Episode #190 - Prep for Youth Season - Green Light on Babe

Published: 2023-10-08
Episode page
Duration: 92 min

In this episode

antler-body-tradeoff

• A giant-framed buck is at a disadvantage in fights because his wide rack prevents him from locking antlers effectively with narrower bucks. 80:05
• Chris Goederman asks whether a mature buck with noticeably larger antlers acts differently from a same-age buck with inferior antlers. 78:37

babe

• Terry asks if Babe still beds in the same north-facing switchgrass hill above the drainage ditch where the farm’s biggest buck lives every year. 6:26

bachelor-groups

• Justin Hughes asks whether bachelor-group bucks in summer tend to stick with other bucks of the same age. 68:31

blind-setup

• Terry notes the hunting blinds are seven-by-seven-foot box blinds, which will need to accommodate three people for each grandson’s hunt. 5:09
• Don has hunted three people together out of the seven-by-seven blinds before and says it isn’t as crowded as it might seem. 5:20
• Terry jokes that Steve Shields should wear a tree saddle and hang from an eye bolt in the blind roof to leave the grandsons all the floor space. 5:40 (light moment)

buck-management

• If a three-year-old buck with an eight-point rack walks out, would Don still tell the boys not to shoot it? 11:49

colton-james

• Colton James wrote and performed a song about breast cancer, which Don learned about through Jeff Davis. 83:13
• Colton James was headed to Nashville to record with Toby Keith on something special for veterans. 84:17

community

• Terry notes Ty Miller contributes to the Chasing Giants TV channel’s Sunday Night Prayer Time. 54:20

community-support

• Don says over a thousand people have reached out to him since announcing his daughter’s cancer diagnosis. 82:24
• Don says not a day goes by without a dozen people reaching out to ask about his daughter or offer encouragement. 87:51

coyotes

• Jay Yoder asks whether Don shoots a coyote that shows up while deer hunting, risking spooking deer, or leaves it alone. 59:19

encouragement

• Terry encourages listeners to share the song with anyone they know struggling with breast cancer as encouragement. 87:05

exclusive-content

• Terry announces the Colton James song they’re about to play is not available anywhere else on YouTube, to their knowledge. 86:10

family

• Don calls it one of the biggest blessings of his life that his mother-in-law raised his wife in a Christian home. 53:35
• Don’s mother-in-law took his wife Robin to church three times a week from the time she was a little girl. 53:43

family-health

• Terry asks for listeners’ prayers and patience, explaining they are recording early due to health complications with his mother. 1:08
• Don shares that since announcing his daughter Andrea’s cancer diagnosis, the outpouring of support from listeners has been unbelievable. 81:44

family-hunt

• Don plans for Walker to hunt with his dad for his first deer while Steve Shields videos, and Don will hunt with his older grandson Wyatt. 4:25
• Don notes his grandson Walker has never shot a buck or deer, and stresses it’s important that Walker’s dad be with him for his first deer. 4:13

food-plots

• Don says NutriCrave corn offers about 1.5 times the protein, three times the fat, and over twice the calories of typical neighboring corn, giving deer more nutrition. 58:01

friendship

• Don recounts that his friend Jeff Davis, an Ohio outfitter, connected him with country singer Colton James this week. 82:31

future-plans

• Don says he and Colton James plan to get together and go hunting in the future. 86:07

gear

• The team changed strategy for the close-range youth hunt by mounting a Vortex holographic sight on the Brenton firearm. 12:55

guest-announcement

• Terry announces the podcast’s second segment features Nick Carpenter from Brenton USA, a firearm manufacturer partnered with the show that the boys will use this week. 1:55

harvest-history

• Don recalls Joey Buck, which he shot in 2020, scored 185 inches but only field dressed 171 pounds—a small-bodied deer with an unremarkable rack. 80:34

hunt-plan

• Don expects at least one of his two target bucks, Babe and a big eight pointer, to be shot this weekend and would be surprised otherwise. 3:18

hunt-prediction

• Don predicts both boys will shoot a buck this weekend, though it’s uncertain which specific bucks will step out first. 12:17

hunt-strategy

• Don plans to skip Saturday morning of opening weekend and instead hunt evenings, since he prefers evening hunts early in the season. 2:24
• Terry recommends not overplaying a well-patterned buck and instead sitting back conservatively rather than getting aggressive on the first hunt. 7:26
• Don argues more mature bucks are saved by hunters getting aggressive, and conservative, thoughtful hunting of mature bucks is like chess versus checkers. 7:34

hunting-pressure

• Steven Taylor asks whether deer are harder to hunt and react differently to habitat improvements in highly pressured states like Michigan. 62:29

joke

• Don jokes Steve Shields might already carry a ‘tree suck’ on his back and expects surprising footage from him. 5:53 (light moment)

listener-spotlight

• Don says Ty Miller runs a group called Small Acre Hunting and has his own podcast worth checking out. 54:53

marriage

• Don shares that when his wife drives and needs fuel, he gets out and pumps the gas himself rather than making her do it. 50:28
• Terry says no trophy deer is worth sacrificing his marriage or the values he’s teaching his kids. 53:13
• Ty Miller asks Don and Terry to share their thoughts on husbands making their wives the butt of jokes during hunting season. 45:47

maternal-aggression

• Terry theorizes that after does push buck fawns away in maternal aggression, those young yearlings transition by hanging out with older bucks in bachelor groups. 70:16

mature-buck-behavior

• Don explains a mature buck that hears does blow after being bumped won’t investigate but will avoid that area for a couple days, sometimes slipping through after dark. 9:21

merchandise

• Terry announces new T-shirts are on order, Brenton is being added as a sponsor, and shirts will keep the ASIO camo pattern on the Chasing Giants logo. 81:14

