Whitetail Deer
5 Tips for Final Days Bucks
5 Tips for Final Days Bucks The doldrums of winter can be taxing on anyone. Short days coupled with cold temperatures can tend to get some folks in a funk. Don’t tell that to a dedicated whitetail hunter though. The days between December 21-January 10 mark the late muzzleloader portion of the Iowa whitetail season […]
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Iowa’s Deer Forecast 2023-24
Iowa’s Deer Forecast 2023-24 As summer months have slowly moved on, we are staring at the opening day of the 2023/24 whitetail deer season. Iowa bowhunters have been out practicing and honing their archery skills, and as each passing month passes, the anticipation has finally come, October 1, time to hunt! In this edition of […]
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Tools of the Trade and their Usage Techniques
Tools of the Trade and their Usage Techniques When it comes to deer hunting today, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by all of the different products on the market. Each making claims of bringing in more and bigger bucks. Many are just variations of one another, and it’s tough to make up your mind about […]
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Top Tactics for Each Stage of the Rut
Top Tactics for Each Stage of the Rut By Ryan Graden I walked out this morning and it hit me! The cooler temperatures of the fall have finally showed up. Immediately, my mind went to my hunting memories. The smells, the sounds, and the scenery of my favorite hunts. The things that I have witnessed […]
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Decoying Tactics for Rutting Whitetails
Fake Out: Decoying Tactics for Rutting Whitetails Counterfeit, fraud, hoax, phony: all are words that may be used to describe the art of decoying mature whitetail bucks into archery range. If one can effectively trick the senses of a whitetail buck by using decoying tactics then the odds of having an archery chip shot increase […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Using Digital Maps to Improve Your Odds
Using Digital Maps to Improve Your Odds It’s nine o’clock on a Tuesday night and the entire family is already in bed. I turn on the television in the living room to give off the impression that I’m watching TV. After I check all the bedrooms to make 100% sure that everyone is really sleeping. […]
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The Treestand Dilemma
The Treestand Dilemma It’s the ever troubling question that all hunters ask themselves as fall approaches and opening dates draw close. “Where should I hang my stand?” I know for me, as I go through the timber I tend to “see” my hunts play out. “If a buck comes down this trail, I should hang […]
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Mature Velvet Bucks and Cameras
Mature Velvet Bucks and Cameras One of the most exciting times in my opinion to be a whitetail hunter is the end of July and August. All the sweat equity is almost done minus fall brassica plots and it’s now time to take inventory of what bucks are still around and what bucks are calling […]
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