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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Ice Fishing Preview

Ice Fishing Preview December is around the corner! And with any luck, we will have a chance to get out and start punching holes and feeding our ice fishing addiction. There have been times when we’re on the ice by Thanksgiving, but in most cases, except for Northern Iowa, we’ll still have ice that’s pretty […]

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Ice Fishing 2020 Predictions

Ice Fishing 2020 Predictions

Ice Fishing 2020 Predictions As I sit here at my keyboard, the Dakotas are getting their first snowfall of the ‘19-20 season. Local temperatures have dropped from the seventies to the 50’s and overnight temps will be teasing the freezing mark. If this is truly the arrival of winter, then it has been a very […]

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Late Season Goose Hunting

Late Season Goose Hunting I’ve never been overly fond of hot weather. In fact, anything over 80 degrees to me renders some level of discomfort unless I am in the water. My wife completely disagrees with this logic so that’s why we live in Iowa where we get to experience hot and cold weather to […]

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Hunting Iowa’s Common Waterfowl

Hunting Iowa’s Common Waterfowl Ive been an avid waterfowl hunter for many years and I still remember when I first found my love for the sport, one of the most fascinating aspects was the sheer diversity of species one could encounter. If my memory serves me right, there are 41 unique species of waterfowl across […]

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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.