Hunting in Tennessee Vs. Iowa
January 16, 2018
Annually, I hunt small, furry animals and whitetail deer. My dad and I go about 10 times a year. I moved to Iowa from Tennessee four years ago. Tennessee and Iowa hunting is different in more ways than just terrain. The rolling hills and timbers of Iowa bring forth challenges I never had to think about in Tennessee.
Quite obviously, Iowa and Tennessee are geographically different. Being up North, the weather is a lot colder. On average, Iowa gets 32 inches of snow every year. In Tennessee it’s seven inches. So much snow makes it harder to get around and easier for deer to see you. Here, it’s almost flat, yet not flat because of the rolling hills. In Tennessee, we have mountains. Hunting in the mountains is different. The wind does not blow nearly as much, so your scent doesn’t go as far. In the mountains you can’t see a deer if it bedded down on the other side of the mountain.
The rolling hills and open plains of Iowa are nice sometimes. However, they bring about gun restrictions. Other than straight wall cartridge, rifles are banned, probably because people shot houses and such accidentally. Straight walled cartridge rifles can shoot around 200 yards. After that, the bullet drops, unlike a 30.06 where the bullet will go straight to 300 yards and beyond.
With all the cornfields, you’d think deer would prosper in Iowa. But that’s not the case. According to the Iowa DNR, there are around 400,000 deer in Iowa, with male deer averaging 240-265 lbs. and females 140-160 lbs. The Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency states Tennessee is home to around 900,000 deer. However, male deer average 140 lbs. and females average 100. The number of deer you can hunt is different due to population. Buying your license in Iowa you receive ONE either sex tag. Additional tags must be purchased separately. In Tennessee you are allowed two buck and four doe for gun season upon buying your license.
Having fewer tags in Iowa and less land to hunt, it’s a lot more expensive. Iowa allows party hunting, where a large group of hunters go out and some of them push deer out to the others. This method increases the chance of getting a deer, meaning if you want to get more than one deer you have to buy another tag. Being from Tennessee, I never heard of it because it’s not allowed there.
Although Iowa’s landscape and laws make it harder and more expensive, you get more buck for your buck.