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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End of Fishing Season Things To Do Ways to Rig Plastics Berkley Shares the Science of Fishing Lures

End of Fishing Season Things To Do

End of Fishing Season Things To Do How quickly our fishing seasons come and go. Spring and summer are gone, and fall is coming to a close. Sure enough, soon the ice will be on lakes, and we’ll be heading into ice fishing season. However, there are some end of the open water season things […]

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Common Myths Concerning Deer Movement Summer Patterning Tips and Tricks

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 […]

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Common Errors Made By Pheasant Hunters

Common Errors Made by Pheasant Hunters

Common Errors Made by Pheasant Hunters One of my favorite experiences is the sudden machine gun-like cadence of an eruption of flapping wings, accompanied by the appearance of a long streamer of tail feathers and the beautiful cola colored outline of a rooster pheasant. In the age of digital media overstimulation it’s hard to find […]

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It's The Rut, Now What?

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 […]

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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.