Episode #163 - The Hype of Chestnut Trees…

Published: 2023-04-02
Episode page
Duration: 68 min

In this episode

bedding

• Don says landowners must get deer, especially mature bucks, bedding on their own property first, even if it means giving up favorite stands. 11:32

chestnuts

• Don recommends buying inexpensive Chinese chestnuts instead of pricier Dunstan chestnuts since he can’t tell any difference between them on his farm. 38:03
• Luke Cooper asked whether Don has personal experience confirming how attractive chestnuts are to deer and other wildlife. 31:13

client-testimonial

• Bobby Worthington told Don via text that an Amish client in Ohio was thrilled with their consulting work after having a bad experience with a previous consultant. 17:15

dna-testing

• Don explains DNA Solutions told him a relatedness test between two random deer antlers, without reference samples, is not a test they can perform. 56:31

dream-team

• Don explains a core reason for creating the Dream Team was to be able to match the right consultant to the right property based on each consultant’s strengths. 20:34

drone-survey

• Don relays that Wes Delks’ client used a thermal drone herd survey and found over 50 deer on his own 100 acres versus only two on all surrounding neighboring properties combined. 7:39

elevated-blind

• Terry plans to install a new elevated blind on his property connected by a Miscanthus tunnel to improve his wind angle relative to the food plots. 25:33

fawn-behavior

• Don states that twin fawns are deliberately bedded apart, sometimes 100 yards or more, so a predator finding one won’t also find the other. 28:16

fencing

• Don says roughly half of his consulting clients now discuss installing fences to keep bucks from leaving their property. 60:06

food-plots

• Terry describes returning to a recent client’s farm and seeing fence sections, apple tree tubes, and a relocated tower blind already set up for a Miscanthus screen per the plan. 16:18

genetics

• Tom Campbell asked whether the new buck Don is chasing, called the Chasing Giant 200, is genetically related to Mel. 54:02

hunting-pressure

• Terry explains their consulting plans are less about a magic habitat fix and mostly about how to hunt with pressure and access, then shaping habitat to exploit that access. 8:58

japan-trip

• Terry announces that two episodes from now he will be traveling in Japan, creating scheduling challenges for the podcast. 65:58

lesters-feet

• Terry announces the Lester’s Feet Foundation board decided to skip holding a raffle in 2023 due to the foundation’s early nonprofit status. 44:26
• Terry announces the foundation board decided to hold a large community event in 2023 instead of a raffle, with youth involved in planning it. 45:50

neighboring-property

• Don emphasizes what surrounds a property matters more than what’s on it, since landowners can change their own land but not the neighboring properties around it. 64:50

persimmon

• Don reports planting persimmon trees and doing tree stand work this week, part of his ongoing spring habitat projects. 23:06

plan-adherence

• Don notes that in one October alone three of his clients shot 200-inch bucks, with two more taking bucks in January and another client also scoring in January. 5:49
• Don urges clients who hire consultants to fully commit to the plan without second-guessing, following it a minimum of three years to see real results. 8:32

prescribed-burn

• Don says he burned his switchgrass field the first morning Austin Raisor was visiting last week, when the wind conditions were perfect. 24:15
• Don argues a chainsaw is a far better tool than prescribed fire for managing Midwest hardwood forests. 39:19
• Terry relays Dr. Strickland’s point that the canopy must first be opened via select harvesting before burning timber, or the burn won’t stimulate understory growth. 40:18
• Don describes a Missouri property where the annually burned side of a logging road had no understory while the unburned side had thick deer cover, despite identical canopy. 41:21
• Luke Cooper asked about burning timber periodically like prairie burns, referencing Don’s past comment about a wood burned too clean for cover. 31:43

quest-competition

• Don reveals a consulting client and his son won the Quest deer competition for the state of Illinois two years ago. 5:16

quietkat

• Terry recounts a Western Kentucky consulting client who ended up buying the demo QuietKat that QuietKat provides for consultants to use and later sell to clients. 15:16

real-estate

• Don flew on a new business partner’s private jet to Ohio with another partner to evaluate properties for their buy-develop-resell business. 2:12

sanctuary

• Don recommends hunting the downwind edge of a sanctuary on every side since mature bucks run that edge, especially during the rut, and rotating stands with the wind. 62:09

sanctuary-placement

• An anonymous Missouri listener asked whether sanctuaries are best placed in the center, exterior, or a combination on a property. 58:48

