Check Out Our Current Issue!

In this issue of the Iowa Sportsman October 2025
- 5 Easy Mistakes to Make Fly Fishing for Trout in the Fall
- 10 Beginner Tips for Hunting Iowa Geese
- Deer Scents and Lures
- Early October Hunting Strategies
- Training your Dog to Blood-trail Deer
- Planning a Weeklong Pheasant Trip
- Shooting Optics for the Iowa Hunter
- Top 10 Bowhunting Destinations
- Whitetails 365: Mastering Scent Control
Click Here To View This Issue Now!
What A Drag!
During the process of outfitting a customer new to the sport of angling, there was nothing more gratifying than seeing the looks on their faces when I would show them the properties of their new drag system. I would stand behind the counter holding their rig and instruct them to grab the end of the […]
READ MORELast Second Scouting Tips
Last Second Scouting Tips: No time to scout? No worries! The best time to scout for turkeys is the weeks or even days leading up to your season. While scouting for birds every weekend all year round is fun and gives you something to do, it isn’t necessarily in order to take a turkey this […]
READ MOREThe Turkey Season Dilemma
The Turkey Season Dilemma There is nothing like a cool crisp morning in the Spring. A gentle blanket of dew, or possibly frost, on the ground, the sun slowly warming up the sky, and the silence that is shattered by a tom turkey sounding off from his roost. A gobble will get a hunters heart […]
READ MORE
Areas to Locate and Catch Early Spring Bass
Areas to Locate and Catch Early Spring Bass Finally, the water has warmed up a bit, and not a slab of ice in sight. April is the kickoff to bass fishing in the state Iowa, tournaments are popping up, fish in the river systems are becoming active once again and the lake water is getting […]
READ MOREFeatured Story
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 that in the last 40 years, there has been quite a bit of advancement when it comes to hunting whitetails. Knowing more about deer behavior, hunting scents, better tree stands, better bows, guns, and so much more.
I fear that somebody desiring to get into hunting in the current culture could be a bit overwhelmed with all the information and tools that are out there on the market. We must remember that man has been chasing deer for thousands of years. The art of hunting is not new. It’s the methods that are ever-changing.
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.