Iowa Sportsman

A Plan on How to Catch your Biggest Fish of the Year

A Plan on How to Catch your Biggest Fish of the Year By Billy Pryor It is that time of year again… fall! It is a beautiful season change. The leaves start to glow with bright hues of yellow and orange, the chilly mornings have a crisp frost on the grass, and the earlier sunset […]

Patterning Your Shotgun

Patterning Your Shotgun By Ryan Eder I love to joke with everyone and blame the choke in my gun for a poor shooting performance. “Man, I should have used a mod and not my full” is my signature tag line. The truth is, understanding your gun’s performance with different chokes is obviously important when we […]

Thinking Small

Thinking Small Hunting in Iowa has changed significantly during my lifetime. Four decades ago wild turkey and deer were scarce or non-existent in much of the state. Most hunters started out shooting squirrels and rabbits before moving on to pheasants and/or waterfowl. Only then did they graduate to larger game, if they had access to […]

What Would You Do? Bow Hunting Questions Answered

What Would You Do? Bow Hunting Questions Answered It is time for our annual questions and answers article geared around bow hunting here in Iowa. Normally we answer questions from our readers on hot topics in the deer hunting realm. For example a question we always get is “Should I hunt stand “X” before the […]

Early Season Duck Strategies

Early Season Duck Strategies By Nick Johnson The onset of duck season stirs many emotions in a waterfowl hunter. It often starts with super early mornings and mild weather and the hopes that any prior scouting missions will prove successful. This is a chance for hunters to knock the dust off their gear, which if […]

Hunting Pressured Whitetails

Hunting Pressured Whitetails By Noel Gandy The mistake was made! I saw a good buck on his feet during daylight and made the mistake of telling my buddies. Due to the sheer excitement that I had experienced in seeing a shooter on this particular tract I let on that I practically had the buck in […]

Hunting Pressured Bucks

Hunting Pressured Bucks By Dan Johnson It’s early November and a cold front is coming through. The wind is absolutely perfect for you to hunt a stand that you have been daydreaming about all year. The barometric pressure is rising and the moon guide is showing favorable hunting conditions. You have done your scouting and […]

Fire Making Skills Tune Up

Fire Making Skills Tune Up By Jon Yacapraro Picture this. You are at a remote camp ground as a guest and you notice that your friend is having a really hard time getting the campfire going. He has a huge pile of wood in the fire ring that is giving off a little white smoke […]

Iowa’s Urban Fishing Opportunities

Iowa’s Urban Fishing Opportunities By Ben Leal I would venture to say that many, if not most, of all anglers out there, hooked their very first fish in a pond. Usually a bluegill or small crappie and, every once in a while, a nice surprise bass will find its way onto your hook. I am […]

Gun Auction