Whitetail

For the Love of the Hunt

For the Love of the Hunt One of the most enjoyable parts of hunting pheasants is hunting with a good hunting dog. Without one, it’s like trying to find the proverbial “needle in a haystack,” especially when hunting some of the massive public hunting areas around here. Filled with lots of good habitat, I’ve often […]

The Non-Traditionalist’s Guide To Whitetail Shotgun Season

The Non-Traditionalist’s Guide To Whitetail Shotgun Season I often tell people summer is my fourth favorite season. By nature I am an “against the flow” kind of person so I gain amusement from my audience’s surprised reaction to such a statement. As a teacher summer certainly brings much appreciated rest from 60-70 hour work weeks, […]

Late Season Whitetails

Late Season Whitetails Time, as always, is fleeting. The time from deer season a year ago to opening day seemed to take forever. We waited with anticipation for October 1 to roll around after a long summer. Now, like a vapor, it is late December and deer season is fast closing in on its conclusion. […]

Phasing Your Way Through the Iowa Rut

Phasing Your Way Through the Iowa Rut November is a magical time for Iowa bowhunters. The early season buck routines are fading into an all-out crap shoot of big buck activity, where their focus is more about interactions with the does in an area and less on surviving their travels from bedding areas to food […]

Key Lockdown Locations to Know

Key Lockdown Locations to Know Being in a treestand during the whitetail rut here in Iowa is what dreams are made of. Waiting for a hot doe to come trotting through with a big bruiser in tow is what all of us hope for each time we climb into the tree during this time of […]

In Season Adjustments: Whitetails 365

In Season Adjustments: Whitetails 365 For many hunters, they don’t get serious about their whitetail hunting until the month of November. I’m not one of those hunters. In fact, in many ways, my season began the day after last year’s season ended. That’s when I get serious. Making that yearly assessment into what went right, […]

Common Myths Concerning Deer Movement

Common Myths Concerning Deer Movement In 1953 Iowa held its first modern deer season for hunters and there has been a deer season of some sort ever since. In those passing years, we’ve learned a lot about deer behavior, habits, nutrition, needs, and more. Experts in wildlife biology have used that information to help us […]

It’s the Rut, Now What

It’s the Rut, Now What Every November there seems to be an epidemic of folks who call in sick to work. Their affliction: Buck Fever! Men and women across our state have their eyes set on a trophy whitetail and this is one of the occasions to capitalize. November marks the prominent rutting period for […]

The Iowa Whitetail Rut is Coming – Podcast

Whitetails 365: When will the Rut Start?

Whitetails 365: When will the Rut Start? For a long time now, science has debunked pretty much every attempt by hunters, outdoor writers, and TV personalities who have claimed to have an angle on predicting the whitetail rut. Well, keep reading because this hunter (that would be me) has a new take on predicting a […]