Episode #172 - Don is really worried about EHD in 2023

Published: 2023-06-04
Episode page
Duration: 69 min

In this episode

asio-gear

• Is Joe Miles really considering partnering with Target to add a tucking line to ASIO Gear? 48:23

bow-sight

• Don has used an Eradicator bow sight, made by a now-defunct Michigan company, for about twenty-five years but recently bought a new sight. 63:49
• Don explains the new bow sight’s marketing claimed it’s perfect for older hunters with failing eyesight, which is what convinced him to buy it. 64:43

bud-light-boycott

• Terry notes companies still take controversial cultural stances despite backlash, observing Kroger had marked Bud Light cases down to $6.99, and says he’s glad people are standing up for their beliefs. 7:36

business-philosophy

• Don states he sells the same products he uses on his own farm, and would switch to a competitor’s product if he found something better. 21:44

captive-deer-industry

• Terry relays reports that captive deer industry operators force-fed EHD-positive deer that survived, but notes wild deer lack that controlled intake. 19:26

clover-planting

• Kevin asks whether to plant clover now at the end of May, or wait until fall or next spring, for his two three-acre plots. 47:54

deer-nutrition

• Terry relays Doctor Strickland’s point that deer regulate their diet, seeking out whatever specific nutrient they need at a given time of year. 43:24

dixie-dozen

• Will Real World continue to offer the Dixie Dozen blend? 51:07

dnr-lobbying

• Don mentions two young men, Jared and Jake, who both work in the outdoor industry and have expressed interest in organizing efforts to change DNR deer regulations. 60:37
• Terry offers that if listeners organize a fundraiser to hire a lobbyist for DNR regulation change, the podcast will help spread the word. 61:28
• Terry states that Don Higgins should remain outside the scope of any listener-led effort to lobby the DNR for regulation changes. 61:41
• Don argues that changing Illinois deer regulations will require hiring a paid lobbyist to push legislation, since neither hunters nor DNR meetings alone will work. 54:45

dnr-politics

• Don states the Illinois DNR director has no outdoor or conservation background, calling her a political appointee with a nursing degree. 55:33

dnr-regulation

• How could Illinois change the deer herd’s sex ratio through how it issues hunting tags? 54:13

drought

• Don says the 2012 drought was the worst he’s ever seen and also caused the worst EHD outbreak he’s witnessed. 15:00
• Terry describes driving through a severely dry area near Findlay, Ohio, passing Ray and Aiden’s business, where they’re worried about newly planted fruit trees getting enough water. 20:26
• Don observes that conditions on June 1 are as dry as they’d typically be in mid-August, with no rain in the ten-day forecast. 21:07

ehd

• Don recalls losing about 75% of the deer around him during the 2012 EHD outbreak, with some nearby areas hit even harder. 15:11

ehd-prevention

• Don recommends feeding Expect Healthy Deer technology at least thirty days before an EHD outbreak rather than waiting until deer start dying. 16:45
• Don urges hunters to commit fully to the Expect Healthy Deer program, starting quickly and going all-in, rather than doing it halfway. 17:29
• Don explains the Expect Healthy Deer technology helps prevent EHD by repelling the midges that spread it and by boosting the immune system. 17:02

fawn

• Don nearly hit a fawn while mowing hay; noticing deer beds and a reluctant doe, he slowed his mower and avoided striking a week-old fawn hidden in the tall grass. 2:41

fawn-bedding

• Terry observes that does bed fawns in spots they perceive as safe from predators, even when those locations are close to roads, barns, and cattle. 4:22

fence

• Don explains the eight-foot fence around the field was built to protect trees from deer when it was a nursery, and he kept it afterward to separate cattle from the woods. 4:47

hay

• Don filled his barn with hay from his own field plus purchased trailer loads, needing to store overflow bales in his shed to have enough for winter. 5:32

joke

• Terry jokingly suggests offering a free ‘Obama phone’ for every doe harvested as an incentive. 59:58 (light moment)

mathews

• Terry says Don will receive a new Mathews bow in September as an early release ahead of the official November 2023 release. 65:49

maximizer

• Don says Maximizer mineral contains 20 different nutrients compared to the five or six typically found in most competing mineral products. 45:04
• Don says Real World has roughly twice as much money invested per bag in Maximizer as competitors do in their minerals, based on what’s actually in the bag. 46:35

mineral-digestibility

• Is it true deer only digest 20% of Maximizer mineral while a competitor’s mineral is 90% digestible, or is that just marketing hype? 38:59

mineral-licks

• Don recommends setting out multiple mineral licks rather than just one, since deer need to ingest the product almost daily in sufficient amounts. 18:09

mineral-ratios

• Don explains zinc and copper must be in a four-to-one ratio for deer to properly utilize them, a ratio built into Maximizer’s formulation. 46:01

nutricrave

• Terry announces NutriCrave deer corn will be available for southern customers around the beginning of October, pending drying and packaging. 52:12

personal-growth

• Don says he has really mellowed out over the years, citing Todd Ewing and Al Foster as people who could confirm it. 62:08

