Second Season

The shotguns are sighted in, tags are bought and the hunting clothes laid out.

Tags are packed, let's get on with hunting season!!

For close to 100,000 Iowans the anticipation is building for opening day. Snowcover, reasonable temps and a late secondary rut may make this your year to take a big buck with a shotgun.

What more could you ask for? Reasonably cold with morning snow showers.
Sounds like good huntin' weather to me!

First off, I came across and article on Crestonnews.com and learned that this is the 60th anniversary of shotgun season here in Iowa. It seems crazy to think that the deer we hunt were nearly non-existent at the turn of the 19th century. Responsible hunting and resource management has blessed Iowans with good hunting opportunities and I am extremely proud to be a part of the shotgunning tradition.

I don't know who's more proud; father who shot or son who helped
 spot this nice 10 pt.

Opening day has Iowans grabbing the gun and heading outdoors with the blaze orange badge of a hunter. One of the things I love the most about this hunting holiday season is the fun, camaraderie and time spent with family.

Tracking, spotting, flushing all made easier by a light snow-pack.

This year there's snow on the ground and perhaps some more on the way. This is excellent news for shotgun hunters! The temperatures will also be tolerable mainly in the 20s for opening weekend with lows in the teens. Sunday morning will be frigid with fresh snow and clear sky. The fields will fill with deer at night, and morning movement should be better than average.

My first buck. Picture taken by my grandpa.

We've also got an overlap between the secondary rut and the second season of shotgun. Many bowhunters can attest the archery season was "off" and I believe rut came late this year. If that's true, the secondary peak of rut will be overlapping the first half of Iowa's second shotgun season. On the morning of December 13th I observed a beautiful, mature buck with his nose down searching the woods for a girlfriend. Young does and fawns may be coming into late cycle estrous and as a result have a bigger and antlered shadow. I'm not sure how much this will impact experienced, mature bucks when they know they're being hunted, but if they let their guard down - the inexperience of the young does should give hunters a serious edge.

One models guess on the new snow by noon Saturday. In any case, fresh snow would be  a blessing!

Next week's warm up into the 30s and 40s may be a negative factor. Deer have acclimated to the cold after a few battles with Arctic air so they may hunker down in their sanctuary instead of moving to feed in those temps. Daylight movement during the week will likely be significantly reduced due to weekend hunting pressure and the "warmer" readings on the thermometer.

Grandpa's beautiful Browning. It's just a great all-around gun!

There's a special place in my heart for deer hunting second season. This season was my introduction to deer hunting and one of the best and last memories I made with my grandpa before he passed. Normally, I hunt with the muzzleloader, but this year I'm going afield with his gun and a great group of friends. Maybe I'll hear the familiar report from the Browning 12 gauge, maybe not. But one things for sure, I'll be making more good memories with the gun that sparked my passion for hunting over a decade ago.

Good luck to you and be safe this season!