Check Out Our Current Issue!


Make The Most of Pheasant Season 2024
Make The Most of Pheasant Season 2024 The crisp autumn air nipped at my nose as I slipped into my hunting vest, the weight of my shotgun comforting. Today was the day I’d been waiting for: the pheasant season opener. My hunting buddy, Jake, and his lab were already waiting in the field, their excitement […]
READ MORE
Improving deer health one test at a time
A new study by Mizzou researchers shows that infections, such as pneumonia, are a major cause of death in Midwestern white-tailed deer. The discovery can help tailor efforts to improve deer health. White-tailed deer. Source: Adobe Stock Oct. 30, 2024 Contact: Brian Consiglio, consigliob@missouri.edu The cervid livestock business is one of the fastest-growing industries in rural […]
READ MOREIowa’s 5 Hardest Waterfowl to Decoy
Iowa’s 5 Hardest Waterfowl to Decoy By Nick Johnson In my 20 years hunting waterfowl in Iowa I have experienced the whole gamut of failure to success in a wide range of hunting scenarios. Sometimes it seems as though you have to fight the birds off your spread but those times are rare, at least […]
READ MORENo Vacation? No Problem! 5 Tips to Early Season Success
No Vacation? No Problem! 5 Tips to Early Season Success By Ryan Graden Deer season is nearly here! That’s right! Very soon, big bucks will be on the move and you will be in a tree waiting for them. Of course, we all know that the more time you could spend in that tree, the […]
READ MOREFeatured Story
Introducing Youth to Shooting Sports
I can still remember the day my mom told me we had to watch the next episode of “Buckmasters TV.” Being an oblivious five-year-old, you can only imagine how excited I was to see my picture pop up as their weekly winner of a FREE Buckmasters Daisy Model 840 BB gun. Bubba and Shotgun Red announced my name, and I was the proud new owner of my very first firearm.
I ran to meet the mail carrier every day to check for that long cardboard box. Watching “Buckmasters” with my parents fed my enthusiasm for the outdoors, but I was already obsessed with all things related to shooting at an early age. That BB gun gave me so much more than a tool to shoot targets with. It gave my parents an opportunity to teach me about gun safety. It gave me my first memories of being in the woods, tagging along with my dad and his .22 chasing squirrels and rabbits. It gave me another way to spend time with my younger sisters when they began to learn about gun safety. Most importantly, it sparked a lifelong love for hunting and target shooting.
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.