Episode #147 - Winter Buck Inventory… More Important than Summer?

Published: 2022-12-11
Episode page
Duration: 66 min

In this episode

bowhunting-ethics

• Don said he holds zero hope that bowhunting’s ethical decline can be reversed, calling it now a purely personal choice for each hunter. 31:34
• Don argued that hunting from heated blinds with trail cameras and shooting a crossbow’s expandable broadhead is far removed from real bowhunting and unethical. 40:14

bowhunting-industry

• Don criticized the ATA Association and ATA Show as caring only about profiting from bowhunters, not about the sport or big-game herds. 32:42

buck-growth

• Don recalled that a buck named Mel scored a 216-inch rack at three and a half years old, though people doubted it at the time. 46:35

buck-inventory

• Don said his real off-season scouting begins right after gun season, once he learns which bucks survived, to plan next year’s effort. 18:27
• Don reported one tracked buck’s fate is unknown after gun season—last photographed shortly after it began, with no evidence it was killed since. 20:49
• Don noted that of roughly seventeen bucks he tracked the previous year, a good percentage never reappeared the following summer, and he still doesn’t know why. 23:12

buck-management

• Terry warned that promising young bucks often get shot at three years old simply for being the biggest on the farm, when true trophy management means letting them mature further. 46:00
• Don advised patience with a true giant buck, since shooting it too early at 180 inches means it will never reach its 200-inch potential. 47:01

buck-potential

• Kelly asked how soon you can tell if a young buck—one with four points per side and extra kickers—will become a future giant. 43:41

consulting-success

• Don recounted that a former Illinois client killed two mature bucks in stands Don had picked out, ones the client said he never would have chosen himself. 3:55

cultural-commentary

• Terry said he believes there will be war on American soil within his children’s lifetime due to the country’s cultural decline. 37:11

dove-hunting

• Sam asked whether his dad’s 10-acre dove field on their shared Georgia farm is a harmful intrusion for deer hunting. 59:35

fair-chase

• Jeremy asked where the line will be drawn between fair chase and technology in hunting as apps, cell cameras, and crossbows advance. 29:45

faith

• Terry suggested that if listeners put as much effort into church as they do into hunting, they’d get far more out of their faith. 57:56
• Brody asked whether Don would go to church or hunt from his tree stand on a Sunday morning if conditions were perfect. 55:59

fetal-programming

• Terry cited Dr. Bronson Strickland’s fetal programming research showing a doe’s nutrition during pregnancy affects fawn health, supporting good late-winter nutrition. 53:38

glass-ceiling

• Terry said Dr. Strickland’s ‘glass ceiling’ concept means nutrition can’t change a deer’s genetics but can help it reach its full genetic potential. 54:17

hunting-organizations

• Don said Pope and Young Club and Boone and Crockett are the only organizations that genuinely care about big-game herds and the sport, unlike profit-driven rivals. 34:54

invasive-species-control

• Don said the Mississippi landowner had a crew spray herbicide to kill roughly 25 acres of kudzu on the property. 7:52

kudzu

• Don explained that kudzu, an exotic vine introduced to the South roughly a hundred years ago, spreads uncontrollably and overtakes everything in its path. 6:06
• Don joked that Joe Biden was responsible for bringing kudzu into the country. 7:03 (light moment)

land-legacy

• Don told his kids and son-in-law they shouldn’t feel obligated to keep his planted trees after he’s gone, even if they choose to clear the land for farming. 12:51

land-management

• Terry said hunting doves in an open field is far less intrusive to a deer sanctuary than riding four-wheelers or running dogs at night. 61:05

late-season-hunting

• Terry plans to hunt the late season hard around an incoming cold front, choosing between opportunities in Kentucky or Illinois. 65:13

political-joke

• Don joked that Hunter Biden’s laptop probably contains evidence of a kudzu-related bribery scheme with the Chinese government. 7:10 (light moment)

prayer-request

• Don announced his pastor’s brain tumor has returned and spread to both brain lobes, with doctors saying surgery is no longer possible. 62:41

