Saturday is Iowa’s busiest outdoor “opening day” of the year. The first shotgun deer season starts December 1st.
According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, hunters should expect to see fewer deer this season but they still expect to fill plenty of tags.
Deer research biologist Tom Litchfield says, they’ve been working to decrease deer numbers since 2003. “On a statewide basis, the herd is very close to objective” says Litchfield. Levels we haven’t seen since the mid to late 1990s.
According to the DNR’s numbers, 121,407 deer were hunted in 2011-2012, down significantly from 211,451 deer in 2005-2006.
Each season is relatively short, with the first running only five days and the second – December 8th-16th, spanning over 9 days. Hunters will have to adapt to his year’s warm and dry weather. Without snow on the ground, it can be harder for hunters to track deer and find areas where there has been a lot of activity.
All hunters are reminded to use safety first and make sure you have your tags before heading out to the fields.