Check Out Our Current Issue!
In this issue of the Iowa Sportsman December 2025
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- Iowa CWD & EHD Update 2025
- 5 Reasons to Ice Fish in Minnesota
- Essential Gear for Iowa Ice Fishermen
- A December Pheasant Hunt in Iowa
- Sight in Your Deer Rifle
- Safety Reminders for a Responsible Iowa Hunting Season
- Must-Have Equipment for Iowa Acreages
- Patience, Precision, and Power
- Raccoon Calling 101: Sounds, Setups, and Strategies
- 3 Killer Tactics for Hunting Iowa’s Gun Seasons: Whitetails 365
- Hooked on Ice: The Irresistible Allure of Devils Lake
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Public Land Shed Hunting Strategies
Public Land Shed Hunting Strategies It was the winter of 2015 and my wife and I were living in a third-floor apartment in Bettendorf. Although we were in the middle of city living. I still had a strong pull to get out in the woods and try this new pursuit. Hearing about it from a […]
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Use Shed Hunting to Combat Cabin Fever
Use Shed Hunting to Combat Cabin Fever I dread cabin fever (February – April). It’s cold. It’s dark longer than it’s light. Most hunting seasons are closed and football season is over. Rather than continuing to let this season get me down, I plan to combat the doldrum with a new hobby of shed hunting. […]
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Planning Your Deer Food Plot
Planning Your Deer Food Plot When February rolls around, I always feel a shift—it’s like the start of a new season for those of us who love the outdoors and deer hunting. The hustle of hunting season has settled down, and now, instead of watching deer from the stand, I start preparing for how I’ll […]
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Night Hunting Coyotes
Night Hunting Coyotes When it comes to night hunting coyotes, thermal and night vision scopes are among the most game-changing tools you can acquire. Both types of optics use cutting-edge technology to illuminate the night and detect heat signatures, giving the hunter unparalleled advantages in low-light or no-light conditions. A few years ago, Iowa legislation […]
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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.
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.
