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
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The Concept of Hunt Plots
Three years ago I stumbled across an article in a hunting and fishing magazine that was talking about “Hunt Plots”. I immediately asked myself what the heck was a hunt plot? So I read the article and deemed it useful and from that moment on I have been implementing hunt plots on our family farm […]
READ MORET.W. MENCK GUNSMITH ONLINE LIQUIDATION AUCTION
Bidding Starts: June 11, 2018 12:00PM Auction Dates: June 11 – Jul 08, 2018 at 5:00PM Pick-Up Dates: Jul 10, 2018 from 3:00PM-6:00PM WELL-KNOWN GUNSMITH, MACHINIST, & ARTIST, THOMAS W. MENCK HAS RETIRED The small engine shop next door has purchased the business and is liquidating all contents and intellectual property of this small shop […]
READ MOREIt Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This
Little did 14-year old Dalton Christoffer, a freshman at Estherville Lincoln Central in northwest Iowa, know when he headed for northeast Iowa to participate in the youth dear season that a trophy buck just might be in the picture. He was pretty sure that he’d have a chance at a nice buck. After all two […]
READ MOREBack to the Basics: New Gear Gives You No Guarantees
It seems like only yesterday my father and I were making a trip to Cabela’s in Owatonna, Minnesota to check out hunting gear. I was twelve or thirteen and had been planning my first deer hunt for a while through hours of watching and learning everything I could from the hunting channels we had on […]
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Featured 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.
