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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Targeting Wood Ducks in Iowa

Targeting Wood Ducks in Iowa

Targeting Wood Ducks Wood ducks are hands down my favorite duck species. Their curious behavior, the habitats they like to frequent, the male’s striking plumage, not to mention their meat is better than a lot of duck species in my mind. All of these things combined and more are what put wood ducks on the […]

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What Iowa Public Land Has to offer

What Iowa Public Land Has to offer Public land is getting more and more attention in the outdoor space lately. At a total of 640 million acres of public land available inside the United States, one can start to understand why it has come to draw so much attention. When thinking of public lands, it’s […]

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Improving Your Marksmanship

Improving Your Marksmanship

Improving Your Marksmanship As a bow hunter one of the things that I strive for is to take a shot that is accurate and will take my quarry down quickly. Invariably, like most hunters, I have an errant shot that doesn’t quite hit the mark. At times it is circumstances beyond my control, i.e., unseen […]

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Cast Iron Cooking

30 Things Every Hunter Worth Their Salt Should Know How To Do

30 Things Every Hunter Worth Their Salt Should Know How To Do Sportsmen come from all walks of life: rich, poor, young, retired, self-inspired, or groomed into the lifestyle by those who came before us. It is safe to say that no two hunters have precisely the same tastes when it comes to what game […]

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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.