The Art of Persuasion: Deer Scents, Rattles, and Bleats 
The Art of Persuasion: Deer Scents, Rattles, and Bleats 

The Art of Persuasion: Deer Scents, Rattles, and Bleats In the 80’s, my father and grandfather were “entry-level” deer hunters.  They had been invited to begin hunting a timber here in central Iowa that had a steady population of deer.  In their efforts to learn more regarding the tactics to use to fool a wise old whitetail, my grandfather and father would douse their boots with fox urine!  It was an effort to hide human scent when they were in the woods.  It goes without saying that those boots were not allowed in the house, ever! There is no doubt […]

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A Smart Start to Deer Season

A Smart Start to Deer Season As deer season quickly approaches, it catches most of us by surprise every year. We generally are busy with summer vacations, kids, families, weddings, and by the time youth season or opening day of Iowa’s archery season opens up, we are behind scrambling to get “ready enough” for the […]

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Manipulating A Deer’s Nose: Whitetails 365: 

Manipulating A Deer’s Nose: Whitetails 365:  On September 10, 2021 I was stuck in the office on a beautiful, bluebird day. All I wanted to do was get outside and do some deer hunting prep. After deciding I couldn’t take it any longer, I closed up shop early and headed towards a particular hunting property […]

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Isolating Your Target Buck

Isolating Your Target Buck I’ll never forget that first picture of him. The buck that made my mind race and my heart skip a beat. You see, over the years that I’ve been deer hunting, I had set some lofty goals of deer that I would like to harvest in my life time. When it […]

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Fishing for September Walleye

Fishing for September Walleye

Fishing for September Walleye What’s the most popular freshwater fish for the table? That will vary according to where you live. In the South, crappie and catfish vie for the honors. But throughout the Midwest and Great Plains, the walleye reigns supreme. Chasing after these fish can be a challenge. In the spring, they are […]

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Featured Story

Iowa Public Land Hunting 

Every hunter wants to know where to go to harvest a great deer.  We often assume that there is some “honey hole” spot out there that a person can always go to and harvest a trophy year after year.  While having hope for that, we are always keeping our ears perked for that privileged information on where the best place to hunt would be.   

Now, let me ask you, if somebody had the perfect spot to hunt where they are harvesting trophy deer year after year, do you think that they would share that information with you?  Probably not.  Unless they are VERY gracious and kind.   

In this article, I will not share any “secret spots” with you who are reading.  Frankly, because I don’t have any secret spots to share!  However, I’ve lived in Iowa long enough to steer you to certain areas of our great state that might give you a great chance to fill a tag this fall and winter.  So let’s begin with some regions of the state to key into. 

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The Iowa Sportsman website and magazine are Iowa’s only privately owned media sources catering to hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts here in Iowa. Simply put, we are unlike other Iowa outdoor media sources: All our staff is from Iowa, from our publisher to our writers. We actually follow through on what we advertise; we provide knowledgeable content from people who know the industry or sport discussed.