Iowans anxious to bag a trophy buck will take to the woods Saturday with the opening of the shotgun deer season. The pheasant season is the most popular in Iowa based on the number of hunters — but Alan Foster of the D-N-R says the shotgun deer hunt isn’t that far behind. Foster says they expect some 75 to 85-thousand hunters out this Saturday for the start of the first shotgun season. Finding pheasants can sometimes be tricky — but Foster says that’s not the case with deer.

Foster says the abundance of deer in the state the last few years has left hunters with little worry of bagging a buck. He says some areas have more of the “trophy” bucks, like southern Iowa and northeast Iowa along the Mississippi, and in parts of central Iowa.

Foster says the recent snow should make hunting even better. Foster says the snow came at a perfect time as it helps visibility in the woods and he says it makes perfect tracking conditions for hunters.

Foster has a warning for non hunters — animals that’re being shot at are going to be on the move. Foster says the deer are running fast and without caution, so if you’re driving in a wooded area, or an area where deer might be present, he cautions you to keep an eye out on the road.

The first shotgun season runs December third through the seventh, and the second is December 10th through the 18th.