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Last chance to hunt deer until fall

Last chance to hunt deer until fall

  • 1/11/2024 5:02:00 PM
  • View Count 4106
Iowa’s final deer seasons are now open - the Population Management January Antlerless Season and the Excess Tag January Antlerless Season.
First of Iowa’s popular gun deer hunting seasons opens Dec. 2

First of Iowa’s popular gun deer hunting seasons opens Dec. 2

  • 11/21/2023 11:45:00 AM
  • View Count 8058
Iowa’s most popular hunting seasons are less than two weeks away when more than 100,000 blaze orange clad hunters will be walking, posting, sitting and standing in Iowa’s timber and field edges hoping to tag an Iowa deer. The first deer gun season is Dec. 2-6; the second deer gun season is Dec. 9-17.
Apply now for Iowa nonresident deer tags

Apply now for Iowa nonresident deer tags

  • 5/23/2022 3:17:00 PM
  • View Count 3725
The Iowa nonresident deer hunting application period is currently open. Applications close June 5 at midnight, so there's still plenty of time to apply.
Iowa’s youth deer season begins September 18

Iowa’s youth deer season begins September 18

  • 9/14/2021 2:58:00 PM
  • View Count 3142
The Iowa deer hunting tradition will be passed on to about 10,000 young hunters who are participating in the youth deer season, which opens on Sept. 18.
Basic firearm rules are important for a safe hunt

Basic firearm rules are important for a safe hunt

  • 11/18/2020 6:43:00 AM
  • View Count 3556
The first of Iowa’s two shotgun deer seasons opens on Dec. 5, and while optimism for a successful hunt is the primary focus, hunters are encouraged to brush up on safe hunting practices.
Iowa’s archery deer hunting season begins Oct. 1

Iowa’s archery deer hunting season begins Oct. 1

  • 9/29/2020 1:02:00 PM
  • View Count 6371
An estimated 60,000 hunters will be heading to the timber in the next few weeks as Iowa’s archery deer season gets underway Oct. 1. For hunters in the derecho corridor, this year will not be like seasons past.
Iowa’s youth deer season begins Sept. 19

Iowa’s youth deer season begins Sept. 19

  • 9/15/2020 1:29:00 PM
  • View Count 21846
The Iowa deer hunting tradition will be passed on to about 10,000 young hunters who are participating in the youth deer season, which opens on Sept. 19. This season is designed as a mentor-styled hunt, matching young hunters with a licensed adult to teach proper deer hunting techniques, wildlife behavior, and safe hunting practices without the added pressure of other hunters in the field. 
Basic firearm rules are important for a safe hunt

Basic firearm rules are important for a safe hunt

  • 11/19/2019 2:07:00 PM
  • View Count 5212
The first of Iowa’s two shotgun deer seasons opens on Dec. 7, and while optimism for a successful hunt is the primary focus, hunters are encouraged to brush up on safe hunting practices.
Iowa’s archery deer season begins Oct. 1

Iowa’s archery deer season begins Oct. 1

  • 9/25/2018 4:38:00 PM
  • View Count 12832
An estimated 60,000 hunters will be heading to the timber in the next few weeks as Iowa’s archery deer season gets underway Oct. 1.
Iowa deer harvest tops 90,000

Iowa deer harvest tops 90,000

  • 12/19/2017 1:20:00 PM
  • View Count 10948
The 2017 Iowa deer harvest is running more than 5 percent ahead of the 2016 totals. So far this fall, 90,955 deer have been reported, compared to 86,506 for the same period last year.
Iowa’s archery deer hunting season opens October 1

Iowa’s archery deer hunting season opens October 1

  • 9/26/2017 11:52:00 AM
  • View Count 23978
The days are getting shorter, nights are getting cooler and treestands are being moved into place. For bow hunters, the long wait is nearly over. Iowa’s archery deer season begins Oct. 1.
2016 Iowa deer harvest tops 100,000

2016 Iowa deer harvest tops 100,000

  • 2/28/2017 12:49:00 PM
  • View Count 10071
Deer hunters reported harvesting 101,397 deer during the 2016 Iowa deer hunting season, which is about 3,000 fewer than were reported in 2015, but nearly identical to the 2014 harvest.
Deer Season Notes

Deer Season Notes

  • 12/7/2016 10:11:00 AM
  • View Count 10640
Iowa hunters have reported harvesting nearly 54,000 deer through the first weekend of the first shotgun season. First shotgun deer season ends on Dec. 7.
Waterfowl refuges closed to any access until duck seasons end

Waterfowl refuges closed to any access until duck seasons end

  • 12/2/2016 10:16:00 AM
  • View Count 5383
Iowa waterfowl refuges are closed to all access until the day after duck season closes. This year the duck season closes later than previous years and the later season dates may impact some deer hunters who have hunted the areas in the past. 
Register your harvest

Register your harvest

  • 11/22/2016 1:59:00 PM
  • View Count 13859
Your deer is down, tagged and on its way to the truck. Your harvest is not complete, though, until you register it; online, over the phone or at a license vendor.
Hunters use popular program to donate deer meat to Food Bank of Iowa

Hunters use popular program to donate deer meat to Food Bank of Iowa

  • 11/22/2016 1:57:00 PM
  • View Count 12873
Have an extra deer at the end of the hunt? Maybe you bought an extra tag, to hunt longer? Consider donating to Iowa’s HUSH program. HUSH (Help Us Stop Hunger) works with 81 participating lockers to provide high quality meat to needy Iowans, through the Food Bank of Iowa.