mdl Outfitters

Trophy Iowa Whitetail Archery Hunts

Trophy Iowa Whitetail Archery Hunts

Trophy Iowa Whitetail Archery Hunts

IOWA ARCHERY DEER HUNTS

100% Wild & Free-Range Trophy Bucks

WHAT MAKES MDL OUTFITTERS SPECIAL

When you hunt with us, you are not hunting with a normal outfitter. I prefer the term "hunt manager" instead of "outfitter"... For instance,

1. HUNT A MINIMUM OF 7 DAYS UP TO A MAXIMUM OF 21 DAYS

This was a big deal for us from an operational standpoint. The last thing that I want to do is to send someone home if they have the time to hunt. You have four date sections (A,B,C,D) to choose from to hunt, and the entire stretch of time is your's to use at your discretion. I'll provide advisement/input on what days I recommend within the section, but if you have the time to hunt, I hope that is what you plan to do. The more time you put into a tree, the higher your odds are to see and kill your buck. So, yes, your hunt cost covers between 7 and 21 days, all of the days in your Hunt Section.

2. THE ABILITY TO HUNT MULTIPLE FARMS AT MDL'S DISCRETION

Every hunt has a first day. Matt will tell you which stand or blind he wants you to start in and why. He will also explain how many days he wants you to stay in that spot before moving. We don't stand-hop. Yet, if Matt comes across valuable intel that makes him want to move you, he will. That is why communicating with him from the tree or blind via text is so important to our overall hunt strategy. He might move you to a different spot on that farm, or he might even move you to a different farm. This isn't a DIY hunt, so this is up to Matt. Don't guide the guide. Let me work. I'd much rather have you blame me than yourself if something doesn't pan out on a specific deer, spot, farm, or hunt.

3. MATT'S ZONE DEFENSE MENTALITY DURING THE RUT

When we are hunting the pre-rut, rut, peak rut, late rut, and post rut, we are playing a game with these whitetails that we can't control - breeding & roaming space. With the deer being able to literally go anywhere, we have to spread out and cover our areas to the best of our abilities. Matt hates losing an opportunity at a deer because we didn't put a guy where a guy needed to be. Another benefit of this is that there is literally no bias towards any one hunter or any one spot. Saying one stand is better than another is silly since we can't predict the deer's movements caused by the deer's spontaneous thinking. Hunt hard. That is it.

Want more info? Check out our blog by clicking the link above in the menu: Matt's Blog

STEPS TO BOOKING

YOUR IOWA ARCHERY

WHITETAIL DEER HUNT

1. CHOOSE WHICH ZONE YOU WISH

TO HUNT

IOWA

SOUTHERN IOWA

ZONE 5

SOUTHCENTRAL

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IOWA

SOUTHERN IOWA

ZONE 6

SOUTHEASTERN

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IOWA

NORTHEAST IOWA

ZONE 8

2. CHOOSE WHICH DATE SECTION YOU

WISH TO HUNT

• SECTION ALPHA

IA: OCT. 1ST - 21ST

(HUNT 7-21 DAYS)

EARLY SEASON

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• SECTION BRAVO

IA: OCT. 22ND - NOV. 11TH

(HUNT 7-21 DAYS)

PRE-RUT & RUT

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• SECTION CHARLIE

IA: NOV. 12TH - 30TH

(HUNT 7-19 DAYS)

LATE TO POST-RUT

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• SECTION DELTA

IA: DEC. 26TH - JAN. 10TH

(HUNT 7-16 DAYS)

LATE SEASON

3. CHOOSE WHICH FARM TYPE YOU WISH TO HUNT

STANDARD FARM

• SECTION ALPHA

(IA) $3,250

• SECTION BRAVO

(IA) $3,750

• SECTION CHARLIE

(IA) $3,250

• SECTION DELTA

(IA) $2,000

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TROPHY FARM

• SECTION ALPHA

(IA) $3,750

• SECTION BRAVO

(IA) $4,250

• SECTION CHARLIE

(IA) $3,750

• SECTION DELTA

(IA) $2,500

4. BOOK YOUR HUNT

& PAY YOUR

HUNT DEPOSIT

After you have selected which date section (A, B, C, D) to hunt, and which farm type you wish to hunt, you should call us to check availability of the desired hunt package. If space is still available, book it!

HOW TO BOOK

• Call 563-320-6875

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PAYMENT

• Pay a 50% Deposit Due at Time of Booking & the Remaining 50% Due by August 1st of the Hunt Year if successful in the tag lottery.

5. APPLY FOR

NON-RESIDENT

DEER TAG

You are responsible for applying for and obtaining your own hunting license/permits/tags as required by the respective state that you which to hunt. The Iowa tag application period opens in early May.

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Please contact us directly with questions about the Zone (IA) to apply in prior to booking a hunt. We can't guarantee placement if you book after the draw.

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Please use our website menu to find the respective pages highlighting Iowa Non-Resident deer tags/permits.

OUR SPECIALTY - BIG ARCHERY BUCKS

We love everything about archery hunting for big mature whitetails. From the early season patterning of extended summer feeding routines to the late season corn and soybean last-light dinners, the deer have to eat to stay alive and well. From the start of the archery season to the pre-rut, peak rut, lock-down phase, post-rut, and wintering phase, the deer will move between bedding, food, in funnels that pinch and/or have water. Sounds quite simple, doesn't it?

