Episode #139 - Plans Can Change… Goals Stay The Same!

Published: 2022-10-17
Episode page
Duration: 64 min

In this episode

announcement

Terry announces Joe Miles’ Whitetail Cribs episode airs that night and encourages listeners to check it out on the Exodus YouTube channel. 5:03
Terry brings on Don Bailey for a short segment about two small tracts going up for online auction at buyafarm.com. 28:35

big-woods

A Missouri big-woods hunter asks for advice patterning big bucks and picking apart big woods to find where to hunt and where not to. 26:34

buck-management

Don wants to give his borderline 170-180 inch bucks one more year to grow rather than shoot them now. 19:20

business-advice

Don advises new business owners to pick something where they set the price rather than letting a buyer dictate it, unlike raising livestock. 34:51
Don recommends avoiding fifty-fifty business partnerships since they inevitably lead to an impasse without a clear majority owner. 35:39
Don says a strong business idea targets the three things people spend ridiculous money on without hesitation: kids, pets, and hobbies. 36:18
Don advises diversifying a new business, such as adding attachments and services to heavy equipment rather than doing just one thing. 40:57
Don advises letting business partners and employees play to their strengths rather than micromanaging them. 42:10
An aspiring entrepreneur asks Don and Terry for wisdom on starting and succeeding in a new business. 33:23

business-ethics

Terry says tearing down someone else for self-promotion is selfish and a bad approach for a new business owner. 42:57

charity

Terry says Lester’s Feet wrote checks this week covering things like speech devices for nonverbal autistic kids and prosthetic seizure helmets. 48:14

cold-front

Don reports an unusually strong cold front bringing three straight nights below freezing, which he calls unheard of for mid-October in his area. 1:39

conflict

Don says the first week of season he had to deal with four different, totally unrelated negative situations, all involving other people. 10:57

crop-harvest

Don reports over half the fields around him have already been harvested. 4:43

ehd

Terry hopes the incoming cold front and freeze will help stop EHD’s momentum in areas like Ohio that have been battling the disease. 2:30

faith

Terry says he’s perfectly content if adversaries come to know the Lord even if it costs him a deer. 16:47
Terry closes by urging listeners to go back and read Ephesians chapter four for good life advice beyond deer season. 63:09

family

Terry’s son Jonathan was just featured in the ending of their marching band’s competition show. 62:00

family-priorities

Terry plans to spend the next two weekends at his kids’ regionals and state competitions before hunting hard in November. 61:50
Terry says he could never put his hunting desires and goals ahead of supporting his kids. 62:30

filming-schedule

Steve Shields is expected back to film with Don at the end of this week or the start of next week to catch peak fall colors. 60:06

gear-organization

Terry admits he is the most unorganized with his hunting gear he has ever been, right in the middle of the season. 60:37

goal-setting

Terry says the discipline and goals set at the start of the year must remain the priority no matter what outside factors arise. 13:03
Don says if you compromise your goal, you never really had a goal in the first place, only a dream. 17:21

hunter-conflict

Don says other deer hunters have shown him disrespect on multiple occasions this year that he never would have shown them. 21:57

hunting-experience

Don has hunted the last two evenings and seen deer both times. 1:54

hunting-plan

Because of the unprecedented cold, Don plans to hunt a morning or two this week so he doesn’t miss the opportunity. 2:06
Terry plans to take an older buck with his muzzleloader this fall while giving his kids a chance at the remaining older bucks. 23:29

hunting-strategy

Terry says hunting is worth pursuing this week if people can navigate work and other obligations. 2:47
Duane Hopkins’ advice to read the weather rather than the calendar applies just as much to hunting decisions. 3:46

long-term-management

Don explains the ‘long game’ in deer management spans multiple seasons, not just one, and requires setting yourself up for future success. 24:18

master-class

A listener asks how the Master Class differs from what he learned as a kid, and whether hunting technique or food plots matter more. 49:30

personal-loss

Terry announces that the mother of close friend Stephanie Bryson, who does embroidery for their company, passed away, with her funeral the next day. 6:28

personal-record

Don says he cannot recall ever going two seasons in a row without shooting a buck, and last year he shot no deer at all. 18:48
Terry states he has never shot a net-booner buck and says no single buck is worth jeopardizing a relationship at this point in his life. 21:14

podcast-controversy

Terry recounts that after being publicly attacked on another podcast, things got so out of hand they had to release a statement saying they were moving on. 9:59

priorities

Don tells listeners chasing big deer has its place but shouldn’t be at the top of their priorities. 62:58

