Twin Cities to Iowa for phez?

[bonasa]

As a new resident to MN and my first bird hunting season here, I'm looking to find all the huntig spots for ruffies and pheasant I can. In another thread it was mentioned that public land in Iowa with birds could be reached in 1.5 hours from the twin cities. I would appreciate anyone who can provide more details. I live in Minneapolis and my one and only scouting trip down to the SW corner of MN where the pheasants are took more than 4 hours. 1.5 hours could be done after work! : ) Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Mike

[lookincalifornia]

i was raised in forest city iowa, about 20 minutes south of MN. there is alot of public land in that area. as soon as you get to iowa on 35, you are in winnebago county. take any exit and head west. you will likely see the small green signs denoting public hunting. there are several small parcels of land that can be worked alone and many large areas that are better for a group. if you check the winnebago county conservation board, you can find exactly where they are. the gravel roads are always fun to drive too. good luck, only one month left!

[portageman]

I have hunted Iowa public land for about 5 years. I purchased a book that shows all of the public land int he entire state. There is alot of it, and alot of birds too.

[fishwithteeth]

From Mpls. you can drive down I35 to 14 and go east or west for some decent close hunting areas. There are a couple good public areas around Dodge Center. There are good areas in IA, but there are equally good areas in MN, and you can save $90.

[ole matty]

alway hunt there *forest city* also 45 miles west of it every year since i was 10 year old. love the area mostly durin weekly much less people and people taht live or work around forest city-ventura r nice folks! like they say buy a wma map book for iwoa u ll find plenty of place to hunt.

[delzz7]

Been going the last 3 years, either purchase a book on Public land or just drive down there, they have signs for public land on major county roads.

It's worth it!

[MikeYager - Suzuki]

1.5 to good hunting in Iowa? Not sure about that. I always head farther west. One good thing about Iowa is you can hunt ditches. That opens up a lot of hunting land when public areas are hard to find or overhunted. Drive to remote area gravel road and hunt good looking ditches. Preferably by cut corn fields. Watch the barb wire though.