• Make sure to have a valid hunting license, habitat fee, and deer tag for the correct season.

• Make sure blaze orange still fits and that the orange hasn’t faded to the point of being ineffective. The minimum amount of blaze orange required by Iowa law to hunt in the firearm deer season is a 100 percent solid blaze orange vest, but more is better.

• Talk to the landowner or tenant to confirm permission to hunt and see if anyone else can hunt the same property.

• Create a hunting plan that identifies the hunt location, who’s on the hunt and outlines their role, describes how the hunt will unfold and when the hunters are expected to return home. Leave a copy of the plan with someone in the event of an emergency.

• Pick up and fill an antlerless deer tag. County-specific antlerless deer tags are still available in 27 counties. Go to: goout-doorsiowa.com/RealTime-Quotas.aspx for info on antlerless tag availability.

• Check the Iowa Deer Exchange to see if someone nearby is looking for deer meat. The Iowa Deer Exchange is a deer donation program connecting participants willing to provide deer meat with those willing to accept it. To sign up, go to iowadnr.gov/deer, then scroll down to Iowa’s Deer Exchange Program link and fill out the required fields. The database creates a map and table with information on deer donors, which deer recipients can use to connect. There is no cost to participate. It is illegal to sell wild fish and game in Iowa. The deer exchange, along with the Help us Stop Hunger (HUSH) program, allows hunters an opportunity to provide high-quality lean protein to their neighbors.

• Report the harvest by midnight on the day after it is tagged or before taking it to a locker or taxidermist. The hunter whose name is on the transportation tag is responsible for making the report. If no deer are harvested, no report is necessary.

• The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will be working with hunters to collect deer tissue samples to test for chronic wasting disease. Interested hunters are encouraged to contact the local wildlife biologist to arrange for a sample to be collected. If the sample quota has been filled, the DNR will assist with submitting the sample through the hunter submission system in partnership with Iowa State University – which comes with a fee of $25.

• Shotgun one is Dec. 3-7; shotgun two is Dec. 10-18.

• Become a mentor and share the hunting experience with new or young hunters. Invite someone along from outside of the group to experience Iowa deer hunting.