podcast-distribution

• Don suggests posting the podcast on the Whitetail Master Academy website as a free, commercial-free alternative for listeners who don’t want the YouTube ad. 10:34

soybean-plot

• Kevin asks if a several-acre soybean plot is worthwhile in an area with almost no other crops or food plots nearby. 48:08

summer-scouting

• Don shares that he looks forward to summer evenings glassing fields for bachelor groups of bucks even more than the November rut, since summer holds more unknowns. 66:58

trail-camera-prep

• Terry plans to add more external battery packs for trail cameras, using four-wheeler batteries or solar panels, ahead of the coming trail camera season. 62:47

trail-cameras

• Don calls the trail camera the single biggest game changer he’s seen in forty-seven years of deer hunting. 37:49
• If trail cameras had never existed, how and when would you scout for a mature buck and go about hunting him? 31:00

tree-watering

• How do you make sure newly planted fruit trees get enough soil moisture until their roots grow down and become self-sufficient? 23:18

whitetail-master-academy

• Terry announces Don has been posting updates on the Whitetail Master Academy website about a specific buck with a chance to break 200 inches. 67:36

youtube-algorithm

• Terry states YouTube has started not just declining to recommend their podcast to hunting-interested viewers but is actively suppressing and hiding it. 8:31

youtube-monetization

• Terry proposes testing a single skippable ad before the intro for a couple weeks to see if it helps YouTube’s algorithm favor the podcast. 9:36
• Terry clarifies the proposed YouTube ad test isn’t meant to generate revenue for them. 11:12

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (sighting) 2:41
• unnamed buck (harvest) 31:52
• unnamed buck (harvest) 47:44
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 67:46

Listener questions

Question: How do you make sure newly planted fruit trees get enough soil moisture until their roots grow down and become self-sufficient? 23:18 — asked by Austin

• Answer: Don recommends deeply watering new trees only twice a month, on the 1st and 15th, fully drenching the entire root ball each time so roots are forced to grow outward seeking moisture. 25:01

Question: If trail cameras had never existed, how and when would you scout for a mature buck and go about hunting him? 31:00 — asked by Lone Fry

• Answer: Don says before trail cameras he scouted heavily after season for shed antlers and big rubs, then spent summer evenings glassing back roads and secluded soybean and alfalfa fields for bachelor groups. 33:10

Question: Is it true deer only digest 20% of Maximizer mineral while a competitor’s mineral is 90% digestible, or is that just marketing hype? 38:59

• Answer: Don says no other deer mineral marketed to hunters is also bought by the pallet by captive deer breeders for their pens, which he sees as proof of Maximizer’s quality. 41:38

Question: Kevin asks whether to plant clover now at the end of May, or wait until fall or next spring, for his two three-acre plots. 47:54 — asked by Kevin Tolbert

• Answer: Don says it’s too late this spring and recommends waiting until around September 1st, since he’s had far better luck establishing perennial legumes like clover in fall than spring. 50:07

Question: Kevin asks if a several-acre soybean plot is worthwhile in an area with almost no other crops or food plots nearby. 48:08 — asked by Kevin Tolbert

• Answer: Don says a bigger food plot has more pulling power to draw deer from miles around, especially where other food sources are scarce. 50:36
• Answer: Don says he would definitely plant a giant soybean plot in that situation. 50:59

Question: Is Joe Miles really considering partnering with Target to add a tucking line to ASIO Gear? 48:23 — asked by Kevin Tolbert

• Answer: Don jokingly bets Joe Miles won’t have ASIO Camo sold in Target. 48:34
• Answer: Terry jokes the only ‘tucking pouch’ on ASIO gear would be for a rangefinder. 48:51

Question: Will Real World continue to offer the Dixie Dozen blend? 51:07

• Answer: Don confirms they’ll keep offering Dixie Dozen and says they need more dealers throughout the South. 51:14

Question: How could Illinois change the deer herd’s sex ratio through how it issues hunting tags? 54:13 — asked by Jeff

• Answer: Don says moving the gun season to after the rut, like Iowa and Ohio do, reduces young buck vulnerability and would help improve the sex ratio. 58:03
• Answer: Don says while earn-a-buck could help in some regions, he would not support it statewide given Illinois’ diverse deer densities. 59:54

Sponsors this episode

• Mathews Archery

Don recounted nearly mowing over a hidden fawn, prompting discussion of how does bed fawns in spots that feel safe even near roads and barns. He described the severe 2012 drought and EHD outbreak, in which he lost about 75% of nearby deer, and urged hunters to start Expect Healthy Deer mineral at least thirty days before an outbreak and commit fully. He detailed Maximizer mineral’s 20 nutrients and its four-to-one zinc-copper ratio, claiming roughly twice the investment per bag versus competitors. Terry raised YouTube suppressing the podcast and floated a trial pre-intro ad. Listener questions covered watering new fruit trees, clover timing, a large soybean plot’s value, and Illinois regulation ideas like a post-rut gun season. Don also mentioned tracking a buck with a chance to break 200 inches and reflected on scouting before trail cameras existed.

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