The second shotgun deer hunting season is currently ongoing, and with many unsatisfied with how the first season went according to Iowa Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Jeremy King, there are some tips to try and increase your chances of harvesting a deer.

King says that opening day for the first shotgun season seemed to be the only time he saw any hunters with deer, and those he met afterwards all shared the same frustration; they didn’t see any deer. King mentions that Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD), or Blue Tongue Disease, has been a factor, along with the weather. He explains that the weather has been great for hunting because it’s not too cold or too warm, but that this can make it harder to find deer because they will bed down and stay in place, making it harder to see them.

King tells Raccoon Valley radio that he suggests that hunters should try looking in alternative locations during the shotgun second season.

“Now I would just encourage people (to) maybe look for those non-traditional places. A lot of times that bigger timber people think of for deer hunting, maybe look outside of that. Maybe look at those CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) fields or fence lines that are out of the wind, or terraces where you’ve got permission to be. Those sorts of things will probably provide a better opportunity than your larger block of woods or your more traditional deer spots, because those typically get hunted that first gun season, especially if it’s on public land.”

King mentions that another reason that may explain why deer have been harder to come by in Guthrie County, is because the number of deer in the county is lower than in previous years. He adds that he can tell that the numbers are down, because of the amount of antlerless tags that are left for purchase in the county, mentioning that usually they are sold out by the third week of November, but that after the first gun season, there were still 500 tags left.