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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Hunting the Patterns: What to Do When the Weather Changes

Hunting the Patterns: What to Do When the Weather Changes On November 10th, 2020 the weather was nice. To be honest, it wasn’t a great day to be out in the timber for bow season. The sun was out, the temperature was warm, and the deer movement wasn’t perfect. The rut was happening, but for […]

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New Products for Bow Season

New Products for Bow Season You don’t have to look far before you find many message boards and comment sections of popular outdoor brands littered with speeches like, “I’ve killed loads of deer in a red flannel shirt with a cigarette hanging out of my mouth. Why would I need ‘xyz’ product?” Yes, you can […]

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Mature Velvet Bucks and Cameras Preparing for Opening Day

Preparing for Opening Day: Whitetails 365

Preparing for Opening Day: Whitetails 365 When it comes to preparing for Iowa’s opening day of bow season, or even youth season, there are some things you want to do now, rather than wait until late. By performing prep work now, you will have a slight advantage as you won’t be leaving as much scent […]

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Understanding Thermals and How to Hunt with Them

Understanding Thermals and How to Hunt with Them It’s one of those mornings that as a bowhunter we all dream about. It’s the last week of October and the first cool front has moved in over the last 24 hours. This shift takes daytime highs from the mid 70’s to the mid 50’s. So, it’s […]

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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.