hunting

Top 4 Bowhunting Mistakes: Whitetails 365

Top 4 Bowhunting Mistakes: Whitetails 365 As in all things in life, if you want to get better at something, a good plan is to repeat the things that work for you, and stop doing or change things that aren’t working. It sounds like pretty easy common sense, but it can be very hard to […]

Born to Duck Hunt

Born to Duck Hunt To say a diehard duck hunter is a breed of its own is, well, definitely not an understatement. After all, who else would be excited about waking at 3 am in the morning, facing below freezing temperatures, battling strong northwest winds than one of those crazy diehard duck hunters hoping that […]

Exploring Iowa’s Pheasant Heritage

Exploring Iowa’s Pheasant Heritage I venture to guess that Iowa residents of Black Hawk, Grundy, Butler and Bremer counties in 1901 and 1902 had to wonder, “What is this mysterious bird that seemingly appeared on the Iowa prairie almost overnight?” It’s large chicken-like size, beautiful plumage and distinct white stripe encircling the male’s neck made […]

Why Prescribed Burns are Essential

Why Prescribed Burns are Essential Each spring we can see clouds of smoke billowing up from both state wildlife areas and on private tracts of grassland all across northwest Iowa. Oftentimes I will hear people questioning or complaining about the fire eating up the spent grasses from the previous year or even several years. For […]

Common Wing Shooting Mistakes

Common Wing Shooting Mistakes Wing Shooting is a fantastic outdoor sport that many of us grew up having the privilege to partake in. For some, myself included, pheasant hunting was what led me to love the sport of hunting, apply hunter’s safety and respect wildlife. Pheasants are definitely a popular choice for wing shooters, although […]

A DIY Preseason Game Plan for Gundogs

A DIY Preseason Game Plan for Gundogs In my football playing days the preseason was one of the most intense times of the year. Although the coach’s calendar would say the preseason officially started sometime in early August, in reality it began months earlier during the summer weight lifting and conditioning program. We would spend […]

Mission Impossible

Mission Impossible Every October and November I scroll through Social Media and think the same thing: “Man, this guy kills a monster every year. He must have it figured out.” My mind may also tend to wander toward the “L” word as well: Luck. We’ve all heard the phrase, “Luck Is What Happens When Preparation […]

“Daddy I’m big enough to go too”

“Daddy I’m big enough to go too” When you’re 6 years old it’s just plain hard to watch Dad load the truck and then disappear with your puppy for a morning of pheasant hunting without you! That’s especially true when your older brother, who is old enough to hunt himself, sometimes gets to go and […]

Targeting Wood Ducks

Targeting Wood Ducks By Nick Johnson Wood ducks are hands down my favorite duck species. Their curious behavior, the habitats they like to frequent, the male’s striking plumage, not to mention their meat is better than a lot of duck species in my mind. All of these things combined and more are what put wood […]

Pheasant Heritage of Iowa – Podcast