Iowa’s archery deer season opens Oct. 1. Photo courtesy of the Iowa DNR.

An estimated 60,000 hunters will be heading to the timber in the next few weeks as Iowa’s archery deer season gets underway Oct. 1. With some careful planning and scouting, hunters can capitalize on the predictable behavior of deer in the early fall. 

“Early season deer strategy is usually pretty straightforward—find the feeding areas and you’ll find the deer,” said Jace Elliott, deer research specialist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “Acorns, which are high in both carbohydrates and fats, are becoming a major food source that hunters would be wise to target in the early archery season.”

Statewide, the acorn crop appears promising. Hunters should focus on species within the white oak family, which are typically among the first to drop their acorns. However, acorns of red oak species, which are slightly less preferred by deer due to a higher acid content, can still make up a sizable portion of a deer’s daily diet and should not be overlooked.

With drier than average conditions during the growing season, many crop fields are on schedule for harvest early in the archery season. This will create more daytime deer activity in places archery hunters tend to target, such as timber stands and wooded edges.

Deer will begin changing their daily behavior as the breeding season, or rut, approaches in late October and November.

“The rut is when a lot of our hunters fill their tag on a buck,” Elliott said. “Rutting bucks can be found moving at all times of the day in search of a doe, which means putting a lot of time in the stand can pay off in a big way during this time of year.”

No matter the time of the season, look for new signs of deer activity, like tracks, droppings, rubs, or scrapes, to help withstand location and maximize time in the woods.