Episode #110 - Double Episode live from Master Class - Al Foster gives great advise

Published: 2022-03-27
Episode page
Duration: 153 min

In this episode

al-foster

• Don said meeting Al Foster saved him ten years off his deer-hunting learning curve. 150:43

antler-score

• Don said many mature bucks, even in the Midwest, never reach 150 inches no matter how old they get. 31:49
• Terry relayed Bronson Strickland’s data showing that a 150-inch three-year-old buck is the one with real potential to become an elite whitetail. 32:01

asio-gear

• Joe Miles said ASIO Gear offers a thirty-day money-back guarantee and a lifetime warranty on its garments. 7:49

bell-curve

• Terry said Don’s hunting approach targets only the small right-hand tail of the whitetail bell curve — elite, world-class bucks — rather than typical mature deer. 24:05

buck-age

• Greg (Saint Joseph, Illinois) asked whether Don has seen bucks over seven years old become noticeably more relaxed and easier to encounter with age. 60:02

buck-aging

• An audience member asked how you can accurately tell a buck’s age just from a trail camera photo. 110:34

buck-dispersal

• Marcus Wenger from Dalton, Ohio asked Don’s perspective on shooting does with twin buck fawns as mimicking nature’s inbreeding-prevention mechanism. 35:26

camo

• Joe Miles recounted watching a great horned owl vanish into a tree while walking to his stand, an encounter that later inspired ASIO Gear’s camo pattern. 5:39

culling

• Lee Mitchell said any buck on the South Texas ranch that hasn’t hit 145 inches by four and a half years old gets shot. 54:44
• An audience member (Jordan) described culling a buck that put on over 60 inches of antler in one year and asked how you’d avoid shooting a future giant like it. 128:37

deer-genetics

• Terry relayed Dr. Bronson Strickland’s finding that a very high percentage of deer twins born to the same doe in the same year actually have different fathers. 37:52

deer-vision

• Joe Miles said research he commissioned found that squirrels and white-tailed deer share the exact same dichromatic vision. 6:17

direct-to-consumer

• Joe Miles said ASIO Gear sells its apparel direct to customers to cut out the retail markup that would otherwise be charged by stores like Bass Pro Shop. 6:58

doe-hunting

• Terry turned the question back on the audience member, asking his actual goal in shooting does on his property. 44:22

doe-management

• Terry joked that his ‘stupid Kentucky boy logic’ is that keeping more does keeps young bucks from wandering onto neighboring land during the rut, where they’d get shot during gun season. 45:38 (light moment)
• An audience member asked whether the farm’s two mounted elite whitetails have any bearing on the policy of shooting does with twin button bucks. 27:39
• The audience member asked whether having two 200-inch bucks (Mel and Smokey) on the farm influences the decision to shoot does with twin button bucks. 29:10

doe-ratio

• James from Fredericksburg, Ohio asked how to determine doe population and the number needed to correct the buck-to-doe ratio. 42:00

drought

• Lee Mitchell said the 2012 drought caused a 15% drop in antler score and roughly a 20-pound drop in buck body weight on the property he manages. 50:36
• Don asked Lee Mitchell to describe what he observed during the 2012 drought and its effect on deer body weight and antler score. 49:11

food-plots

• Derek Hagen asked what to plant along a shaded, twenty-to-thirty-yard-wide pipeline right-of-way running north-south through his property. 18:19

guest-introduction

• Terry noted that Joe Miles had recently appeared with them in North Carolina at the Dixie Deer Classic before joining this week’s master class. 1:38

hunter-shaming

• An audience member said there’s a lot of hate toward new hunters who shoot young bucks and asked Don’s stance on that. 105:45

illinois-deer-classic

• Don announced the Illinois Deer Classic returns the first weekend of April, run by the organizers of the Iowa Deer Classic, ending a several-year gap without a deer show in Illinois. 138:51

