Glad to see that we still have places that takes a man's word for it. ...."No. We don't need that. Everybody around here takes Hunters' Ed., and we'll take your word for it on being military. But we do need you to check the box for it."
Originally, in Iowa it was left entirely up to each county's Sherriff to accept or reject. Many county Sheriffs were not serving the folks so the state set the rules. However, you still have to go through the Sherriff's office to do the background check and issue the permit. There can be a max waiting period and regardless, the permit will be issued automatically. ....I think I would check with the state, instead of the sheriff, to see if it's legal or not