Pheasant hunting has been an Iowa tradition spanning generations. This year, it starts with the resident youth-only pheasant season, Oct.19-20, which is only open to Iowa youths aged 15 and younger. Iowa’s regular pheasant season is Oct. 26-Jan. 10, 2025. For decades, Iowa was a pheasant hunting destination, and the 2024 season marks the end of the first century of pheasant hunting in the Hawkeye State. The Iowa DNR and Pheasants Forever are partnering to celebrate Iowa’s 100-year tradition of pheasant hunting beginning this fall and running through October 2025. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ annual August roadside survey found the statewide pheasant population to be 19 birds per 30-mile route, down from 23 birds per route last year. The decline was likely due to a wetter-than-normal spring that coincided with the nesting season. Based on the results, hunters can expect a harvest between 350,000 and 400,000 roosters. An estimated 83,600 pheasant hunters participated in 2023, and many of those came from out of state. Iowa has been attracting pheasant hunters from Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Nebraska, and from as far away as Georgia, North Carolina, and Alabama. These hunters can expect to find higher populations in west-central and northwest regions, followed by central and north-central Iowa. Roughly one-third of the pheasant harvest occurs within the first nine days of the season. Iowa’s pheasant hunters season opens statewide on Oct. 26.