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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
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10 Myths about Food Plots
10 Myths about Food Plots It is no secret that food plots play a primary role in attracting and holding a diverse wildlife population on your property. A recent study confirmed that starvation is the third biggest attributor to deer mortality. Planting a food plot will aid the survival of deer in your area, and […]
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Rooster Recap
Rooster Recap How rare is it in your life when you wake up knowing that the day ahead of you is about to be so special that you will remember it for the rest of your life? And how rare is it that there will be someone else there that will share those same memories […]
READ MOREShot Placement Guide For Bowhunting Turkeys
Shot Placement Guide For Bowhunting Turkeys When using a bow to hunt turkeys, many different shots and angles will present themselves. To make a clean ethical kill a hunter must know where to aim on the turkey at any given moment. While a turkey looks to be a decent sized target to hit, it isn’t. […]
READ MOREIn-Season Scouting: Finding and Analyzing Turkey Sign
In-Season Scouting: Finding and Analyzing Turkey Sign Turkeys, much like any game animal, will leave behind signs as they carry out their daily routines. As hunters, these signs are important to us because they help to determine roosting areas, feeding areas, strut zones, and daily patterns…all key components in the grand scheme of tagging a […]
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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.