Iowa’s 2024 estimated pheasant harvest was the 2nd highest in nearly two decades, coming in at more than 460-thousand roosters last fall, surpassed only by the 2023 harvest of 590-thousand.
Only South Dakota had more pheasants harvested last year.
The statewide August roadside survey conducted by Iowa DNR staff will take place between August 1st-15th, who drive 225, 30-mile routes on gravel roads at dawn on mornings with a heavy dew. Hen pheasants will move their broods to the edge of the gravel road to dry off before they begin feeding, which makes them easier to count.
The DNR estimated that more than 77,400 hunters pursued pheasants in Iowa last fall, down from 83,600 in 2023.
