Whitetail Deer

Early Season Buck, Save your Time?

Early Season Buck, Save your Time? By Dan Johnson October 1st is already here and that means thousands of us are hitting the timber in hopes of either filling the freezer with organic venison or chasing big old nasty bucks in the fingers, draws, and river bottoms throughout this great state. For me, this year […]

Second “Once in a Lifetime” Buck

Second “Once in a Lifetime” Buck By Julie Johnson One snap of a twig gave me an opportunity that may only come once in my lifetime and my love for bow hunting is to blame. To say that I’m addicted to bow hunting is an understatement. I absolutely can’t wait until the first glimpse of […]

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 […]

Crucial Rut Tips

Crucial Rut Tips By Drew Henry As whitetail hunters, we all know that hunting the rut can represent the best opportunity to catch a vulnerable monster buck out in the open. Vulnerable is rarely a word used to describe the nature of a big whitetail buck, but the craze of the rut can help to […]

Camouflaged Conservation – Podcast

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 […]

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 […]

Using Digital Maps to Improve Your Odds

Using Digital Maps to Improve Your Odds By Dan Johnson 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. I check all the bedrooms to make 100% sure that everyone is […]

The Treestand Dilemma

The Treestand Dilemma By Ryan Graden 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, […]

Rut Tips

Rut Tips As whitetail hunters, we all know that hunting the rut can represent the best opportunity to catch a vulnerable monster buck out in the open. Vulnerable is rarely a word used to describe the nature of a big whitetail buck, but the craze of the rut can help to tilt the scale in […]