 entries. Guthrie County took 14th with 170 entries.

"Madison County has always had good deer habitat, and the spread of (the city of) Des Moines into that county has only helped more bucks escape and live longer," said Suchy. Housing developments and acreages scattered in the timbers make it harder for shotgun hunters to set up and run drives, so bucks live longer.

"Guthrie County is at the northern end of a strip of counties that runs from west central down through southwest Iowa that almost has too many deer," he continued. "We're going to increase our harvest quotas for those counties in 2004 to try and kill more does. When you combine the high deer population with the sort of scattered brushy, woody habitat that's in that region, you have more bucks who find little, out-of-the way places to hide, and they get overlooked by hunters."

Fifty-two year-old Mike Laabs of Jamaica, his 32- and 24-year-old sons Chad and Jeremy, and his 28-year-old daughter Angie have hunted deer in Guthrie County for decades. The Laabses hunt with shotguns from tree stands during shotgun seasons to tag bucks missed by other hunters.

"We've had real good luck hunting escape routes on private property on the edge of Elk Grove (Wildlife Area, in Guthrie County)," said Laabs. "We get into our stands, and about mid-morning on opening day of shotgun season, after the shotgun drives have started pushing through Elk Grove, the big bucks start sneaking out the edges (of the public area.) They've got their heads down and they're trying to be as small as they can. The guys doing the drives have no idea how many big bucks they miss."

Laabs also used his muzzleloader during last year's late muzzleloader season to tag an elusive buck that scored in the 170 range.

"We tried to get him during the bow season and during the shotgun season, but he managed to stay away from us," said Laabs. "In fact, we thought somebody else was going to get him during the shotgun seasons. We were watching him with binoculars when a bunch of shotgun hunters pushed a drive through the little timber where he hung out. I figured they had him, because they were good hunters, guys who know how to do a drive. But I watched him, and as the line got close to him, he snuck around the end of the line and just stood and watched while the closest guy walked by him; then he melted back into the timber behind the line. They never even knew he was there."

Harrison County (No. 21) is in far western Iowa, while Henry and Wayne (tied for 22nd) and Davis (No. 24) and Jefferson (No. 25) counties are in the southern two tiers of counties.

Even in Allamakee County, Iowa's deer factory, where 2,531 deer were killed during last year's shotgun seasons alone, only 16 racks were submitted to the registry in 2003. Interestingly, of those 16 racks, 10 came from bowhunters. Suchy said it is no coincidence that the lone entry in the registry from Pocahontas County was entered by a bowhunter.

"Shotgunners get trophies every year just because there are so many hunters in the field, but bowhunters tend to tag a higher percentage of trophy-caliber bucks," he said. "(Bowhunters) by intent are more selective - will pass up smaller deer - to get the buck they want. Plus, we allow them to hunt during the rut, which some other states don't allow. For that reason, if you really, really want to get a trophy buck in Iowa, I'd have to say that bowhunting would be your best bet."

Entries in the registry confirm that opinion. Of the 500 entries added in 2003, 282 were courtesy of bowhunters, 191 were submitted by shotgunners, and 27 were registered by muzzleloaders.

"It's no surprise that the Lovstuen Buck came out of Monroe County," said Suchy. "Monroe, Warren, Marion, Madison - all those south central counties have been producing some really big racks in recent years. The genetic potential is there, the nutrition is there, and hunters are starting to buy into what we've been saying for years: Shoot does to get your venison; pass on small bucks, and shoot only the older bucks.

"Shooting does keeps the overall deer herd under control and healthy," he continued. "Give that yearling forkhorn or basket buck two or three more years to grow, and he'll eventually have a rack that will make you stand up and pay attention."

And here's a final comment from Suchy to whet the appetites of Iowa's whitetail trophy hunters: "We had heard about the Lovstuen Buck for a couple of years. It didn't surprise me when they got him. But I've heard reports from reliable sources that there are other bucks in Iowa that are as good, and maybe better, than that buck. That doesn't surprise me, either. We have everything it takes for a buck to get big. There are bucks out there that have escaped hunters long enough to develop some really impressive antlers. It's going to be interesting in the next few years to see what our hunters bring out of the woods."