Episode #182 - Don’s Buck Management Plan for 2023

Published: 2023-08-13 Episode page Duration: 64 min

In this episode

buck-management

Don plans to shift from culling to broader buck management, shooting more management-age bucks this year than ever before. 23:52
Don plans to shoot at least five bucks off his farm this season as a bare minimum, possibly six or seven, while hosting many guests including his grandsons. 24:39
Terry asks Don what will happen if one of his grandsons is hunting and Babe walks out at 25 yards. 28:08

charity

Terry describes leaving work to help arrange safe, untraceable extended-stay hotel lodging for a pregnant woman fleeing an abusive husband while she worked through the legal system. 3:24

charity-event

Terry announces the fifth annual Hunters Bash charity event on September 12, running from 3 PM to 9 PM. 13:32

food-plots

Don clarifies what he planted early was only a brassica plot-topper mix, not his full fall blend of cereal grains. 7:43
Kyle from Team Radical posted a video agreeing that planting cereal-grain plots too early causes the same over-maturity problem discussed on the show. 10:19
Terry observes that hunters with only bare-dirt food plots feel anxiety about needing to get something planted, driving early planting decisions. 11:31
Don recommends hunters with bare food plots plant soil-building ‘soil charge’ blends in spring to cut weed competition and add nutrients before fall plantings. 11:57

habitat-help

Don shares that Austin has helped him on the farm several times this spring and has quickly proven himself reliable and hardworking. 6:55

habitat-projects

Terry plans to have Austin Razor come help set a tower blind on the farm the next day as part of ongoing habitat projects. 6:22

human-intrusion

A listener asks how to make land improvements and check cameras while still minimizing human intrusion on the property. 43:42

Don argues withholding big-buck information isn’t selfish, comparing it to not being obligated to let a friend ride your new motorcycle just because he wants to. 58:27
Edward Miller asks how much information about big bucks he should keep to himself without being selfish. 57:10

land-access

Don shares that he is losing hunting-permission properties every year and has been unable to find new farms to lease despite years of searching. 54:31

land-acquisition

Don is considering buying a small seven-acre property, believing even a tiny parcel set up properly can hold at least one good buck a year. 54:51
Caleb Miller asks whether it’s better to own 1,000 continuous acres or ten separate 100-acre farms spread across an area. 53:03

land-management

Wes Delks wrote in Whitetail Life magazine that he bought a new farm in Indiana and has already had it for two hunting seasons. 40:32
A listener beginning land management asks what priorities to focus on this summer and fall to set up next year’s success. 38:21

merchandise

Terry announces that preorders for the Chasing Giants TV t-shirt will close within the next week. 16:37
Terry announces ASIO Camo Real World hats arriving on the website this week, with dedicated Chasing Giants ASIO hats coming within a week or two. 63:38

personal-reaction

Terry admits that seeing the abused pregnant woman made his only impulse to get in his truck and go find the man responsible. 3:53

podcast

Terry notes that with roughly 35,000 listeners, he hopes Don’s eventual retirement from the podcast is closer to ten years away than tomorrow. 36:42

property-size

Don explains a bedded buck’s proximity on a small property makes it much easier to hunt than one on a large tract. 56:49

resident-vs-nonresident

Tom asks whether nonresident hunters who pay heavily to hunt are more selective about deer than residents paying little for their tags. 47:53

sanctuary

Terry argues a bedding sanctuary should be treated as a property’s foundation, built before food plots or stands. 45:44

weather

Don states he has never seen a year with both a bad spring and a bad fall growing season. 8:49

youtube

Terry plans for the new YouTube channel’s income to feed back into the Lester’s Feet Foundation, growing the number of families helped. 20:04

Deer activity

babe (sighting) 1:43
Babe (hunt) 22:07
Babe (hunt) 28:08
unnamed buck (management) 30:42
unnamed buck (management) 31:31
unnamed buck (hunt) 32:29

Listener questions

Question: Edward Miller asks how much information about big bucks he should keep to himself without being selfish. 57:10 — asked by Edward Miller

Answer: Don says it is not selfish at all to keep trail-camera and scouting information private, since finding mature bucks takes real personal effort. 58:21

Question: A listener beginning land management asks what priorities to focus on this summer and fall to set up next year’s success. 38:21 — asked by Alex Baines

Answer: Don recommends listing every desired project, completing them all as fast as possible, then backing out and letting the property rest and mature. 39:41

Question: Tom asks whether nonresident hunters who pay heavily to hunt are more selective about deer than residents paying little for their tags. 47:53 — asked by Tom

Answer: Don argues there shouldn’t be a resident-versus-nonresident conflict, since the real divide is between serious hunters and irresponsible ones regardless of residency. 48:34

Question: Caleb Miller asks whether it’s better to own 1,000 continuous acres or ten separate 100-acre farms spread across an area. 53:03 — asked by Caleb Miller

Answer: Don says he’d much rather have ten separate 100-acre farms, since they draw from different deer herds and increase odds of finding a giant. 53:18

Question: A listener asks how to make land improvements and check cameras while still minimizing human intrusion on the property. 43:42

Answer: Don says the key is location, not elimination: establish a sanctuary first and keep intrusive projects like food plots outside of it. 44:14

Question: Terry asks Don what will happen if one of his grandsons is hunting and Babe walks out at 25 yards. 28:08 — asked by Terry

Answer: Don deflects, saying it’s a good question they’ll have to think about. 28:18

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