Episode #11 - Merry Christmas and Late Season Insights

Published: 2019-12-23
Episode page
Duration: 62 min

In this episode

buck-aging

• Terry admitted he mistakenly shot a buck in Illinois he believed was five and a half years old from trail camera pictures, but deerage.com determined it was four and a half. 58:02

buck-movement

• Isaac Higgins asked whether his mature buck periodically sneaks back to check if a rival dominant buck is still there, or if he’ll return in January like last year. 46:31

buck-turnover

• Kurt Massey of Aviston, Illinois asked why he sees plenty of deer and passes small bucks but rarely sees the same mature buck return year after year. 45:02

christmas

• Don wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and reminds listeners to keep the birth of Jesus Christ, the reason for the season, in their thoughts. 60:58

consulting-schedule

• Don plans to head to Michigan on January 1 for several days of consulting, then return home in time to pack for the ATA Show. 12:35

culling

• Don and Terry plan to dedicate a future episode entirely to culling bucks, drawing on submitted listener questions about the topic. 54:07

deer-nutrition

• Terry asked whether a deer searching for food in the corn-versus-soybeans debate is seeking carbs, protein, or simply anything to fill its belly. 4:00

deer-vehicle-collision

• Terry nearly hit a badly injured buck on the highway near his home; the deer struggled to clear the road, showing it was hurt badly. 6:25

dominant-buck

• Don notes that ironically the dominant buck is usually not the one with the biggest rack, but the one with the biggest body. 52:40

egyptian-wheat

• Terry relayed that Josh Pretzer has been fighting invasive Egyptian wheat spreading into his Kansas row crop fields from screen plantings. 26:39

holiday-plans

• Don plans to celebrate Christmas early with immediate family before heading to his parents’ house on Christmas Day, and looks forward to seeing his grandsons. 59:35

hunting-plans

• Terry plans to work Monday since he already took vacation, then watch the weather to decide his best shot at using his remaining Illinois tag. 60:06

hunting-success

• Don mentioned his business partner Wes Delks hunted the property with his wife this week, and she shot her first deer. 3:07

late-season-hunting

• Don recounted taking James Morgan hunting in Illinois where they saw 12 different bucks and over 40 deer hammering Real World soybeans but didn’t shoot anything. 1:25

late-season-weather

• Don says late-season hunting success hinges entirely on weather, and the worse the weather with cold and snow, the better the hunting on a good food source. 2:24
• Don predicts that as it warms up toward Christmas, deer movement will shift almost entirely to after dark since deer won’t need as much food to stay warm. 3:40

listener-questions

• Terry asks listeners to submit questions about culling specific bucks so Don can address them in a future segment or episode. 58:54

miscanthus

• Don’s Miscanthus stands fantastic year-round, staying about 12 feet tall whether it’s September, February, or April. 19:01
• Don clarifies that the Miscanthus they sell is a sterile, non-invasive plant, distinct from other invasive Miscanthus varieties. 25:42

patrick-simpson

• Terry relayed that Patrick Simpson had an unbelievable year, with this buck being his third of the season and an absolute giant. 9:32

prayer-request

• Terry asks listeners to pray for family friend Donna Stewart, who is on life support after a serious car accident while her family makes difficult decisions. 61:27

sanctuary

• Jason Trosch asked what Don thinks about mature bucks returning to a TSI bedding area after permitted nighttime raccoon hunting with dogs on his timbered property. 35:57
• Holden Gates of Paris, Illinois asked what single improvement besides food plots best benefits deer during the off season. 42:27

stand-placement

• Don recommends dropping a few trees to funnel deer past stands, since a mature buck can otherwise skirt a stand and avoid giving a shot opportunity. 14:41

trail-camera

• Don observed that trail camera activity on his bridge crossing jumped to over 7,000 pictures in eight days once deer were hammering the food plots. 16:42

trail-cameras

• Don noted his Reconyx are dependable and good for 40,000 pictures on fresh batteries, regardless of weather conditions. 13:04

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (sighting) 7:08
• unnamed buck (history) 8:04
• unnamed buck (harvest) 8:43

Listener questions

Question: Terry asked whether a deer searching for food in the corn-versus-soybeans debate is seeking carbs, protein, or simply anything to fill its belly. 4:00 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don says deer clearly prefer soybeans in colder weather, and he believes it’s the fat content in soybeans, not the protein, that attracts them. 4:27
• Answer: Don adds that soybeans are high fat, which drives late-season attraction, while during antler-growing season deer target soybean browse mainly for protein. 4:36

Question: Jason Trosch asked what Don thinks about mature bucks returning to a TSI bedding area after permitted nighttime raccoon hunting with dogs on his timbered property. 35:57 — asked by Jason Trosch

• Answer: Don says hunters must operate at a higher level than average deer hunters to kill mature bucks, which is why he runs his managed properties as true sanctuaries. 37:11
• Answer: Terry shared that trespassing coon hunters walked right through his posted sanctuary near two target bucks, which angered him because it risked ruining his hunt. 40:16

Question: Holden Gates of Paris, Illinois asked what single improvement besides food plots best benefits deer during the off season. 42:27 — asked by Holden Gates

• Answer: Don says the single best improvement is providing security through a sanctuary, since mature bucks value freedom from human intrusion above all else. 42:43
• Answer: Don explained he wants every acre on his property to be either bedding cover or food, enough to sustain deer through winter. 43:36

Question: Kurt Massey of Aviston, Illinois asked why he sees plenty of deer and passes small bucks but rarely sees the same mature buck return year after year. 45:02 — asked by Kurt Massey

• Answer: Don says those mature bucks are almost certainly being killed elsewhere, since very few hunters pass on three-and-a-half-year-old bucks. 45:22
• Answer: Terry adds that no matter how well you manage your own land, careless neighboring hunters shooting the fence line will limit your chances with mature bucks. 46:12

Question: Isaac Higgins asked whether his mature buck periodically sneaks back to check if a rival dominant buck is still there, or if he’ll return in January like last year. 46:31 — asked by Isaac Higgins

• Answer: Don advises Isaac to kill the buck in October next season, expecting it will likely leave the farm again around November 1 per its established pattern. 48:34
• Answer: Don doesn’t think bucks reason it through deliberately, but that they’ll simply stay if the dominant buck is gone or leave again out of habit. 48:57

Sponsors this episode

• BuyAFarm.com

Don and Terry covered late-season strategy, agreeing that cold, snowy weather over a good food source drives success, with Don noting deer prefer soybeans in winter for their fat content rather than protein. Don shared that he and James Morgan saw 12 bucks and over 40 deer on soybeans without shooting, and that trail camera activity on his bridge crossing spiked once deer keyed on food plots. Terry recounted nearly hitting a badly injured buck on the highway and relayed that Patrick Simpson tagged his third buck of the season, an absolute giant. Listener questions covered sanctuaries and mature buck behavior: Don stressed security and bedding cover as the top off-season improvement, and that mature bucks passed by one hunter are often killed by others nearby. Terry admitted misjudging a buck’s age from trail cameras. The episode closed with a Christmas message and a prayer request for family friend Donna Stewart.

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