NEBRASKA CITY - Iowa’s 2023 pheasant hunting season is Oct. 28 to Jan. 10. Quail season also begins Saturday and goes through Jan. 31.

The online hunting atlas lists the 3,000-acre Copeland Bend across the river from Nebraska City for pheasant hunting. The Iowa DNR manages the 86-acre Waubonsie Access area, which is listed for deer and waterfowl hunting. The access area is a woodlands strip divided by Highway 2 on the Iowa edge of the Missouri River.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says an August roadside survey indicates a 15 percent increase over the 2022 count and is being called the highest since 2015.

An estimated 50,000 hunters will be out this weekend in Iowa.

 

Tips for a Safe Hunt

  • Iowa law requires hunters to wear at least one of the following articles of visible, external apparel with at least 50 percent of its surface area solid blaze orange: hat, cap, vest, coat, jacket, sweatshirt, shirt or coveralls.
  • Hunters should stay in communication with each other and to stay in a straight line while pushing a field.
  • Discuss the hunting plan that spells out how the hunt will take place, each person’s role in the hunt and where each person will be at all times.
  • Know exactly where standers will be located, especially when hunting standing corn or tall switch grass to avoid having the standers get shot by the pushers as they near the end of the field and the birds begin to flush.
  • Make sure to unload the gun when crossing a fence or other obstacle to avoid it accidentally discharging.
  • Properly identify the target and what is beyond it especially if hunting in fields that still have standing corn.
  • If hunting with a dog, never lay a loaded gun against a fence. Hunting dogs are usually excited to be in the field and could knock the gun over causing it to discharge.
  • Hunters bringing dogs into Iowa must have in their possession a health certificate verifying rabies and other vaccinations of their dogs.
  • Share the hunt. Take someone new along to help keep Iowa’s great hunting tradition alive.