The January Antlerless deer season is January 11 to 27, in 59 Iowa counties. This season is designed to increase the doe harvest, the most important component of the DNR's population management of deer herds. In the counties open for the January Antlerless season, this will be the last opportunity for Iowa hunters to take to the field.

This year, the January Antlerless Season is about a week longer than it was a year ago, providing more time for hunters to fill their tags. Another change from last year's antlerless season is that the 21 counties in the southern two tiers of the state will be open to the use of center fire rifles .24 caliber or larger for the entire season.

The first three days of the season, Jan. 11 to 13, will be shared with resident Late Muzzleloader season hunters who had their season extended to help mitigate for the Shotgun Season extension.

Party hunting is legal for participants of the January Antlerless season and all hunters must wear blaze orange. Hunters are reminded that beginning on January 11, a 2008 hunting license and Habitat Fee payment is needed to go hunting.

Currently, with the snow and colder weather, deer throughout the state are concentrated near higher quality food sources with standing corn and soybeans being especially attractive. There have been reports throughout the state of smaller food plots that have already been completely utilized by deer, turkey, and pheasants. The forecasted moderating weather conditions may affect deer distributions, especially in southern portions of Iowa. If moderate weather conditions hold and diminish snow and ice cover, deer concentrations can be expected to disperse somewhat as the animals began to make use again of waste grains in fields and the associated cover areas. Also, as temperatures increase, deer can be expected to move less during daylight hours.

As of Thursday morning, there were 15,871 antlerless licenses available for the January Antlerless season in 22 counties. Antlerless licenses are available in northeastern Iowa in Winneshiek and Allamakee counties. In the more southern portions of the state, there are still 20 counties with licenses available and 15 of these counties are counties in which center-fire rifles are a legal option.

Last year, about 24,000 antlerless licenses were issued for this season. Hunters reported killing about 6,600 deer, of which 85 percent were does, or about 7 percent of Iowa's doe harvest. This is significant, especially considering that the entire state is not open during this season. In many counties, the 2007 January Antlerless season increased doe harvests from 20 percent to more than 40 percent.

Deer numbers in many areas in eastern and southern Iowa are higher than desired and harvesting one or two does will help farmers and landowners. Hunters can also utilize the Help Us Stop Hunger (HUSH) program to donate deer to the Iowa Food Bank and provide needed meat for Iowans.

Hunting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. All deer harvested must be reported using the harvest reporting system by midnight the day after the deer is recovered. This is the second year where hunters have reported their kill. Hunters can use the DNR website www.iowadnr.gov or call 1-800-771-4692 to report their harvest. This year hunters can also report at the license vendor. For hunters with Internet access, online reporting of the harvest is the easiest way to register your deer. The harvest reports are a vital piece of information Iowa DNR biologists need for properly managing Iowa's deer population and hunting opportunities.