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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Equipment for Managing Your Iowa Acreage

Equipment for Managing Your Iowa Acreage

Equipment for Managing Your Iowa Acreage Growing up, many of us dreamed of owning a vast piece of Iowa land—somewhere with a pond, rich habitat, and plenty of wild game. I wanted to be able to hunt as much as possible and own my own piece of ground. These days, with land prices skyrocketing, those […]

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Back to the Basics

Back to the Basics 

Back to the Basics  Basic drills are where a great bird dog begins. The basic drills are where bird dogs maintain greatness. I like to think of basics as building blocks. Once my dog consistently accomplishes a foundational skill like retrieving, I can add a layer and start doing memory retrieves. After my dog consistently […]

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Favorite Small Game Cartridge

Favorite Small Game Cartridge 

Favorite Small Game Cartridge  I have a picture of my grandpa, Ron, sitting on a mountainside in Colorado with his Ruger 22 Single Six on one knee and a Gray Jay sitting on the other. My grandpa was an avid outdoorsman who used to travel to Colorado for an annual elk-hunting trip. One of his […]

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Make the most out of Spring Turkey Season

How to Find Spring Turkeys

How to Find Spring Turkeys There have been many times throughout my turkey hunting years that I have heard the phrase “There aren’t any turkeys on my ground”, or “I only see turkeys when I’m deer hunting, but never in the spring”.  In my early years I never thought much about it when people said […]

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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.