public-appearance

• Don announced an additional February 15 appearance in Winona, Minnesota that had been left off the published schedule. 25:12
• Don announced he will host a benefit supper and seminar for an Amish school in Vestaburg, Michigan on Friday, December sixteenth. 25:30

quietkat

• Terry explained that this year’s QuietKat bikes are demo units meant for client use, unlike in past years when the bikes became their own. 28:14

social-media

• Don joked that no matter the topic, social media always produces self-proclaimed experts ready to criticize him. 9:48 (light moment)

solid-rock-chapel

• Terry noted that Solid Rock Chapel, the pastor’s church, helped facilitate their charity raffle last year with his backing and approval. 63:57

supplemental-feeding

• Don recommended supplemental feeding where legal, believing hunters should do everything possible to meet a deer’s nutritional needs. 53:07
• Jim asked whether feeding deer new food once natural food is gone, especially late in the season, could cause them to starve with a full stomach. 51:32

technology

• Don recalled a sermon claiming there have been more technological advances since 1973 than in all recorded history before that year. 39:05

timber-management

• Don plans to bring in a crew to plant loblolly pine trees on the 25 acres cleared of kudzu. 8:26

timber-stand-improvement

• Don recommended a timber stand improvement cut over destructive hinge-cutting, since thinning and leaving quality trees benefits both deer habitat and future timber value. 14:36

travel-plans

• Don announced plans to travel to Ohio on Tuesday, then to Michigan by week’s end for the scheduled seminar and additional consulting work. 64:53

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (harvest) 4:14
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 20:49
• unnamed buck (sighting) 43:46
• unnamed buck (history) 45:04
• Mel (history) 46:35

Listener questions

Question: Jeremy asked where the line will be drawn between fair chase and technology in hunting as apps, cell cameras, and crossbows advance. 29:45 — asked by Jeremy K

• Answer: Don said he holds zero hope the sport’s ethical decline can be reversed, calling it now a personal choice for each hunter. 31:34

Question: Kelly asked how soon you can tell if a young buck—one with four points per side and extra kickers—will become a future giant. 43:41 — asked by Kelly

• Answer: Don said there’s an excellent chance that buck will grow into a future giant. 43:58

Question: Jim asked whether feeding deer new food once natural food is gone, especially late in the season, could cause them to starve with a full stomach. 51:32 — asked by Jim Bonito

• Answer: Don confirmed there’s some truth to it—when deer are food-stressed through a hard winter and fed unfamiliar food too late, their diet switches too abruptly to digest properly. 52:03

Question: Brody asked whether Don would go to church or hunt from his tree stand on a Sunday morning if conditions were perfect. 55:59 — asked by Brody Hallman

• Answer: Don said he has never skipped church to hunt, believing scripture calls believers to fellowship with one another. 56:45

Question: Sam asked whether his dad’s 10-acre dove field on their shared Georgia farm is a harmful intrusion for deer hunting. 59:35 — asked by Sam Lowe

• Answer: Don said a dove field’s impact depends on timing and location, and should have minimal effect if it’s not in the middle of the deer sanctuary. 60:03

Don discussed clearing about 25 acres of kudzu on a Mississippi property with herbicide, joking about political scapegoats before describing plans to replant the land in loblolly pine, while noting he’d told his kids and son-in-law not to feel bound to keep his plantings after he’s gone. He advocated timber stand improvement cuts over hinge-cutting and supplemental feeding where legal, though Jim’s question prompted Don to confirm deer fed unfamiliar food too late in a hard winter can struggle to digest it. Don and Terry criticized the ATA Show as profit-driven while praising Pope and Young and Boone and Crockett, and Don said he had no hope bowhunting’s ethical decline could be reversed, calling it a personal choice. Terry cited Dr. Bronson Strickland’s fetal programming and ‘glass ceiling’ research on nutrition and genetics. Don also announced his pastor’s brain tumor had returned and spread, ruling out surgery.

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