Iowa's Deer Harvest Is Two Series, and the 2005 Peak Can't Be Compared

IThe question

Why the peak in 2005 lacks a comparable later figure

A percentage is the natural way to answer how much Iowa's harvest has fallen since 2005. The long harvest series comes from the Iowa DNR's 2025-2026 white-tailed deer program report. In the historical table, Table 1.3, a footnote attached to the grand total says harvest estimates for 2005 and earlier cannot be compared with figures for later years. A chart caption elsewhere in the report explains the difference. It describes harvest from 2006 onward as reported figures and says they are not directly comparable with the earlier estimates based on mail card surveys.

Different measurement methods produced these series, so comparisons cannot cross the break that separates them. Calculating a percentage from 2005 to a later season would combine the series. We publish neither percentage changes nor differences in deer totals across that break. In the table, the row for 2005 immediately precedes the row for 2006, inviting subtraction. The footnote rules out that comparison.

IIThe old series

The estimation period: 1953 to 2005

Across its own five decades, the earlier series shows growth. For 1953, estimated harvest totaled 4,008 deer; the figures for 1970 and 1980 were 13,780 and 22,660. After reaching 99,712 during 1989, the estimate dropped, hitting 76,430 in 1993. Growth resumed, and 1996 brought the first total above 100,000: 107,632. The figure for 2000 reached 126,535. Late in the chart comes its largest annual increase, as the 2002 estimate of 140,490 rises to 182,856 for 2003. The final estimate is also the highest: 211,451 for 2005.

IIIThe reported series

The reporting period: 2006 to 2025

Reported harvest begins with a 2006 total of 150,552. It declines each season for seven consecutive years, recording 127,094 during 2010 before bottoming out at 99,414 during 2013. That minimum sits 51,138 below the series' opening total. Beyond 2013, harvest fluctuates within a tight band instead of continuing downward. Across the 13 seasons beginning in 2013 and ending in 2025, totals span that minimum of 99,414 to the 2022 high of 109,600. During 2019, hunters reported 99,999 deer, falling short of 100,000 by one deer. The closing total for 2025 was 101,919, or 2,505 more than the low recorded in 2013.

The harvest decline through 2013 was larger than the overall 32.3% decrease from 2006 to 2025. Harvest later regained some ground within its band. According to the DNR, its population model agrees well with harvest data and bowhunter observations. The report identifies "estimated harvest" from 2006 to 2025 as information used to build the model. Those words alone leave unclear whether that input came from the reported series or an adjusted estimate. The model suggests the statewide herd shrank from 2006 to 2013, remained steady from 2013 to 2017, grew a little through 2023, and then stayed steady or declined during the past couple of years. Since harvest helped shape the model, agreement between the model and the harvest line does not independently check either one. That interpretation of the herd comes from the DNR.

IVThe seam

A shared table for the separate series

Below, a table brings together selected years from each series. Its final column identifies the break marked by the DNR. We checked our annual figures against Table 1.3's grand total column: matches in 73 out of 73 years, covering 1953 to 2025. That result checks the accuracy of our transcription; it reveals nothing about the methods used to produce either series.

Treat the table as separate blocks. Through 2005, its eight rows address "how many deer harvested did the DNR estimate that year," while its seven rows beginning in 2006 address "how many deer harvested did hunters report." Comparing 2006 with 2010 remains within the reporting block, so it can describe a change in reported harvest. Comparing 2005 with any subsequent row cannot.

VLimits and method

The limits and uses of DNR totals

Every figure shown is a statewide grand total from the DNR, unadjusted by us. We have not connected the series, and the agency's footnote supplies no grounds for doing so. Deer numbers are only part of what shapes harvest. License numbers, quotas for antlerless deer and hunters' effort also affect it. Neither series therefore counts the herd.

Different deer figures from a single season are easily confused. For 2025, hunters reported a harvest of 101,919. A separate DNR estimate puts that season's total hunting mortality at 153,239, allowing for unreported harvest and losses from wounding. The agency's population model produces yet another type of figure. If somebody cites a deer number for Iowa, ask which measure they mean.

VIIn the field

How to cite Iowa's figures

Our rule is that Iowa's harvest history should be treated as separate pieces. Hunters should reject a claim crossing the break between 2005 and 2006 unless they ask about the source of each endpoint. Discuss trends using the reporting period beginning in 2006. To describe a typical recent season, use the range maintained from 2013 onward: reported harvest of 99,414 to 109,600 deer. A total within those bounds fits the past 13 years. A total beyond them would warrant a look at the DNR report.

A statewide total offers little help when choosing a place to hunt. County rates give more useful guidance. In our county ranking for Iowa, the averages cover 2020 through 2024, keeping all the seasons used within the reporting series. For other ways tables can give a misleading impression, see our field guide to reading government deer numbers.