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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Mastering Pop-up Blinds

Mastering Pop-Up Blinds

Mastering Pop-Up Blinds As soon as the buck walked out of sight, I hit the antlers. Two minutes later, he was standing on the edge of the food plot looking for the fight he just heard. My cameraman and myself were sitting in a ground blind right smack dab in the middle of the food […]

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Fall Bass Fishing Tactics

Fall Bass Fishing Tactics

Fall Bass Fishing Tactics Fishing in the Hawkeye State can be awesome pretty much year-round. When it comes to largemouth bass fishing specifically, most people trade in their turkey calls and decoys for the rod and reel in mid-spring and throughout the summer. Admittedly, as summer fades to fall, I am guilty of putting away […]

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Combating Heat Stress in Dogs

Combating Heat Stress in Dogs

Combating Heat Stress in Dogs We’ve all probably heard at least one heat stress horror story with a dog. Unfortunately, some of us have experienced this trauma. If we don’t want our dog to be a statistic, it’s important we are aware of the dangers heat and humidity can have on our dogs’ health. During […]

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Gun Safety Tips for the Field

Gun Safety Tips for the Field

Gun Safety Tips for the Field When a person mentions safety, some may shrug their shoulders and write it off as a dry subject. However, it never hurts to open your ears to a few commonsense reminders. After working a career in the DNR, I will comment on a few basic field safety reminders and […]

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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.