Episode #102 - WE ARE GIVING AWAY A TRUCK IN THE LESTER’S FEET RAFFLE!

Published: 2022-01-30
Episode page
Duration: 103 min

In this episode

charity

• Terry relays that Kansas City Chiefs fans raised $178,000 for the opposing quarterback’s charity within a couple days of the playoff game. 32:54

consulting-methodology

• Ryan Elenbaas asks how Don built a plan for his 160-acre farm after seeing only about five acres of it in person. 74:24

consulting-practice

• Don explains he keeps a saved copy of every client’s plan and marked aerial on his computer so he can answer questions about it years later. 82:04

cwd

• Don says his biggest concern for deer herds nationally is pressure to kill older-age-class bucks to fight CWD, calling it a bigger threat than mismanagement. 91:25

electric-bike

• Terry recalls that Don began using electric bikes because a four-wheeler left visible far away in open fields would spook deer that spotted it. 44:12

giant-tree

• Don recounts a client showing him a second giant cottonwood tree measuring roughly 35 feet around, even bigger than one he’d seen the day before. 6:07

home-church

• Don shares that his home church, Solid Rock Chapel in Sullivan, Illinois, is partnering to help host the Lester’s Feet raffle. 9:58

illinois-deer-classic

• Don announces this is the first year for the Illinois Deer Classic, hosted by the same organizers as the Iowa Deer Classic. 45:57

illinois-deer-decline

• Johnny Flynn asks whether whitetail hunting has reached its pinnacle for giant bucks, already passed it, or can still improve. 89:53

merchandise

• Terry announces he is picking up the Chasing Giants shirts the next day and will ship remaining preorders soon. 45:02

midwest-land-group

• Bryhn Craft describes Midwest Land Group as a land company with roughly 100 agents who share a common belief system. 13:23

new-property

• Gavin Olinger asks how Don targets a big mature buck he has no prior history with on a brand-new hunting property. 83:45

nfl

• Don clarifies that his criticism of the NFL targets the institution’s decisions, not the players themselves. 33:49

ohio

• Carl Fritz asks which whitetail state Don would buy land in to manage for mature bucks, and why, factoring in land values and hunting culture. 54:30

prescribed-burning

• Ryan Elenbaas asks why Don said he wouldn’t burn on his farms in one episode, then said the next week he was planning to burn. 70:28

raffle

• Terry announces that the 2022 Lester’s Feet raffle is officially a go. 9:08
• Chris Yates announces the grand prize for the 2022 raffle will be a brand-new Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss four-wheel-drive truck. 20:07
• Terry announces the raffle is giving away a $60,000 truck this year. 101:36
• Terry states their goal is to have the raffle’s auction site and ticket sales ready to go by the Shipshewana Show. 101:59

victory-chevrolet

• Chris Yates describes Victory Chevrolet as having three dealerships, in Smithville and Savannah, Missouri, and Paola, Kansas. 17:58

wisconsin

• Johnny Flynn asks why Wisconsin isn’t talked about as much as Iowa, Kansas, and Ohio despite strong record-book buck numbers. 94:42

youtube

• Terry notes that adding video to episodes on YouTube has helped the podcast pick up a lot of new viewers who seem to enjoy the format. 2:16

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 3:19
• unnamed buck (harvest) 46:47
• unnamed buck (harvest) 84:11
• unnamed buck (harvest) 96:29

Listener questions

Question: Carl Fritz asks which whitetail state Don would buy land in to manage for mature bucks, and why, factoring in land values and hunting culture. 54:30 — asked by Carl Fritz

• Answer: Don picks Ohio, citing its long season, one-buck limit that lets bucks reach older age classes, and legal supplemental feeding. 55:16
• Answer: Don says his one dislike of Ohio is legal baiting, which gets young bucks killed; without it Ohio would be the best whitetail state. 56:38

Question: Ryan Elenbaas asks why Don said he wouldn’t burn on his farms in one episode, then said the next week he was planning to burn. 70:28 — asked by Ryan Elenbaas

• Answer: Don clarifies his earlier comment about not burning referred specifically to timber, not to grass fields, which have different burning needs. 70:49

Question: Ryan Elenbaas asks how Don built a plan for his 160-acre farm after seeing only about five acres of it in person. 74:24

• Answer: Don says his first priority on any property is locating the sanctuary; if that bedding cover is already thick enough, he doesn’t need to walk the rest. 76:15

Question: Gavin Olinger asks how Don targets a big mature buck he has no prior history with on a brand-new hunting property. 83:45 — asked by Gavin Olinger

• Answer: Don says the key is minimizing human intrusion: hunt cautiously enough to avoid bumping the target buck, hunt the edges, and always play the wind. 86:10

Question: Johnny Flynn asks whether whitetail hunting has reached its pinnacle for giant bucks, already passed it, or can still improve. 89:53 — asked by Johnny Flynn

• Answer: Don says Illinois deer hunting has declined from mismanagement, even though the state was once home to the best deer herd on the planet. 90:31

Question: Johnny Flynn asks why Wisconsin isn’t talked about as much as Iowa, Kansas, and Ohio despite strong record-book buck numbers. 94:42

• Answer: Don explains Wisconsin produces many high-170-class bucks but few 200-inch giants, which is why it lacks the recognition Iowa and others get. 95:17

Sponsors this episode

• QuietKat

Don answered listener questions covering land management and deer trends. He named Ohio as the whitetail state he’d choose for managing mature bucks, citing its long season and one-buck limit, though he considered legal baiting a drawback that gets young bucks killed. He clarified an earlier comment about not burning applied to timber, not grass fields, and described building a plan for a 160-acre farm by first locating sanctuary bedding cover. On targeting unfamiliar mature bucks, he stressed minimizing human intrusion, hunting edges, and playing the wind. He said Illinois deer hunting has declined from mismanagement despite once having a top herd, and that Wisconsin produces many high-170-class bucks but few 200-inch giants. Don also called pressure to kill older-age-class bucks to fight CWD a bigger national threat than mismanagement. Raffle updates included a Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss grand prize and a partnership with Solid Rock Chapel to help host it.

Unofficial fan project. AI-synthesized from public episodes; may contain errors.