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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Timing Your Fall Plots: Whitetails 365

Whitetails 365: Timing Your Fall Plots As I sit writing the July installment of the Whitetails 365 column, I’m surrounded by farmers planting their spring crops with sudden urgency. The conditions are just right…warm enough, dry enough, right time of year. Millions of acres of corn and soybeans will be planted in really a very […]

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The Kill Plot: Whitetails 365

The Kill Plot: Whitetails 365 I get a many questions about what to plant for food plots. It’s the biggest question whitetail hunters who plant food plots ask. More specifically, the question of what to plant for food plots inside timber. Small plots surrounded by cover, or logging roads? These small plots inside cover were […]

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Fishermen’s New Favorite DIY Project

Kayaks: Fishermen’s New Favorite DIY Project Kayaking has become increasingly popular in the past few years in the state of Iowa. Kayaks have become much more affordable, and much more accessible with them being available at major box stores as well as your local outdoors store. With their increasing popularity, many folks have turned their […]

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Camp Culinary Essentials

Camp Culinary Essentials Pondering the motivation for modernizing daily human experience through the ages is interesting to say the least. No doubt the innate longing to behold what would lie beyond the next hill, mapping the flow of rivers and streams, or following the migrations of wild game carried our ancestors throughout the continental crust […]

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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.