Iowa’s first shotgun season for deer will begin on Saturday and run through the 11th. The second season runs December 14th through the 22nd.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Dan Henderson says sharing the location of where you’ll be hunting ahead going out is a smart safety step to take, “Well, you know, a cell phone is great, a simple text message is nice. But let’s be honest, you know, a lot of times that phone is not going to work. And so, if it doesn’t work, you’re not really going to have the opportunity to reach out to somebody and let them know. I had a guy down here in Jefferson County, actually still does it to this day, he puts an aerial map of where he’s going to hunt onto his refrigerator and then he’ll take a magnet and he’ll put exactly which stand he’s sitting in. So then whenever his wife comes home from work she knows exactly where he’s at. You know, if the wind happens to change that day or what not, he’ll try to reach out to her and say, ‘I’ve moved to this stand,’ or whatever. But any sort of communication like that is very, very important.”

Hunters are reminded that shooting hours for all deer seasons are half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.