The first shotgun season kicks off this weekend and it’s one of the more visible hunting seasons of the year.

Greene County Conservation Director Dan Towers says the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is anticipating about half of the expected 120,000 shotgun hunters to be out during the first shotgun season. Towers says contrary to what some believe about needing snow and colder temperatures to track deer, the more milder weekend that is expected is better for deer hunters. 

“Statistics show that over the years the success rates are better when you have a weekend coming like the one that we do: mild and hopefully the fields will be dry. You can access a lot of the cover like that you like to hunt without walking one mile to get to it by driving through the fields. So really a mild weekend with dry conditions (the) success rate ends up being better than those really stormy, snowy weekends.”

Towers reminds hunters of the timber areas along the Raccoon River in Greene County are mostly public hunting grounds. He adds to look for the green public hunting signs that will indicate where people are allowed to hunt. The first shotgun season runs from December 7th-11th.