Episode #133 - Special Guest Mark Luster - Buck Forecast Part 2

Published: 2022-09-05
Episode page
Duration: 97 min

In this episode

announcement

• Don announces that Bobby Worthington will be the special guest next week to share his buck report. 95:34

buck-age

• Mark Lester says he would rather harvest an eight-year-old buck scoring around 130 than a four-year-old scoring 160, prioritizing age over score. 47:50

consulting

• Don explains that consulting requests snowballed beyond what he could handle, forcing him to bring additional Dream Team consultants on board. 61:15
• Terry asks Mark Lester how far he is willing to travel for consulting clients. 54:19

corn-yield

• An Instagram hunter from Kansas jokingly posted that his corn might hit 200 inches or 200 bushels per acre. 11:57 (light moment)

deer-sightings

• Terry reports seeing roughly 24 does and fawns plus seven bucks in one evening hunting an alfalfa field before a storm rolled in. 2:44

ehd

• Terry asks Don whether he has heard of any EHD outbreaks in his area this year. 13:35

food-plots

• Terry reports Real World has been shipping large quantities of its new southern fall food plot blend to customers. 7:44
• A listener asks why his large food plot shows no social pressure among deer while smaller kill plots do, and if splitting plots creates pressure. 74:10
• Terry asks Don how the pumpkins he mounded on potting soil in his corn patch ended up doing. 10:40

harvest

• Terry relays that Danny York’s daughter Haley harvested a giant buck the night before, braving thunderstorms to do so. 4:46

hunting-style

• Terry asks Mark Lester to describe his hunting journey and what he looks for in the whitetails he pursues. 26:56

master-class

• Don announces that the upcoming spring master class may be the last one he ever holds as he slows down. 62:17
• Don announces the February 4 master class will be held in Ohio at Ray and Aiden’s business. 87:52

nutri-crave-corn

• Terry reports that feedback on Real World’s Nutri-Crave Corn has been very positive, showing impressive yields for a non-GMO corn variety. 11:42

small-properties

• Terry recalls killing a six-and-a-half-year-old buck two years ago on a 20-acre Kentucky property by patterning it around a single bedding-consistent wind. 71:26

supplemental-feeding

• Don reports that Dr. Strickland is not a fan of supplemental feeding. 93:03
• Aiden asks whether supplemental feeding or a food plot program does more to enhance antler growth. 88:24

trail-cameras

• Don describes an unprecedented trail-camera event: five distinct bucks at least three-and-a-half years old appeared on new camera locations in a single night. 17:34
• Don plans to shift his trail cameras this week now that the holiday crowds have gone back to work. 16:52
• Terry asks Mark Lester how many states he is running trail cameras or scouting in this season. 44:50

travel-plan

• Terry plans to record the next two podcast episodes from Downtown Chicago after relocating there for work the following weekend. 6:42

velvet-buck

• Terry relays that their friend Brandon Efferson killed a nice velvet buck on the Kentucky opening day. 3:22

wind-direction

• A Michigan listener asks whether blowing scent 300 yards through bedded deer to reach his food plot stand is close enough to avoid busting them. 67:23

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (harvest) 3:22
• unnamed buck (harvest) 4:46
• unnamed buck (harvest) 5:12
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 17:34
• dozer buck (history) 37:48
• Zeus (history) 37:58
• unnamed buck (history) 49:40
• unnamed buck (harvest) 71:26

Listener questions

Question: A Michigan listener asks whether blowing scent 300 yards through bedded deer to reach his food plot stand is close enough to avoid busting them. 67:23 — asked by Tim Hallonan

• Answer: Don advises hunters to accept what a property provides and stay disciplined, hunting only the correct wind rather than pushing extra stands. 70:14

Question: A listener asks why his large food plot shows no social pressure among deer while smaller kill plots do, and if splitting plots creates pressure. 74:10

• Answer: Don explains bigger plots let deer space themselves apart based on their known pecking order, avoiding conflict among mature bucks. 75:18

Question: Aiden asks whether supplemental feeding or a food plot program does more to enhance antler growth. 88:24 — asked by Aiden

• Answer: Don says a good food plot program is far more important for antler growth than supplemental feeding. 88:53
• Answer: Terry adds that feeding is meant only as a supplement to the diet, not a primary food source. 92:05

Question: Terry asks Mark Lester how many states he is running trail cameras or scouting in this season. 44:50

• Answer: Mark Lester says he is currently monitoring deer in Kentucky, Illinois, and Iowa. 45:10

Question: Terry asks Mark Lester how far he is willing to travel for consulting clients. 54:19

• Answer: Mark Lester says he has yet to find a distance he wouldn’t travel for a client. 54:27

Question: Terry asks Don whether he has heard of any EHD outbreaks in his area this year. 13:35

• Answer: Don relays that a friend scouting 60 acres found six deer that had died within the last ten days. 14:04

Question: Terry asks Don how the pumpkins he mounded on potting soil in his corn patch ended up doing. 10:40

• Answer: Don admits he has not checked and has no idea how the pumpkins turned out since the corn grew too tall to see them. 11:11

Question: Terry asks Mark Lester to describe his hunting journey and what he looks for in the whitetails he pursues. 26:56

• Answer: Mark Lester says Don’s advice to build a central sanctuary and let pressure bounce off it became the foundation of his own hunting style. 29:45

Sponsors this episode

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Terry and Don opened with hunting reports: Terry saw about 24 does and fawns plus seven bucks in an alfalfa field before a storm, and relayed that friend Brandon Efferson killed a velvet buck on Kentucky’s opener while Danny York’s daughter Haley took a giant buck the night before in thunderstorms. Don described an unprecedented night of trail-camera hits on five different bucks at least three-and-a-half years old, all new to his cameras. Guest Mark Lester discussed prioritizing age over score, said he was tracking deer in Kentucky, Illinois, and Iowa, and credited Don’s sanctuary-and-pressure philosophy as the foundation of his own hunting style. Listener questions covered wind discipline versus adding stands, why larger food plots reduce social pressure among deer, and whether food plots or supplemental feeding drive antler growth more, with Don favoring food plots. Don also mentioned a friend finding six deer dead within ten days while scouting 60 acres, and upcoming master classes.

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