Episode #181 - What is new with Asio Gear?

Published: 2023-08-06
Episode page
Duration: 81 min

In this episode

africa-hunting

• Joe Miles took his son to Africa, sat at a waterhole one afternoon and saw nine species of big game, and called it a magical bowhunter’s paradise. 2:12
• Joe Miles recounted that his tracker lit Cape Buffalo dung on fire as cover scent, and the smell stuck to his backpack and upset the people who flew home with him. 3:48

antler-scoring

• Don estimated Babe would score around 180 inches this year, down from the mid-180s last year, with more mass but fewer points. 9:06
• Terry stated that any four-by-four buck scoring over 160 inches is considered a toad. 10:28
• Don mentioned he has another clean four-by-four buck with no stickers that he expects to score around 170 inches. 10:46
• Joe asked whether Don said the buck was a 180-inch eight-point, four-by-four. 9:46
• Terry asked whether the buck has around 10 inches of nontypical antler. 10:12

asio-gear

• Joe explained that ASIO 2.0 uses heat-transfer printed high-definition camo on deer-facing panels of the garment for maximum visual quality. 18:34
• Joe announced ASIO’s new base layers: a 150 GSM thin pair and a heavier 290 GSM pair blending merino and synthetic fibers. 24:52
• Joe explained that stacking the new late-season vest over the Sherpa jacket lets hunters comfortably wear it down into the teens. 27:10
• Joe announced a new nonmetallic Velcro belt, an idea he learned from SEAL team buddies, as a new ASIO product. 29:16

asio-partnership

• Terry announced Chasing Giants received a shipment of ASIO hats bearing Real World Wildlife Products logos. 11:52
• Terry announced that within a couple weeks, ASIO hats would also carry a Chasing Giants logo. 12:06
• Terry noted that ASIO built a unique ordering pathway for Amish and Mennonite customers, including order forms in Busy Beaver magazine and phone-in ordering. 15:01
• Don observed that ASIO camo went from barely present in his Whitetail Master Class property-tour photos last year to being everywhere this year. 16:26

bait-regulations

• Tyler Gehrig from Danville, Kansas asked whether Don and Joe would change their target buck size if out-of-state hunters and bait piles degraded deer quality on his property. 41:06

buck-aging

• Justin from Wild Rose, Wisconsin asked Don and Terry how to guesstimate a buck’s age without prior camera history. 58:16

crossbow-hunting

• Don blamed the legalization of crossbows for the entire archery season as the last straw that gutted gun-season hunting participation. 43:23

deer-cooperative

• Tom from Owenton, Kentucky asked whether to form a deer cooperative with neighbors or take a lone-wolf approach. 52:02

deer-herd-decline

• Don said the Illinois deer herd’s quality has declined sharply, citing 20,000 trail-camera photos from seven cameras with no decent bucks. 43:06

hunting-humor

• Don joked about having a bathroom accident in the weeds while hunting, quipping about needing the wind to be right. 3:21 (light moment)

moon-guide

• Joe Miles said he eventually sold his half of the moon guide business to Adam, who now runs it entirely on his own. 49:36
• Jeff Sparks asked how Joe, a former moon guide owner, actually uses the red moon given he hunts almost every week. 47:09

pro-staff-shirt

• Terry announced a $25 Chasing Giants pro-staff shirt available at curryinc.com, with proceeds going to Lester’s Feet. 80:13

trail-camera-footage

• Terry asked how far away Don was when he got the footage of Babe. 9:31

trail-camera-placement

• Terry relayed Wes Delks’ advice to design trail camera spots as deliberately as stand locations. 72:03
• Garrett Stoops asked whether getting every buck on one trail camera requires an inside corner placement, a rope scrape, or a mineral site. 65:19

travel-hunting

• Terry noted that Joe Miles hunts 26 states, spending far more time in the tree than Don and Terry do. 22:48

whitetail-master-academy

• Joe Miles recommended the Whitetail Master Academy as one of the best tools he uses often, calling it unique and different. 76:52

Deer activity

• Babe (history) 5:53
• Babe (sighting) 6:59
• Babe (trail-camera) 7:59
• Babe (history) 8:38
• unnamed buck (management) 11:05
• Babe (trail-camera) 73:58

Listener questions

Question: Terry asked how far away Don was when he got the footage of Babe. 9:31

• Answer: Don said he filmed from a tripod, about 100 yards away, so the footage was steady and really good. 9:39

Question: Joe asked whether Don said the buck was a 180-inch eight-point, four-by-four. 9:46

• Answer: Don clarified that counting a double G2 and two extra stickers on one base, the buck would gross about $1.80 (180 inches). 9:51

Question: Terry asked whether the buck has around 10 inches of nontypical antler. 10:12

• Answer: Don said counting the double G2 as nontypical, the buck has more than 10 inches of nontypical antler. 10:20

Question: Tyler Gehrig from Danville, Kansas asked whether Don and Joe would change their target buck size if out-of-state hunters and bait piles degraded deer quality on his property. 41:06 — asked by Tyler Gehrig

• Answer: Joe noted Kansas’s DNR is considering banning all baiting statewide, which he said he’d welcome. 42:03
• Answer: Joe added that eliminating baiting, while keeping post-season supplemental feeding, would improve deer herds a lot. 42:32
• Answer: Don advised that hunters facing declining deer quality should find solutions rather than make excuses, including moving to better properties. 44:47

Question: Jeff Sparks asked how Joe, a former moon guide owner, actually uses the red moon given he hunts almost every week. 47:09 — asked by Jeff Sparks

• Answer: Joe explained hunting pressure matters most, then weather, and then the moon, which he says can have an impact based on his anecdotal experience. 50:45

Question: Tom from Owenton, Kentucky asked whether to form a deer cooperative with neighbors or take a lone-wolf approach. 52:02 — asked by Tom

• Answer: Don said he prefers the lone-wolf approach, letting neighbors push bucks onto his property rather than sharing management plans. 55:06

Question: Justin from Wild Rose, Wisconsin asked Don and Terry how to guesstimate a buck’s age without prior camera history. 58:16 — asked by Justin

• Answer: Don explained fall is much easier for aging bucks than summer, since mature bucks’ necks and bodies fill out dramatically. 59:22
• Answer: Joe added that hunters should shoot whatever buck matches their own priorities, regardless of what others think about its age. 62:23

Question: Garrett Stoops asked whether getting every buck on one trail camera requires an inside corner placement, a rope scrape, or a mineral site. 65:19 — asked by Garrett Stoops

• Answer: Don said one camera can catch every buck only where terrain funnels deer through a chokepoint; nothing works 100% of the time. 68:52
• Answer: Joe added it depends on the property’s size and layout, citing his sprawling South Carolina lease versus a small fenced Illinois tract. 71:40

Don shared footage of Babe, filmed steady from about 100 yards on a tripod, estimating the buck would score around 180 inches this year, down from the mid-180s last year but with more mass and, counting a double G2 and stickers, over 10 inches of nontypical antler. Joe Miles recounted an Africa bowhunting trip with his son, including a tracker using burning Cape Buffalo dung as cover scent. The group covered ASIO gear updates: new base layers, a nonmetallic Velcro belt, heat-transfer camo, and expanding availability through Amish and Mennonite ordering channels. Listener questions addressed declining deer quality from out-of-state pressure and baiting, with Joe noting Kansas might ban baiting statewide; Don’s lone-wolf stance on deer cooperatives; aging bucks without camera history; and trail camera placement for catching every buck on property. Don also blamed crossbow legalization for hurting gun-season participation, citing a steep local decline reflected in 20,000 trail-camera photos with no quality bucks.

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