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We’re
still a month out from Iowa’s earliest deer seasons. That doesn’t stop
the planning, though, as deer hunters mix and match seasons, their days
off and which tags to buy. With a couple significant changes this
season, however, many hunters will have to make adjustments.
That
scramble begins August 15; the first day residents can purchase deer
tags. With a short supply of early muzzleloader licenses (only 7,500
available), they have been snapped up in just a few days over the last
six years. Hesitate…and you lost your chance for the October season.
That
muzzleloader demand has been driven by December shotgun season hunters
opting for both seasons. Since 2006, you could purchase a high demand
‘any deer’ early muzzleloader tag…and still be eligible for an
‘antlerless’ shotgun tag. You still could hunt both seasons and, with shotgun season party hunting, even take a buck if another party member was available to legally tag it.
But that was then.
“Now
that Iowa’s deer numbers are back down to the statewide objective;
we’re reeling it back in,” explains DNR deer research biologist Tom
Litchfield. “Hunters purchasing early season muzzleloader licenses
won’t be hunting during the shotgun season, on the antlerless-only
tags.”
The
other major change is the number of county-specific antlerless tags
available. Those quotas grew through the 2000s, with pressure to harvest
more does. Hunters did the job across most of the state. Lower
antlerless quotas now reflect it.
“Throughout
eastern Iowa, the deer herd is down to (targeted) mid to late 1990s
levels,” says Litchfield. “The quotas statewide were lowered by
approximately 13,000. However, there is still plenty of opportunity and
good tag availability.”
Hunters
still can purchase one any deer gun season tag and fill in with various
combinations, using the 119,000 available antlerless tags for the
seasons they are hunting…while they last. Those county quotas,
though, may be filled sooner. Iowa’s south central and southeastern two
tiers of counties still have strong antlerless allotments. Another
option is the various urban, park or special hunt zones.
As
always, if you qualify as a landowner/tenant, your options are more
flexible. Reduced fee tags are available, across the seasons, on your
farm property.
Two lesser changes are elimination of the Thanksgiving weekend antlerless season and reducing the late January a week early.
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