The Iowa DNR is working with the Iowa Food Bank and its subsidiaries across the state to ensure the game is distributed to qualified Iowans. The Iowa Food Bank receives $5 in administrative fees for each deer distributed. The rifles are approved by licensed deer hunters during the hunting season for young and disabled deer – from September 16 to October 1 – and for the first and second hunting season of shotgun hunting from December 2 to 6 and from December 9 to 17. The law imposes a $250 fine for possession of a prohibited rifle, and deer hunting privileges can be suspended for up to two years. Whether you`re a deer hunter, a locker owner, or a volunteer in your community, you can play an important role. As a hunter, consider purchasing additional antlerless deer permits to reduce the deer population. By participating in HUSH, hunters can continue hunting after they would normally stop, which helps reduce the deer population and provide high-quality game to those in need in Iowa. You can donate any legally taken deer of any sex from any season. For the passionate Iowa deer hunter, this is the perfect opportunity to hunt longer and have a direct impact on a local community. Hunters must be duly authorized to hunt deer. All deer permits include an additional $1 per deer to fund the HUSH program.
The participating lockers skin, thigh and grind the meat into two-pound packets of pure game. Local social services distribute the game to needy Iowa families in the area. The 70 traps that participated in 2018 received $75 for each deer treated. Find a locker near you: The DNR has released details about Iowa`s 2017-2018 hunting, capture, and migratory bird regulations in print and online form, which include more details on specific types of straight-walled ammunition that can be used for deer hunting. «In our rural agricultural areas, many people live in deer habitat,» said Todd Bishop, chief of MNR`s Wildlife Bureau. Many states allow the use of rifles to hunt deer, but Iowa has restricted their use over long distances due to their lethality. January deer hunts have long been used by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to control the state`s deer population and curb diseases, namely chronic wasting disease, a neurological disease that kills deer. Are all guns legal? No, not all guns are legal. Only rifles that fire with straight-wall ammunition of .357 caliber or higher with an expansion bullet are allowed. The following center bullet cartridges can be used with others that are not on this list and meet the criteria for right-walled cartridges: Iowa hunters can legally shoot deer with rifles with straight-walled cartridges this fall, and gun store owners report rapid sales of ammunition and new firearms. ** Correction of regulations The printed version of the Iowa Hunting, Trapping and Migratory Game Regulations of 2019-2020 omitted the wording of a new state law that allows hunters with a non-ambulatory deer license to hunt during each open season until the permit is completed, using the extraction method authorized for that season.
The error was discovered too late for the print edition. It has been corrected in the online copy (page 40). Iowa hunters will have a new option this fall as they hunt deer during the youth season, disabled hunting season and both hunting rifle seasons — rifles capable of firing straight-walled cartridges. The new legislation, had it been in place last year, would have increased the number of counties with hunts in January to 15, according to the DNR. That`s because counties with remaining female deer permits must offer them in January. Do I need a special permit to use my rifle? No special permits are required, but a hunter must have the required Iowa hunting license, habitat fees, and deer mark. The return of white-tailed deer as an important wildlife species in Iowa is a tribute to the good attitudes of landowners and progressive management, research and law enforcement programs. Similarly, responsibility for the future of deer in Iowa depends on the collaboration of hunters and landowners, the preservation of critical forest habitats, legislative support, and ongoing professional management of the resource. Will the law come into effect for the 2017 deer hunting season? Yes, it will be an option as a legal method to take it. Sporer says he intends to hunt deer with eight longtime friends in rural Marion County.
He expects all nine to carry guns instead of shotguns that shoot snails. There is no fee to measure or submit entries for the Iowa Book of Records. Due to removal to varying degrees, the rack must be air-dried at least 60 days after the killing date before it can be officially measured. There is no time limit on the time since the deer was killed for measurement or recording in Iowa records. The scoring system used for Iowa records is identical to that of Boone and Crockett and Pope and Young, but the minimum score is different from those of these national clubs. Iowa Award certificates are awarded in ten classes. Classes with minimum scores for each are as follows: The new law requires that people caught with a rifle capable of firing ammunition that is not on the approved list be suspended for two years during deer hunting and fined $250. If you have any questions, please email Alicia.Plathe@dnr.iowa.gov or call (515) 725-8283.
Additional information: Arthur said that a variety of rifles can be used for deer hunting, including bolt action, pump action and semi-automatic, including AR platform rifles designed for military purposes. HUSH is a collaboration between Iowa deer hunters, the Iowa Food Bank, meat processors and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Right-walled cartridge rifles have the same caliber and use the same straight-walled cartridge that is legal for use in handguns, starting with the .357 caliber and larger ammunition. The law is designed to attract more people to hunt and provide additional options for hunters, while boosting sales for arms dealers. Can I also use it for turkey or only for deer? No, this is only allowed to hunt deer. Aron Arthur, a conservation officer with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said the DNR has received numerous calls from deer hunters about the new law, asking what types of rifles and ammunition are legal and not legal. Other cartridges are allowed if they meet certain technical criteria. For more information, check out the Iowa DNR deer hunting regulations available on their website, or contact them directly.
Chronic wasting disease is caused by abnormal proteins that cause brain damage and death in deer. It has been discovered in 12 counties, mostly in northeastern and extreme southern Iowa. These counties include: Allamakee, Appanoose, Clayton, Dubuque, Decatur, Fayette, Fremont, Greene, Jackson, Wayne, Winneshiek and Woodbury. Is this new? The size of the projectile caliber has been allowed since 1997 for handguns intended for deer hunting. What has changed is that the type of weapon that is allowed to fire the bullet has been extended to rifles. January hunts often showed rifles that are not allowed during the regular deer season in December, when shotguns are the preferred weapon. A new law signed Friday by Gov. Kim Reynolds is expected to triple the number of counties that hold a deer hunting season in January, and also allow smaller AR-15 rifles. The law allows the use of ammunition with a straight wall, which has already been approved for pistol hunting, in rifles. The list of acceptable calibers is contained in the Iowa Hunting and Trapping Regulations (p. 31, www.iowadnr.gov/hunting) as well as criteria for ammunition of similar size that is not on the list.
A big thank you to all the hunters who donated deer to the HUSH program during the 2018 hunting season. More than 3,900 deer were donated, generating just over 620,000 meals for the less fortunate in Iowa! What is allowed? The following cartridges can now be used in rifles for deer hunting purposes in Iowa. Like other midwestern states, Iowa produces exceptional white-tailed deer.