Episode #189 - Season Opener and Tough Questions

Published: 2023-10-01
Episode page
Duration: 63 min

In this episode

antler-growth

• Jared Miller asks how much rut-related stress and buck-to-doe ratio affects a buck’s antler growth the following year. 17:05

apple-orders

• Don clarifies Jay’s new apple-tree website isn’t ready to accept orders yet, so there is no preorder list despite heavy interest. 5:35

buck-contest

• Terry states he personally will not participate in the buck contest since deer hunting success is a personal journey not meant to be compared between hunters. 30:14

career-change

• Terry announces he’ll remain at his current employer through mid-October before starting his new job on the 16th. 60:57
• Terry plans to give up most of this deer season to focus on his career transition, prioritizing his family’s long-term success. 61:30

consulting

• Don recounts turning down a young man’s request for consulting help this week after reviewing an aerial photo of his property. 26:45
• Jimbo Malpin asks what percentage of Don’s consulting clients could succeed if he simply marked the correct tree, wind direction, and access. 21:12

dealer-event

• Real World is hosting a dealer event on March 4-5 with Doctor Strickland as the keynote speaker. 6:49

deer-management

• Carter Lang asks whether letting a grandson shoot the buck Babe could negatively affect the boy’s future passion for hunting. 34:21

deer-research

• Don says Doctor Strickland has produced some of the best deer research in the world yet explains it simply enough for anyone to understand. 44:45

family-health

• Don shares that he is taking his daughter to a chemotherapy treatment on Monday. 58:52

family-hunting

• Terry recounts that after his daughter Caitlin shot a mature buck early in her hunting career, she still loved hunting but became much pickier about which deer to shoot. 37:48

food-plot-prep

• Michael Myers asks whether deer-prep work like clearing lanes and setting stands is better done after dark, since coon hunters claim their presence doesn’t bother deer. 13:05

food-plots

• Dan Branham asks whether he should worry about ‘doe factories’ and whether to plant spring or fall food plots. 41:35

hunting-motivation

• Jordan Taylor asks for advice on keeping his hunting goals high after friends and family pressure him about not killing another deer since his once-in-a-lifetime buck. 28:31

hunting-plans

• Don plans to skip hunting his own farm this season while scouting other spots for a chance at a decent buck. 59:56

lesters-feet

• Terry reports the pregnant woman previously helped by Lester’s Feet is now safe with her own home and a supportive job. 46:18
• Terry announces Lester’s Feet is helping the Wolf family from Louisiana, whose child is receiving extensive medical treatment in Houston. 47:50

listener-questions

• Don and Terry decide to spend the next two weeks answering as many backlogged listener questions as possible. 1:56

partnership

• Chasing Giants announces a new partnership with Brenton USA, whose team will join episode 190 next week. 3:25

podcast-milestone

• The podcast has surpassed 1,500,000 unique downloads. 15:54

prayer-request

• Don asks listeners to continue praying for his daughter as she undergoes chemotherapy. 59:39

property-access

• Terry states that without adequate property access, no gimmick or consultant can turn a hunting property into something successful. 26:10

quietkat-discount

• QuietKat is offering 40% off its Apex and Pioneer e-bike models exclusively for Real World’s consulting clients and Whitetail Master Academy members. 32:24

sanctuary-design

• Don recommends against designing properties around multiple small sanctuaries, arguing one large sanctuary works better since bucks relate to it more. 55:20

screening

• Drew Peterson asks for recommendations on using bulldozed berms with perennial grasses as a screen between fields and food plots. 48:54

shooting-lanes

• Terry asks, apart from coon hunters, whether there’s any benefit to clearing shooting lanes and setting stands at night versus in daylight. 14:34

suppressors

• Terry plans upcoming suppressor-related work in Kentucky with straight-wall-cartridge-style firearms. 4:56

youtube-content

• Jimbo Malpin asks what percentage of deer hunting properties are ruined or set back by bad advice and improvements to the wrong areas. 20:26

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (harvest) 10:05
• Babe (management) 36:33
• Babe (trail-camera) 37:00
• unnamed buck (sighting) 38:12

Listener questions

Question: Michael Myers asks whether deer-prep work like clearing lanes and setting stands is better done after dark, since coon hunters claim their presence doesn’t bother deer. 13:05 — asked by Michael Myers

• Answer: Don says coon hunters’ dogs are the worst possible intrusion on a deer property, regardless of whether it’s dark or light. 13:37

Question: Terry asks, apart from coon hunters, whether there’s any benefit to clearing shooting lanes and setting stands at night versus in daylight. 14:34

• Answer: Don recommends doing shooting-lane work in daylight, but only right after season closes so the pressure is forgotten by fall. 15:17

Question: Jared Miller asks how much rut-related stress and buck-to-doe ratio affects a buck’s antler growth the following year. 17:05 — asked by Jared Miller

• Answer: Don says the rut has little bearing on next year’s antler growth; nutrition, especially through late winter, matters far more. 17:34

Question: Jimbo Malpin asks what percentage of deer hunting properties are ruined or set back by bad advice and improvements to the wrong areas. 20:26 — asked by Jimbo Malpin

• Answer: Don recommends judging online hunting advice by the actual hunting success and proof of the person giving it. 22:17

Question: Jimbo Malpin asks what percentage of Don’s consulting clients could succeed if he simply marked the correct tree, wind direction, and access. 21:12 — asked by Jimbo Malpin

• Answer: Don says his most successful consulting clients are simply the ones who follow his plan most closely. 23:46

Question: Jordan Taylor asks for advice on keeping his hunting goals high after friends and family pressure him about not killing another deer since his once-in-a-lifetime buck. 28:31 — asked by Jordan Taylor

• Answer: Don advises Jordan to hunt for his own fun and not base his goals on what anyone else thinks. 28:40

Question: Carter Lang asks whether letting a grandson shoot the buck Babe could negatively affect the boy’s future passion for hunting. 34:21 — asked by Carter Lang

• Answer: Don says the grandsons will get to shoot Babe if he steps out, since Don himself won’t pass on the buck and expects them to follow the same rule. 36:33

Question: Dan Branham asks whether he should worry about ‘doe factories’ and whether to plant spring or fall food plots. 41:35 — asked by Dan Branham

• Answer: Don dismisses the ‘doe factory’ concept as marketing nonsense and recommends having food available on the property year-round. 43:48

Question: Drew Peterson asks for recommendations on using bulldozed berms with perennial grasses as a screen between fields and food plots. 48:54 — asked by Drew Peterson

• Answer: Don recommends simply planting Miscanthus instead of building a berm, calling it the best available screen. 50:05

Terry laid out plans to spend his final months at his current job before starting a new one October 16, saying he’d give up most of the season for his career move, while Don said he’d skip hunting his own farm to scout other properties. The episode focused on listener questions Don answered: coon-hunting dogs disturbing deer regardless of light, food-plot timing over ‘doe factory’ worries, Miscanthus as a screening alternative to berms, rut stress having little effect on next year’s antlers compared to winter nutrition, and judging online advice by the proven success of whoever gives it. Terry said property access matters more than any consultant’s gimmicks, recalling he’d turned down a young man’s consulting request after seeing his land. Terry and Don discussed the buck Babe, agreeing grandsons could shoot him if given the chance, and Terry noted his daughter Caitlin grew choosier about which deer to shoot after an early mature buck. Don asked for continued prayers as his daughter began chemotherapy.

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