The Art of Persuasion: Deer Scents, Rattles, and Bleats 
The Art of Persuasion: Deer Scents, Rattles, and Bleats 

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 […]

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The Rise of Women Outdoors

The Rise of Women Outdoors

The Rise of Women in the Outdoors When I first started hunting 25 years ago, the landscape for women in the outdoors was vastly different. For instance, you didn’t see a lot of girls hunting. It for sure wasn’t the “cool” thing to do, and you had to be ready to face a bunch of […]

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Create Fall Food Plots For 2024 Deer Season!

Create Fall Food Plots For 2024 Deer Season! Very few things in life bring me more peace and satisfaction than climbing into my tree stand to hunt over a fall food plot. Crafting the perfect fall plot can be both rewarding and challenging. There have been years where plots turn out lush and abundant with […]

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Paintballing Iowa

Paintballing Iowa

Paintballing Iowa When looking for some summer fun for your family or friends, it can’t get much better than a friendly or competitive game of paintball. Fortunately, around Iowa we have several different courses where you can take a group of friends or your family. Our Iowa courses are accommodating to new players, or competitive […]

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Why Crate Training is a Good Thing

Why Crate Training is a Good Thing Dogs instinctively seek smaller, darker spaces as shelters. We can utilize this instinctive behavior in our puppies during the process of crate training. Even though our puppies have a predisposition to den, they will likely have some issues settling into their crate. Understandably though, right? First of all, […]

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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. 

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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.