Episode #148 - Are Bucks Shedding Antlers Early This Year?

Published: 2022-12-18
Episode page
Duration: 71 min

In this episode

age-structure

• Alex Bains asks how many bucks per age class is ideal, and what buck-to-doe ratio to target per 100 acres. 53:10

antler-shedding

• Terry intentionally posted two similar-looking antler photos, one shed and one broken, to gauge listener reactions to early-shedding claims. 8:40
• Don recalls that after a severe week-long ice storm around 2010 coated everything, he found shed antlers ‘by the armloads’ in bedding thickets that spring. 62:55
• Terry jokingly bets breakfast that there isn’t actually more early antler shedding this year, just more visibility via social media. 64:49

buck-age

• Bryce Bowling asks whether it’s rarer today to harvest a quality 8.5-year-old buck or a 200-inch buck, and why. 46:47

consulting

• Don consulted with a father and son on two Michigan properties who fully embraced his management ideas. 9:32
• Don says he’s already booked one and a half times his target number of consulting visits for the winter. 10:56
• Terry relays that Wes Delks, with extra time since he’s not the weekly Real World GM, has a lot booked but still has some consulting openings. 11:55

coyotes

• Terry relays an analogy from trappers studying coyotes: removing a bunch of coyotes from a property doesn’t solve the problem because more move in due to available habitat and social pressure. 59:24

dixie-dozen

• The southern-region pilot blend has officially been named Dixie Dozen, pairing with Deadly Dozen for northern regions. 39:32

doe-management

• When the herd is healthy, Don’s personal philosophy is to shoot two does for every buck harvested on his farm. 58:09
• Terry applies the coyote analogy to whitetails, warning that killing lots of does for short-term population control tends to even back out over time. 59:59

fan-questions

• Don says the most common question he hears on the road is ‘Where’s Terry?’, showing fans’ curiosity about his co-host. 4:00

feeder-modification

• Todd Covey built a six-inch PVC adapter for feeder legs that wobbles so raccoons can’t climb up to reach the feed. 51:08

giveaway

• Don announces the Whitetail Master Academy giveaway’s grand prize, drawn Christmas Eve, is a free consulting visit with Don, filmed alongside Steve Shields. 18:30
• Additional Whitetail Master Academy giveaway prizes include a complete camo set donated by title sponsor ASIO Gear through Joe Miles. 19:17

humor

• Wes Delks had a severe bathroom emergency after getting out of his truck during a consulting visit. 13:06
• Finding no toilet paper anywhere in the client’s bathroom, Wes Delks cut the toe off his sock with a pocket knife to clean up and hid it in the trash. 14:10
• On another visit, Wes Delks had a bathroom emergency in the woods and made an excuse to step away from his clients rather than admit it. 14:59
• Don jokingly tells listeners to hand Wes Delks a roll of toilet paper the moment he arrives for a property visit. 16:29 (light moment)
• Terry jokingly asks whether Don smells his finger after getting Smokey’s deer lure on it while applying it to a rope scrape. 6:55
• Terry jokingly asks if Don also dabs deer lure behind his ears for fancy dinners out with his wife Robin. 7:24

late-season-bucks

• Terry relays Don’s theory that mature bucks appearing on a property only in the dead of winter were likely born there, meaning the pattern can take five to seven years to show. 27:42

listener-feedback

• A listener called the Chasing Giants podcast a ‘hate group,’ a comment that struck a nerve with Don. 5:24

marriage-advice

• Don advises young men to choose a spouse wisely before marrying, noting the most successful people he knows have very supportive spouses. 70:33

miscanthus

• Don announces Miscanthus preorders opened this week on the Real World website, and he’s already received over 200 orders. 39:56

nutricrave-corn

• NutriCrave corn will be sold in 80,000-kernel bags this year, matching standard ag seed-corn sizing so growers don’t need multiple one-acre bags. 36:58

off-year

• An anonymous listener from Farmville USA asks whether a well-managed property can have an ‘off year’ when good bucks pass through but don’t stay. 20:12

personal-milestone

• Terry announces he’ll celebrate 23 years of marriage tomorrow, with his wife having endured 27 hunting seasons alongside him. 69:38

podcast-growth

• Terry announces the podcast hit another record-setting week of downloads. 1:09
• Don credits the podcast’s growth to listeners telling their friends, since nothing else about the show changed. 1:17
• Terry says the podcast’s popularity comes from discussing what listeners want, which is why live events let the audience lead discussion instead of a straight PowerPoint. 3:22

podcast-values

• Don insists the podcast is a ‘truth group’ that speaks the truth, and some people simply hate hearing it. 5:41
• Terry affirms the show doesn’t hate people, only dislikes sin, as part of their commitment to biblical principles. 6:07

product-announcement

• Don announces the new Real World land management guides are expected between Christmas and New Year’s. 36:34

property-management

• Terry asks whether a property’s fixed reputation as an early- or late-season-only spot can really be changed through management. 24:35

pumpkin-hills

• Paul Whitworth asks how Don’s Pumpkin Hills experiment turned out last year. 36:20

screening-cover

• Chris Smith asks how to create screening to his bow stands without accidentally creating new bedding areas he’ll bump on entry. 42:33

soil-charge

• Terry announces Soil Charge has come out of its pilot program with phenomenal feedback on tissue analysis and browse pressure. 37:55
• Soil Charge is unique because it can be frost-seeded, providing an early food source unlike other products on the market. 38:46

