Choosing Ammo for Iowa Deer Season
Choosing Ammo for Iowa Deer Season
We are approaching one of our favorite times of the year – deer season! The anticipation and preparation for deer seasons can be as much fun as the hunt itself. Be aware of your state’s regulations pertaining to legal firearms and ammunition. As you know, several of our Midwestern states have only allowed shotguns or muzzleloaders during their normal gun deer season. In the past few years, some states have added straight wall cartridges to be legal as well. With the addition of straight wall cartridges, several new cartridges have come onto the market, such as the .350 Legend, .450 Bushmaster, and recently Remington’s .360 Buckhammer.
What’s Legal in Iowa?
Let’s cover Iowa’s regulations, shotguns can be 10, 12, 16, and 20-gauges shooting single slugs only. Iowa rifle rules during the youth, disabled hunting season, and first and second shotgun seasons are: rifles firing straight wall or other centerfire ammunition propelling an expanding-type bullet with a maximum diameter of no less than .350 of an inch and no larger than .500 of an inch. Be aware that the term “straight wall or other” includes bottleneck-type centerfire cartridges, such as .35 Whelen or .350 Remington. During Iowa’s antlerless seasons, you are legal to use .223 caliber and larger.
Regarding muzzleloader rules, only muzzleloading rifles, muskets, pistols, and revolvers between .44 and .775 of an inch shooting a single projectile are allowed. Rifle scopes are allowed for muzzleloaders.
Shotgun Slugs
Now, let’s review some variations of ammunition types suitable for deer. Foster-type lead slugs and saboted slug options are two of the most common choices. Foster lead slugs generally have grooves and are most accurate when shot out of smoothbore shotgun barrels. Saboted slugs have a plastic wad or filler that engages the rifling in the barrel, which improves slug accuracy. Saboted slugs are lighter in weight and loaded at higher velocities, resulting in flatter trajectories for longer shots. They are capable of ranges of 100 to 150 yards and often exceed 2000 fps velocity. Use rifled barrels for saboted slugs. The slugs in 12-gauge are normally 300 to 325 grains in weight. Jacketed lead soft point, jacketed lead-polymer tip, and all-copper hollow point bullets are available.
One of my favorite bullet choices in shotguns, rifles, and muzzleloaders are copper hollow point bullets. These bullets expand well to create longer wound channels but keep their base intact for deep penetration and great exit holes for easier tracking.
Rifle Cartridge Selection
Most all cartridge companies offer a wide range of rifle bullet configurations. For the best deer ammo choices, avoid using explosive varmint-type bullets as they may expand or fragment too early, reducing penetration. Iowa requires you to use expanding type bullets. Full metal jacket bullets are not legal and may not create the best wound channel. Jacketed lead soft point, jacketed lead bonded-polymer tip, hollow point lead, and all-copper hollow point bullets are the best choices for deer ammunition. The top two choices of bullets for deep and larger animals are all-copper hollow point and jacketed bonded bullets.
Remember, cost increases with the best bullets, but many find that hand loading offers the option of tailoring the best load and bullet to your rifle.
In Iowa, with the popularity of the AR-15 patterns, the .350 Legend and .450 Bushmaster are suitable options for deer. Soft point jacketed lead bullets work well for deer. One of my top choices in Iowa’s gun season is the .35 Whelen, which can propel a 200-grain bullet at nearly 2900 fps. This can be adequate for all North American big game.When buying rifle ammunition, muzzle velocity is usually printed on the box. Muzzle velocities of 2700 to 3200 fps are generally quite flat shooting. I have found that most shots in Midwest states are taken at 200 yards and under.
Muzzleloader Options
With muzzleloaders, you can hand tailor the load and bullet to meet your needs. 50 caliber is the most popular in muzzleloaders, with .45 caliber being a close second. Nowadays, some custom guns are capable of 400-yard distances. All-copper saboted hollow point and polymer-tipped lead jacketed soft point bullets are the most common. Many companies offer great muzzleloader projectiles.One of my all-time favorites is Barnes Expander in a saboted hollow point bullet for a 150-caliber muzzleloader. For youth, you can load 50 grains of Triple 7 Hodgdon powder for a very low recoil and effective deer load. Shots are usually kept within 50 to 75 yards.
I’ve provided a lot of information in this piece. It’s all tried and true. I hope you have a great gun season!
by Randy McPherren
November 2023
