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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Essential Tree stand Safety Measures: Hunt Smart & Stay Safe

Essential Tree stand Safety Measures: Hunt Smart & Stay Safe My wife often gets annoyed with my morbid musings that I occasionally think out loud. I don’t know why I do it, but it’s compelling to ponder who, what, when, how, and where someone died. Sometimes I put myself in the subject’s shoes, other times […]

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Advice for New Waterfowl Hunters

Advice for New Waterfowl Hunters Getting started with any hobby can be a whirlwind of research, trial and error, time and money wasted, and overall frustration. Getting started in waterfowl hunting is no different. In my opinion, waterfowl hunting is the most consuming rabbit hole you can get into as a sportsman. There are hundreds […]

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Top 10 Public Waterfowl Hunting Areas

Top 10 Public Waterfowl Hunting Areas

Top 10 Public Waterfowl Hunting Areas Kettleson Hogsback Complex (Dickinson County) The Kettleson Hogsback Complex in Dickinson County, encompasses a diverse range of wetlands, including marshes, potholes, and lakes, creating an ideal habitat for waterfowl. Hunters visiting Kettleson Hogsback Complex can expect a variety of waterfowl species to target, including ducks such as mallards, teal, […]

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Sportsman Trauma Care

Sportsman Trauma Care

Sportsman Trauma Care Iowa is blessed with multiple opportunities to employ shooting sports for enjoyment, hunting, and competition. Unfortunately, weapons capable of harvesting game are also capable of life-threatening injury to sportsmen and their companions. We are blessed that gang-related gunshot wounds are rare, so most wounds we refer to medically as “penetrating trauma” are […]

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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.