lesters-feet

• Terry announced the Lester’s Feet raffle had already sold nearly $8,000 in tickets within its first three days. 67:35
• Terry announced that Brian Kraft and Chris Yates’s dealership donated a brand new 2022 Chevy Silverado Trail Boss to the Lester’s Feet raffle. 67:46
• Terry announced the Lester’s Feet raffle features 78 total prizes worth over $150,000, including a QuietKat among items for hunters and non-hunters alike. 86:38
• Terry said 100% of the Lester’s Feet raffle proceeds go to families since it’s an all-volunteer organization. 87:33
• Terry said Lester’s Feet has helped over 60 families with sick children since it started in July. 87:53
• Don shared that his grandson Wyatt donated $214 — his entire savings — to the Lester’s Feet charity. 82:49

master-class

• Don announced this year’s master class drew 124 students from 24 different states. 79:45
• Don said his master class opens with a KISS (keep it simple, stupid) slide, a principle he’s preached since the class began. 80:55

mechanical-broadheads

• Joe Miles said his team tested mechanical broadheads by shooting them through duct-taped hog shoulders stuffed with Jell-O, with the footage releasing next week. 2:34
• Don Higgins announced that he and Joe Miles agreed to hold a future debate over mechanical broadheads. 3:17

nutrition

• Referencing Bronson Strickland’s claim that nutrition unlocks genetic potential, an audience member asked Lee Mitchell if he sees the same link in Texas and locally. 55:48

outdoor-writing

• Don said if he were a magazine editor, he would never publish an article by a writer under 40, believing experience compounds significantly with age. 102:32

podcast-format

• Terry explained the hosts dropped the weekly ‘best and worst’ segment because they didn’t want to manufacture negativity just to create podcast content. 19:38

rope-scrapes

• An audience member asked what Don looks for with rope scrapes used as an inventory tool during the rut. 71:27

rut-timing

• Kevin from Ohio asked what differentiates the giant bucks Don has killed in October versus November — is there a common theme like weather? 135:08

sanctuaries

• Don said most giant bucks come from properties near large no-hunting sanctuary areas, where deer reach older age classes that improve the odds of producing a giant. 33:33
• Clint asked what common trait true giant bucks’ living areas share, given that Don, Joe, and Terry all hunt or consult in different regions. 32:56

scouting-effort

• Don said finding rare giant bucks requires covering enormous ground and spending huge amounts of time, effort, and money that most people wouldn’t attempt. 32:40

scrapes

• Don dismissed the idea that bucks visit scrapes on a predictable schedule as ‘internet fairy tales,’ noting every mature buck has its own personality. 72:25

sex-ratio

• Lee Mitchell said the Texas ranch keeps a tight sex ratio around 1.5 does per buck, determined via annual helicopter surveys. 52:52

soil-quality

• Terry suggested the real correlation is soil quality driving crop nutrition, not soybeans specifically. 34:54

south-texas

• Lee Mitchell said he manages a 13,000-acre South Texas ranch where they shoot does hard and plan for droughts, since deer overpopulation can damage native vegetation for years. 52:08

soybeans

• Joe Miles asked Don whether mapping soybean production over Pope and Young record book buck locations shows they’re nearly identical. 34:34

texas-deer

• Joe Miles said free-range Texas deer with the right soil and mineral content can reach 160-170 inches in the wild. 35:10

timber-harvest

• Jeff from Illinois, with limited property access, asked whether Don would recommend a clear-cut to boost cover given the access limitations. 116:46

timber-management

• An audience member asked where to draw the line on logging closed-canopy mature oak stands versus preserving them for acorn production. 39:47

timber-stand

• Kevin Thayer said English oak seedlings he planted grew six to eight feet tall within a single year. 121:32

timber-stand-improvement

• An audience member with 70 acres of 15-year-old planted white oaks asked how to manage the stand for diversity to attract whitetails long-term. 136:13

tony-lapratt

• Don recounted that Tony LaPratt told him backstage he was the only land manager he respected enough to debate on stage. 104:12
• Terry said Don and Tony LaPratt agreed during their debate that the hunting industry is producing hunters who don’t know how to be true outdoorsmen. 103:12

trail-cameras

• Clint from Southern Indiana asked what the best way is to find a giant buck, starting fresh without a home property. 20:16
• Terry asked Joe Miles, who hunts all over the country, whether he has insights on finding big deer beyond trail cameras. 24:48

truck-buyback

• Chris Yates explained his truck buyback program started around 2012, letting customers trade in annually for $5 and end up with a paid-off Duramax after four or five years. 63:13

truck-pricing

• Chris Yates said that unlike dealers who marked trucks up over MSRP during the shortage, he refused to do that to keep customer trust. 65:26

