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Bird Hunting in Iowa

brock ratcliff

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I was just going to suggest we reach out to him.
When I was in HS a kid moved in that had grown up around Dekalb, right on the Mississippi River. He talked all the time about how good the duck and pheasant hunting was in the area and how he missed it. I’ve often thought about that. Several years ago I asked Jay Greggory about pheasants as he was the only guy I knew in Iowa at that time. He told me he hadn’t seen a pheasant since he was a kid. Now, his property is in southern Iowa, only 30 miles north of Missouri, so there is a lot of ground I assume he would know nothing about. By the habitat and terrain of Iowa, and lack of people, I have to believe there is a good population of birds somewhere. It’s a game rich state, gotta be birds there.
 

Iowa_Buckeye

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Linn County Iowa
Where is it you are going? North central is pretty much all ag ground, so if there is some CRP you should probably find a few birds. It can be weird though, with no pheasants in one place, and lots just a mile or so away. We used to hunt around Shell Rock IA when I first moved out here (mid 90s) and shot lots there. The farmer had his waterways in CRP and it held many many birds. Then corn prices went up, government reduced the CRP program, and the bird numbers suffered. I haven’t hunted birds much in the past 20 years, but did go one time with a buddy on his farm last year. It is only a 100 acre piece, but is the perfect piece for birds. His is all CRP and is surrounded by ag fields.
Let me know when you are going, and if you will be close (his farm is just south of Center Point IA), maybe there would be a chance we could walk it if you are having 0 luck where you are.