Iowa Sportsman
Winter Waterfowl: Keys To Success
Winter Waterfowl: Keys To Success By Ryan Eder Hunting waterfowl during the winter is a true test of a hunter’s grit. Certainly we face challenges throughout the entire season, but the later weeks in the Midwest waterfowl season present some of the most challenging, yet favorable conditions to a successful duck or goose hunt. With […]
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Early Ice Panfish
Early Ice Panfish By Ben Leal Anglers throughout Iowa keep a keen eye on the calendar each year, especially those anglers affectionately known as “ice heads”. Iowa’s average temperatures begin to dip in October and continue the downward trend throughout the month. Halloween paves the way for November to roll in and Thanksgiving is not […]
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Coyotes Late Season Dirt Hole Success
Coyotes Late Season Dirt Hole Success By Larry Sills Late season coyote dirt hole trapping utilizes a #3 or #4 size trap, a stake, lures, urine, and bait. Throughout the decades this method has proved itself as a reliable method to catch late season coyotes in Iowa. The reason being is its versatility. The lure […]
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Top 5 Rifles for Hunting Iowa
Top 5 Rifles for Hunting Iowa It’s that time of the year that many Iowa deer hunters dream about. Before, we consider a few of the top choices for rifle cartridges, we should first review Iowa’s deer regulations for rifles. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources rules for the gun deer and youth/disabled season state […]
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Patterning Trophy Bucks Post-Rut: Whitetails 365
Whitetails 365: Patterning Trophy Bucks Post-Rut As bowhunters, we wait all year for the Iowa rut. We hunt hard, see bucks chasing does around in open fields. We see a lot of deer on their feet moving. Anything can happen during this time. As December approaches, the rut winds down. Deer change their activity level […]
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Finding Coyotes before Breeding Season
Finding Coyotes before Breeding Season There’s an old myth that implies coyotes are almost impossible to kill during the months of December and January because of the constant intrusion and disruption from the orange army of deer hunters, which invade their territory during that time. The theory suggests that coyotes become strictly nocturnal and have […]
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Three Tips for a Successful Muzzleloader Season
Three Tips for a Successful Muzzleloader Season One of the most exciting times to harvest a deer is in the snow, during the late muzzleloader season. It’s during this time that I eagerly retrieve my trusty muzzleloader and go on a mission to harvest does. These does, will be transformed into a batch of mouthwatering […]
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Infared or Thermal for Coyote Hunting: Scoping out Success
Scoping out Success: Infared or Thermal for Coyote Hunting In Iowa, we see a lot of rules and regulation changes every year. One of the more recent rules has changed the way we can coyote hunt. According to Iowa’s regulations as outlined in the 2023 DNR rules and regulations: “A person may use an infrared […]
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The Basics of Waterfowl Spreads
The Basics of Waterfowl Spreads As the temps cool and the last of the leaves finish turning from brilliant yellows, reds, and oranges into a dull brown, the energy builds for the waterfowl hunters in Iowa. Iowa falls into the Central Mississippi Flyway and Iowa hunters are lucky enough to have access to nearly 50% […]
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Spot and Stalk Iowa Coyotes
Spot and Stalk Iowa Coyotes I peered out of our kitchen window seeing the burnt orange sky illuminated from the sun’s imminent rise framed between the old red corncrib and our picturesque red barn with Dad’s cattle lot centered in between. The school bus came very early to our driveway. Way too early for my […]
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