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (harvest) 22:20
• unnamed buck (hunt) 25:57
• Mel (management) 29:10
• Smokey (management) 29:10
• unnamed buck (harvest) 30:18
• unnamed buck (harvest) 58:26
• unnamed buck (harvest) 60:19
• Mel (history) 84:08
• Smokey (history) 84:08
• Mel (management) 84:26
• Mel (history) 115:39
• unnamed buck (harvest) 128:37

Listener questions

Question: Derek Hagen asked what to plant along a shaded, twenty-to-thirty-yard-wide pipeline right-of-way running north-south through his property. 18:19 — asked by Derek Hagen

• Answer: Don recommended a fall-planted blend such as Harvest Salad, Deadly Dozen, or Clover for the shaded right-of-way, since those blends handle filtered sunlight once leaves drop. 19:02

Question: Clint from Southern Indiana asked what the best way is to find a giant buck, starting fresh without a home property. 20:16 — asked by Clint

• Answer: Don said finding giant bucks is 99% about trail cameras. 20:49

Question: Terry asked Joe Miles, who hunts all over the country, whether he has insights on finding big deer beyond trail cameras. 24:48

• Answer: Joe Miles said there are only three ways to locate a big buck: a trail camera photo, seeing him in person, or human intelligence, calling the last the least reliable. 24:58

Question: Clint asked what common trait true giant bucks’ living areas share, given that Don, Joe, and Terry all hunt or consult in different regions. 32:56 — asked by Clint

• Answer: Don said most giants come from properties near large sanctuary areas with no hunting. 33:33

Question: Joe Miles asked Don whether mapping soybean production over Pope and Young record book buck locations shows they’re nearly identical. 34:34

• Answer: Don confirmed he’s seen that correlation between soybean production and record book buck locations. 34:48

Question: Marcus Wenger from Dalton, Ohio asked Don’s perspective on shooting does with twin buck fawns as mimicking nature’s inbreeding-prevention mechanism. 35:26 — asked by Marcus Wenger

• Answer: Don explained University of Georgia research by Dr. Carl Miller found buck fawn dispersal is nature’s way of preventing inbreeding, with live does kicking off the previous year’s buck fawns. 36:10

Question: An audience member asked whether the farm’s two mounted elite whitetails have any bearing on the policy of shooting does with twin button bucks. 27:39

• Answer: Don said the only two does shot on his farm since 2011 were taken because they had twin buck fawns, and he doesn’t think the mounted bucks were affected by that policy. 28:45

Question: The audience member asked whether having two 200-inch bucks (Mel and Smokey) on the farm influences the decision to shoot does with twin button bucks. 29:10

• Answer: Don said giant deer are too rare to manage for; you can raise a farm’s overall antler quality but can’t specifically manage to produce a 200-inch buck. 30:41

Question: An audience member asked where to draw the line on logging closed-canopy mature oak stands versus preserving them for acorn production. 39:47

• Answer: Don said opening the canopy for browse growth yields more food tonnage than leaving mature oaks standing for acorns. 40:38

Question: James from Fredericksburg, Ohio asked how to determine doe population and the number needed to correct the buck-to-doe ratio. 42:00 — asked by James

• Answer: Don said unless management happens over a wide area, shooting 20 does just causes 30 more to move in from neighboring properties to replace them. 42:35

Question: Terry turned the question back on the audience member, asking his actual goal in shooting does on his property. 44:22

• Answer: The audience member said they shoot does mainly for meat, essentially their only reason for doing so. 44:49

