Heading into Iowa’s busiest outdoor “opening day,” shotgun deer season hunters should expect to see fewer deer.

While that downturn is by design, they should still fill plenty of tags during the Dec. 1-5 first shotgun season or the Dec. 8-16 second season.  

“Deer numbers are projected to be down at least ten percent from last year,” said Tom Litchfield, DNR deer research biologist. “We have been working to decrease deer numbers since 2003. On a statewide basis, the herd is very close to objective; which would be the levels seen in the mid to late 1990s.”