Us bowhunters know all too well how difficult it is to kill a mature whitetail buck. There are only so many factors that we can control, and yet, it's still a challenge to kill just one brute. That's not to mention the use of archery equipment keeping shots under 60 yards. The challenge is what continues to spark the interest year after year for bowhunters like us. The surprise factor is what keeps us on alert from sun-up to sun-down on all of these stand sits. The trophy and the experience is the icing on the cake. We get it.

We have established a plan on how to hunt these mature whitetails in southern Iowa to the best of our abilities. We look at the archery season as having four different sections. Each section (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta) has its own unique hunting strategy that we feel is best for increasing the odds of seeing and killing one of these brutes during the: (A) early season, (B) pre & peak rut, (C) lock-down and post-rut, and (D) late season. These are the four date-sections that you have to choose from when booking an archery hunt with us in southern Iowa.

After choosing such, we need to choose what type of farm we will be hunting on: standard or trophy. There is a whole lot of difference between the two types of farms, but then again, they're not so different. The main deciding factor in what we label the farm type as has to do with the known deer genetics, score-wise, of local bucks and new bucks that we have seen on the farm up until we assign hunters to their farms in late August or September. After the genetic potential is calculated, we look at how hunt-able the farm is, the quality of the neighborhood and neighbors, the size of the farm, the crop rotation, judgement on food source(s), and we make our final judgement on the farm, labeling it either a standard farm or trophy farm. Now, we should remind you that southern Iowa can produce giants anywhere at anytime, but it's just not that simple of a thought process on the matter. Some farms as just better than others, which is why we offer a slightly lower hunt cost on standard farms. If we did not separate them like such, we would charge the trophy farm rates on all of our farms. We just don't think that is 100% fair. You can still kill a record-book whitetail on a standard farm. It's free-range hunting, and the whitetails do not know the property lines, how much is invested by hunters to kill them, or just how special a farm is compared to another.

When you start hunting, you become our most current scouting source. It is extremely important for you to communicate with us. Such info may cause us to want to change stands or even farms. Communication is the key to success more times than not! All stand sites have been selected based off of experience and purpose. We start the hunts in an almost 'zone defense' before breaking off to attack a certain area until we kill a specific buck or two. Then, we go back to the zone defense until we find a new target, and then we press/blitz them again, and repeating until we are done. It is actually a conservative yet timely & aggressive move that helps us kill big deer every year. If it's not broke, don't fix it, right? Yet, we are always learning about these deer and adjusting our strategies and theories on them. That is our commitment to our clients who trust us with their hunt, time, money, and effort. We can't guarantee a shot opportunity on a monster buck within bow range, but we can guarantee that we are going to try our absolute hardest to make it happen. Thanks for reading!

LAND ACCESS

100%

Exclusive

GOAL:

We strive to provide at least 100 to 200 acres per hunter

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With increasing operational costs, we work hard to find the best access within a reasonable price point that we can manage year after year to produce plentiful trophy hunts on while not jeopardizing the age structure and genetics for future seasons.

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Avg. Cost Per Acre

$17.50

Cost Range Per Acre

$10 to $25

Avg. Cost Per Hunter

$2,625.00

Low Cost Per Hunter

$1,750.00

High Cost Per Hunter

$3,500.00

food plots

ROW crops

fall mixes

GOAL:

1 x Acre Standing Crops

1 x Acre Green Plot

(2 x Acres Per Hunter)

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Standing Crops Cost

Avg. $750/acre

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Fall Mixes Cost

Avg. $750/acre

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These costs include:

Various Fertilizers

Soil Tests as Needed

Ground Working

Water + Herbicide

Crop & Plot Seed

Farmer's Cost

Landowner's Cost

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Avg. Cost Per Hunter

$1,500.00

Low Cost Per Hunter

$750.00

High Cost Per Hunter

$2,250.00

stands

AND

BLINDS

GOAL:

2 x Ladder Stand

1 x Portable Blind

1 x Fixed Blind

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2 x Ladder Stand

$250/each

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1 x Primos Double Bull Blind

$250/each

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1 x Bale Blind

$300/each

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Total Cost Per Hunter

$1,050.00 + Shipping

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Expected Avg. Total

$1,250.00 Per Hunter

Total Cost Varies

Depending on Quantity of Hunters per Year

equipment

and

accessories

Tractor + Implements Rental $1,500/Year (3 x days Rent)

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OHV/UTV Usage/Payments

$3,500/Year

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Vehicle Upkeep

$1,500/Year

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Trail Camera Purchases

$1,500/Year

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Trail Camera Batteries $250/Year

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SD Cards & MicroSD Cards

$250/Year

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Mineral + Deer Feed

$1,500/Year

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TOTAL SUM = $10,000/YEAR

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WITH 30 HUNTERS/YEAR

$333.33 Per Hunter

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WITH 20 HUNTERS/YEAR

$500.00 Per Hunter

other

operational

expenses

Gas Cost ($2.75/GAL.) $2,750/year

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Lodging (Varies/Night)

$2,500/Year

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Employees/Workers

Max. $5,000/Year

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Advertising/Marketing

$5,000/year

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Website Upkeep Costs

$250/year

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Brand Gear Costs

(Clothing, Misc. Accessories)

$750/year

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Total Sum = $16,250

(before mileage credit)

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WITH 30 HUNTERS/YEAR =

$541.67 Per Hunter

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WITH 20 HUNTERS/YEAR = $812.50 Per Hunter