speaking-engagement

• Don spoke at a Friday-night fundraising event for an Amish school in Michigan, arranged by his friend Nathan Buyler. 2:00
• About 400 people turned out for Don’s Michigan speaking event. 2:12
• Don’s laptop with his PowerPoint presentation froze during the Michigan event and wouldn’t respond. 2:27
• With his slides dead, Don improvised and the event turned into a roughly two-hour audience question-and-answer session. 2:37
• Terry admits he’s also had his PowerPoint fail before. 3:42

spring-seed

• Paul Whitworth asks when to expect announcements about new Real World spring seed offerings. 36:14

supplemental-feeding

• Terry believes mature bucks pattern him as much as he patterns them, since his feeder stays consistently filled year-round without spooking deer. 52:44
• Justin Ray, new to Kentucky hunting, asks whether it’s better to pour supplemental feed on the ground or use a feeder, and what type. 48:26

testosterone

• Terry recalls that Dr. Strickland discussed the drop in testosterone that triggers antler drop during a Master Class podcast segment. 66:09
• Terry asks whether a buck’s antler drop is physiologically triggered by a drop in testosterone. 64:06

trail-camera

• Don reveals the person who promised him a new trail-camera design already in development turned out to be a con man who stopped responding. 53:51

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (sighting) 8:38
• unnamed buck (harvest) 21:49
• unnamed buck (harvest) 46:28
• unnamed buck (hunt) 68:55
• Smokey (history) 69:00

Listener questions

Question: Terry jokingly asks whether Don smells his finger after getting Smokey’s deer lure on it while applying it to a rope scrape. 6:55 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don admits he takes a whiff every time he opens the bottle and thinks it smells good. 7:12

Question: Terry jokingly asks if Don also dabs deer lure behind his ears for fancy dinners out with his wife Robin. 7:24 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don jokes that his wife thinks he’s nuts because he actually likes the smell of cow manure instead. 7:28

Question: An anonymous listener from Farmville USA asks whether a well-managed property can have an ‘off year’ when good bucks pass through but don’t stay. 20:12 — asked by Anonymous Farmville USA

• Answer: Don explains that apparent ‘off years’ usually happen because the bucks that would have matured into shooters get killed on neighboring properties first, not because the property failed. 22:58

Question: Terry asks whether a property’s fixed reputation as an early- or late-season-only spot can really be changed through management. 24:35

• Answer: Don says a property’s character can absolutely be changed with extreme management, usually by fixing whichever ingredient—food or cover—is the weakest link. 25:08

Question: Paul Whitworth asks when to expect announcements about new Real World spring seed offerings. 36:14 — asked by Paul Whitworth

• Answer: Don says the new land management guides, due between Christmas and New Year’s, will reveal details about upcoming spring seed offerings. 36:34

Question: Paul Whitworth asks how Don’s Pumpkin Hills experiment turned out last year. 36:20 — asked by Paul Whitworth

• Answer: Don says the pumpkins he planted in gaps of his corn plot didn’t grow well, likely because residual herbicide from the corn stunted their roots. 41:08

Question: Chris Smith asks how to create screening to his bow stands without accidentally creating new bedding areas he’ll bump on entry. 42:33 — asked by Chris Smith

• Answer: Don recommends Miscanthus as the best screening cover, since only 3-4 narrow rows are needed, making a strip too thin for deer to bed in. 43:21

Question: Bryce Bowling asks whether it’s rarer today to harvest a quality 8.5-year-old buck or a 200-inch buck, and why. 46:47 — asked by Bryce Bowling

• Answer: Don says a quality 8.5-year-old buck and a 200-inch buck are about equally rare, though a 200-inch buck alone is rarer than an average 8.5-year-old. 47:05

Question: Justin Ray, new to Kentucky hunting, asks whether it’s better to pour supplemental feed on the ground or use a feeder, and what type. 48:26 — asked by Justin Ray

• Answer: Terry says either works but he prefers a feeder to keep feed out of mud, snow, and rain, and away from turkeys. 49:25

Question: Alex Bains asks how many bucks per age class is ideal, and what buck-to-doe ratio to target per 100 acres. 53:10 — asked by Alex Bains

• Answer: Don says there’s no magic number of bucks per age class—he just wants as many yearlings as possible—since every property and surrounding area differs. 56:06
• Answer: Don says buck:doe ratio is largely irrelevant for 99% of land managers whose properties are too small to influence area-wide ratios. 56:35

Question: Terry asks whether a buck’s antler drop is physiologically triggered by a drop in testosterone. 64:06

• Answer: Don confirms antler drop is triggered by falling testosterone, which makes sense since an injured, stressed deer eats less and would have lower testosterone. 64:19

Question: Terry jokingly bets breakfast that there isn’t actually more early antler shedding this year, just more visibility via social media. 64:49

• Answer: Don thinks it’s likely coincidence, since no unusual event this year would explain more bucks shedding early. 65:22

Sponsors this episode

• ASIO Gear

Don recounted speaking at a Michigan fundraiser for an Amish school, arranged through his friend Nathan Buyler, where about 400 attended and his laptop froze mid-presentation, turning the night into a roughly two-hour improvised session with the audience. He and Terry discussed being called a ‘hate group’ by a listener, insisting the show was a ‘truth group.’ They covered antler-drop physiology tied to falling testosterone, Wes Delks’s consulting mishaps, and business updates including NutriCrave’s new bag sizing, Soil Charge’s pilot results, the Dixie Dozen blend, and Miscanthus preorders. Listener questions addressed off-year bucks on managed properties, changing a property’s seasonal reputation, screening with Miscanthus, buck age-class targets, and buck-to-doe ratios, with Don arguing most small properties can’t meaningfully influence area-wide ratios. Terry also marked his upcoming wedding anniversary.

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