Check Out Our Current Issue!
In the July 2026 Issue of the Iowa Sportsman
- Summer Foodplots & Projects
- Spot-And-Stalking Whitetail Deer
- How to Stay Safe and Prepared for Any Disaster
- Planting More Than a Plot: Why Fall Food Plots Matter
- Topwater Bass Fishing
- Finding Fish When the Water Heats Up
- Campfire Cooking Made Simple
- Waterfowl Habitat Keeps the Flyway Alive
Click Here To View This Issue Now!
First Ice
First Ice By Ben Leal Ahhhh…nothing like your first trip out to the ice. Days prior to your first trip you go through the list, Vexilar battery…check; auger…check; load new line on your ice rods…check; ice jigs and bait…check; ice shack…check; lantern and heater tested…check; everything seems to be in order and ready to go. […]
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Set A Rut Ambush
Set A Rut Ambush: Locations to Fool Bucks With hunting season well underway, deer hunters across the state have gotten their taste of the chase. November rolls in and we begin to see rutting bucks chase after hot does, while at the same time leaving their marks warning off potential competitors. Little do they know, […]
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Hunting Locked Down Bucks
Hunting Locked Down Bucks As the old saying goes: The only certainties in life are death, taxes, and locked down bucks come November. Well, most of that saying is well-known, but in the whitetail world losing tabs on a bruiser buck during November is almost always a certainty. Deer hunting can be very fickle. There […]
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Reflections on Deer Season
Reflections on Deer Season Hunting season, for us, is more than just chasing whitetails or birds; it’s our escape button. It gives us a much-needed chance for escape and an opportunity to connect with God, nature, as well as friends and family. Hunting is how we finally slow down, take a solid break from the […]
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Big Buck Profile: The 2025 Gandy Buck
Ok, this first big buck profile is a little self-serving in that it is of a buck that I personally took this past deer season. While it is likely not the “biggest” big buck that we will profile this year it is definitely one of my most special deer ever.
Turning a Dream into Reality
As has been noted in several articles since 2023, my family and I finally put together the means to purchase our very own piece of Iowa ground. “The 32,” as we call it, has become a passion project to see if we could take an unassuming piece of real estate and harvest a mature deer from there by giving him all he needs in the way of habitat. This year was the first year that the farm would be huntable in the state in which we intended due to construction projects over the past couple of seasons.
Created By Iowans, For Iowans
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.