rattling

Don warns that for every mature buck successfully called in with rattling or grunting, roughly twenty others get spooked without the hunter ever knowing. 58:29
A North Dakota hunter asks when to use rattling and grunt calls, since a buck he’s rattled at twice has fled or dropped each time. 54:35

sportsmanship

Don commits that if another hunter takes a buck he’s chasing, he’ll shake their hand rather than resent them. 11:26

target-buck

Terry describes his target buck this year that he was all over early season but never got a clean shot at, missing his one opportunity. 15:06

trail-camera

Terry and Don both report seeing new bucks show up on trail camera in mid-October despite the so-called October lull. 1:02

trail-cameras

Don’s 12 cell cameras have been very active this week, giving him a good read on when deer are moving. 1:20
Don says most of his trail cameras are now positioned in rut spots. 59:22

tree-planting

Don plans to pick up another load of trees from Gingerich Tree Farm and finish one more day on his new property before fall ends. 59:48

whitetail-academy

Don says Whitetail Academy has had zero negative feedback and new subscribers signing up every day. 5:53

wind

A Kansas hunter asks why air currents near a soybean field keep coming from the opposite direction of what weather apps predict. 43:42
Terry asks whether you have to be willing to back out of a stand if the wind turns out wrong once you get there. 45:53

Deer activity

unnamed buck (management) 15:20
Smokey (history) 19:51
unnamed buck (management) 23:09
unnamed buck (harvest) 47:54
unnamed buck (hunt) 55:00

Listener questions

Question: A Missouri big-woods hunter asks for advice patterning big bucks and picking apart big woods to find where to hunt and where not to. 26:34 — asked by David Faith

Answer: Don says success comes down to reading terrain features that funnel deer movement, since a mature buck uses the wind fully except where terrain forces a compromise. 27:24

Question: An aspiring entrepreneur asks Don and Terry for wisdom on starting and succeeding in a new business. 33:23 — asked by Lance Fisher

Answer: Don advises the business must be something you’re genuinely passionate about, since without passion in a demanding field you’d be miserable and likely fail. 34:14
Answer: Terry says your product or service must fill a genuine gap in the market, or it becomes a commodity that’s hard to differentiate and sell. 37:27

Question: A Kansas hunter asks why air currents near a soybean field keep coming from the opposite direction of what weather apps predict. 43:42 — asked by David Smalley

Answer: Don explains wind hitting a tree line can swirl downward and reverse direction, an eddy effect, so hunters must learn how air currents behave at each stand location through experience. 44:53

Question: Terry asks whether you have to be willing to back out of a stand if the wind turns out wrong once you get there. 45:53

Answer: Don says yes, he’s climbed into a stand and left within fifteen minutes more than once after realizing the wind wasn’t right, even though a brief entry still disturbs the area. 45:58

Question: A listener asks how the Master Class differs from what he learned as a kid, and whether hunting technique or food plots matter more. 49:30 — asked by James Market

Answer: Don says the fruit and nut trees on his farm aren’t the difference maker; there’s no secret trick, just sound hunting practices he teaches. 50:13
Answer: Terry says if forced to choose, how you hunt matters more than what you provide, though both done right have positive impact. 52:08
Answer: Don adds his top seven bucks came from six different properties, only one with a food plot, proving how he hunted mattered more than habitat work. 53:13

Question: A North Dakota hunter asks when to use rattling and grunt calls, since a buck he’s rattled at twice has fled or dropped each time. 54:35 — asked by Scott Heckman

Answer: Don says the only time to call is when a target buck is walking away with nothing to lose, since roughly twenty other bucks get spooked unnoticed for every one called in. 55:16
Answer: Terry says the friends who succeed at rattling aren’t calling blindly out of boredom; they watch the deer’s reaction and build up their calling accordingly. 57:03

Terry and Don discussed an unusually strong mid-October cold front bringing three straight nights below freezing, with both reporting new bucks showing up on camera despite the typical October lull. Don had hunted two straight evenings and seen deer both times, planned a morning sit to capitalize on the cold, and noted most of his cameras were now on rut spots. Terry hoped the freeze would slow EHD’s spread in places like Ohio. Much of the episode focused on handling adversity and staying disciplined toward season goals despite negativity from other hunters, with Terry sharing he’d never shot a net-booner buck and wouldn’t jeopardize relationships over one. A short segment covered a land auction, and Don gave new-business advice on passion, pricing control, and avoiding fifty-fifty partnerships. Listener questions covered patterning bucks in big timber, reading swirling wind currents near stand sites, and when rattling and grunting actually pay off versus spook bucks.

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