Question: Don asked Lee Mitchell to describe what he observed during the 2012 drought and its effect on deer body weight and antler score. 49:11

• Answer: Lee Mitchell said the 2012 drought caused a 15% drop in antler score and about a 20-pound drop in buck body weight. 50:36

Question: Referencing Bronson Strickland’s claim that nutrition unlocks genetic potential, an audience member asked Lee Mitchell if he sees the same link in Texas and locally. 55:48

• Answer: Lee Mitchell agreed nutrition is huge; even the best genetics won’t express themselves without good nutrition, since antler growth demands tremendous resources. 56:22

Question: Greg (Saint Joseph, Illinois) asked whether Don has seen bucks over seven years old become noticeably more relaxed and easier to encounter with age. 60:02 — asked by Greg

• Answer: Don said the toughest age range to kill a mature buck is roughly five-and-a-half to seven-and-a-half; bucks get easier before and after that window. 60:44

Question: An audience member asked what Don looks for with rope scrapes used as an inventory tool during the rut. 71:27

• Answer: Don said he doesn’t hunt over scrapes; he only uses a rope scrape paired with a camera to inventory bucks on a property. 71:43

Question: An audience member said there’s a lot of hate toward new hunters who shoot young bucks and asked Don’s stance on that. 105:45

• Answer: Don said he’s never insulted anyone for what deer they choose to shoot, viewing that as each hunter’s own choice. 106:27

Question: An audience member asked how you can accurately tell a buck’s age just from a trail camera photo. 110:34

• Answer: Don said he doesn’t believe a deer’s age can be judged from a photo alone, joking that whoever started QDMA’s ‘age this buck’ exercise needs their ears smacked. 111:05

Question: An audience member (Jordan) described culling a buck that put on over 60 inches of antler in one year and asked how you’d avoid shooting a future giant like it. 128:37

• Answer: Don said you can’t know for certain; he plays the odds, since a buck scoring 150 at age three is far likelier to reach 200 than one scoring 120. 129:15
• Answer: Terry called it a statistical ‘unicorn,’ since he knows of no other wild deer adding 60 inches in a year, and said you can’t let a thousand eight-pointers walk chasing that outlier. 129:31

Question: Kevin from Ohio asked what differentiates the giant bucks Don has killed in October versus November — is there a common theme like weather? 135:08 — asked by Kevin

• Answer: Don said October giants are typically killed evenings on a bed-to-feed pattern, while November giants are killed on running patterns chasing does along bedding edges. 135:27

Question: An audience member with 70 acres of 15-year-old planted white oaks asked how to manage the stand for diversity to attract whitetails long-term. 136:13

• Answer: Don said the oaks were likely planted on a 10-by-10 spacing (436 trees per acre) and need aggressive thinning to let the best trees’ crowns fill out. 136:40

Question: Jeff from Illinois, with limited property access, asked whether Don would recommend a clear-cut to boost cover given the access limitations. 116:46 — asked by Jeff

• Answer: Don recommends cutting timber harvests hard, then immediately following with a TSI cut to remove trees with no timber or wildlife value. 118:09

Sponsors this episode

• QuietKat

This episode was framed as a master class with guest Joe Miles of ASIO Gear, plus rancher Lee Mitchell and truck dealer Chris Yates. Miles discussed mechanical broadhead testing, ASIO’s direct-to-consumer model and warranty, and a scheduled future debate with Don Higgins on broadheads. Don argued elite bucks represent only a rare tail of the whitetail population, often found near large no-hunt sanctuaries, and said finding them relies heavily on trail cameras, time, and money. Lee Mitchell described managing a 13,000-acre South Texas ranch with a tight doe-to-buck ratio and recounted the 2012 drought’s toll on antler score and body weight. Listener questions covered right-of-way food plots, doe management for twin buck fawns, oak stand thinning, and judging buck age from photos, which Don dismissed as unreliable. The episode also covered Lester’s Feet raffle fundraising and Don’s master class drawing 124 students from 24 states.

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