scheduling

• Terry plans to book more consulting properties between Christmas and New Year’s and in early January in states where seasons are over, so he isn’t working as late into spring. 21:05

supplemental-feeding

• Kevin Boyer asked whether feeding deer before fawns drop causes does to have fawns near feeders, drawing coyotes to hunt fawns close by. 26:46

switchgrass

• Don advises against diversity pockets of trees or shrubs inside switchgrass fields because fires needed to maintain the switchgrass will destroy those pockets. 52:03
• Don says he personally spent thousands of dollars on large trees planted inside switchgrass diversity pockets that he thought would survive fire, and they did not. 53:10
• Isaac Nelson asked whether he should leave diversity pockets of cover in his switchgrass fields, questioning popular YouTube advice. 51:04

tree-planting

• Don plans to plant roughly five to six hundred tree seedlings on his new 40-acre property this week if weather allows. 65:08

tree-stand

• Terry plans to auger in a telephone pole among short cedar trees on his property because the cedars are too small to hold a ladder stand. 24:47

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (harvest) 5:16
• unnamed buck (harvest) 55:38
• Smokey (history) 56:40
• Mel (history) 56:40
• Trump (history) 56:57

Listener questions

Question: Kevin Boyer asked whether feeding deer before fawns drop causes does to have fawns near feeders, drawing coyotes to hunt fawns close by. 26:46 — asked by Kevin Boyer

• Answer: Don called the theory internet garbage, saying nature equips does to place fawns safely rather than near feeders. 27:33
• Answer: Terry added that predators simply adapt and find hunting opportunities regardless of feeding, so the feeder-fawn theory doesn’t hold up. 29:07

Question: Luke Cooper asked whether Don has personal experience confirming how attractive chestnuts are to deer and other wildlife. 31:13 — asked by Luke Cooper

• Answer: Don said he researched chestnuts for a North American Whitetail article, interviewing chestnut experts from the University of Missouri and Ohio State University. 32:33
• Answer: Don recounted squirrels sniffing out and stealing every chestnut he had planted in a nursery greenhouse, proving how attractive chestnuts are. 35:04

Question: Luke Cooper asked about burning timber periodically like prairie burns, referencing Don’s past comment about a wood burned too clean for cover. 31:43 — asked by Luke Cooper

• Answer: Don said he prefers a chainsaw over fire for Midwest hardwoods, though fire may have more value in southern pinewoods. 39:19
• Answer: Terry added that Dr. Strickland stressed the canopy must be opened via select harvesting before burning, or the fire won’t stimulate growth. 40:18

Question: Isaac Nelson asked whether he should leave diversity pockets of cover in his switchgrass fields, questioning popular YouTube advice. 51:04 — asked by Isaac Nelson

• Answer: Don said diversity pockets sound good in theory but fail because switchgrass must be burned regularly and the pockets can’t survive that fire. 52:06

Question: Tom Campbell asked whether the new buck Don is chasing, called the Chasing Giant 200, is genetically related to Mel. 54:02 — asked by Tom Campbell

• Answer: Don said there’s likely some relation given the shared genetic pool for big frames, long main beams, and wide spreads on his property. 54:42
• Answer: Terry offered his own take, seeing more frame similarities to Smokey than to Mel in the buck being chased this year. 56:40

Question: An anonymous Missouri listener asked whether sanctuaries are best placed in the center, exterior, or a combination on a property. 58:48

• Answer: Don said the ideal setup is a sanctuary on one side you can hunt the perimeter of, pulling deer across a transition zone to the other side. 61:05
• Answer: Terry added that knowing what neighboring landowners are doing is a vital piece of deciding where to pull, push, or block deer. 61:47

Terry said their consulting plans focus less on a magic habitat fix and more on hunting with pressure and access, then shaping habitat around it. Don stressed getting mature bucks bedding on the client’s own land, even if it means giving up favorite stands, noting neighboring land matters more than the property itself. They cited Wes Delks’ client whose thermal drone survey found over 50 deer on his 100 acres versus two on all surrounding land. Don argued a chainsaw beats prescribed fire for Midwest hardwoods, since Terry relayed Dr. Strickland’s point that canopy must open before burning helps growth. Don also warned against diversity pockets in switchgrass fields since required burns destroy them. Listeners asked about sanctuary placement, feeder-linked coyote predation, and whether Don’s Chasing Giant 200 buck related to Mel, with Terry instead seeing similarities to Smokey. Terry announced the foundation would hold a community event instead of a 2023 raffle.

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