motivation

• Don says the only real excuse for not chasing big bucks is lacking the gumption to go find a place to hunt them. 67:36

promotion

• Don announces QuietKat offered a 40% discount code for Whitetail Master Academy members, Whitetail Master Class attendees, and past consulting clients. 76:07
• Terry says a 40% QuietKat promo code is available for the Apex 1,000 or Pioneer 750 e-bikes to qualifying members of the three outlets. 77:53

property-management

• Jake Justice asks how to approach managing a property in a neighborhood where surrounding farms are also heavily managed for whitetails. 55:52

sanctuary

• Don recalls his friend Steve Lackmeyer kept 40 acres in the middle of his Illinois farm completely off-limits to entry year-round, even during shed season. 57:17

sponsor-promotion

• Terry announces a special limited-time promotion from ASIO that Joe Miles wants listeners to know about. 1:36

timber-management

• Terry likens thinning CRP trees to buck management—letting the individuals with the most potential thrive. 75:27
• Paul Sarita asks at what age or after how many years Don recommends thinning trees in a CRP tree planting. 71:42

timing

• Don explains that hunting before the rut means bucks move slower and less erratically, leading to more ethical shot opportunities for the young hunters. 13:45

youth-hunt

• How will Don make the youth hunt a learning experience for his grandsons—showing them deer pictures and teaching about buck management? 9:54

youth-season

• Terry says Illinois’ out-of-state youth season tag is likely cheaper than a resident Indiana hunting license, making Illinois’ youth season a good value. 15:00

Deer activity

• Babe (trail-camera) 2:37
• Smokey (history) 2:45
• Mel (history) 2:45
• the Giant eight point (trail-camera) 3:59
• Babe (hunt) 7:03
• Joey Buck (harvest) 80:34
• unnamed buck (harvest) 80:53

Listener questions

Question: Terry asks if Babe still beds in the same north-facing switchgrass hill above the drainage ditch where the farm’s biggest buck lives every year. 6:26

• Answer: Don confirms it and says there’s a good chance Babe won’t make it through the weekend. 7:03

Question: How will Don make the youth hunt a learning experience for his grandsons—showing them deer pictures and teaching about buck management? 9:54

• Answer: Don says they’ll show the boys pictures so they know exactly where to aim on the deer. 10:03
• Answer: Don says they’ll also talk about management, explaining at least 4 bucks on the farm remain off-limits this year. 10:45

Question: If a three-year-old buck with an eight-point rack walks out, would Don still tell the boys not to shoot it? 11:49

• Answer: Don says no; with only a three-day season, they won’t shoot yearling bucks, but a good three-year-old is fair game. 11:58

Question: Ty Miller asks Don and Terry to share their thoughts on husbands making their wives the butt of jokes during hunting season. 45:47 — asked by Ty Miller

• Answer: Don says he doesn’t understand why guys would want to make jokes about their wives. 47:55
• Answer: Don says the last thing he wants is for his grandsons to hear him bashing his wife, even jokingly, since he’s setting an example. 48:46

Question: Jake Justice asks how to approach managing a property in a neighborhood where surrounding farms are also heavily managed for whitetails. 55:52 — asked by Jake Justice

• Answer: Don explains that on his own farm, where few neighbors manage for big deer, it’s easy to differentiate his property from theirs. 56:36
• Answer: Don recommends taking every management factor—especially human intrusion and food diversity—to the maximum level when your property is in a heavily managed neighborhood. 58:47

Question: Jay Yoder asks whether Don shoots a coyote that shows up while deer hunting, risking spooking deer, or leaves it alone. 59:19 — asked by Jay Yoder

• Answer: Don says he rarely passes up a shot at a coyote. 59:41
• Answer: Don explains coyotes run deer and are bad to have around, so he shoots them at nearly every opportunity. 60:04

Question: Steven Taylor asks whether deer are harder to hunt and react differently to habitat improvements in highly pressured states like Michigan. 62:29 — asked by Steven Taylor

• Answer: Don says some states are easier to hunt than others overall, but success really comes down to how individual properties are managed. 63:19
• Answer: Don notes consultant Wes Delks has only consulted a few years yet already helped a Michigan client kill a 200-inch buck, unlike decades-long local consultants. 63:52

Question: Justin Hughes asks whether bachelor-group bucks in summer tend to stick with other bucks of the same age. 68:31 — asked by Justin Hughes

• Answer: Don says no—bachelor groups are made up of bucks from all different ages, not just same-age bucks. 68:37
• Answer: Don adds that bachelor groups near his area return to the same spot yearly and can include both yearling and 10-year-old bucks together. 70:04

Question: Paul Sarita asks at what age or after how many years Don recommends thinning trees in a CRP tree planting. 71:42 — asked by Paul Sarita

• Answer: Don says trees should be thinned once branches from neighboring trees start touching, though not necessarily immediately. 73:07
• Answer: Don says there’s really no set number of years for thinning since too many variables affect tree growth rate. 74:53

Question: Chris Goederman asks whether a mature buck with noticeably larger antlers acts differently from a same-age buck with inferior antlers. 78:37 — asked by Chris Goederman

• Answer: Don observes that mature bucks with giant headgear tend to be less aggressive than bucks with smaller antlers. 79:00
• Answer: Don explains body size, not antler size, gives fighting advantage, and the meanest, most aggressive bucks usually aren’t the ones with giant antlers. 79:53

Sponsors this episode

• ASIO Gear

Terry recorded early due to health issues with his mother and asked for prayers. The episode centered on Don’s Illinois youth season: grandsons Walker and Wyatt would hunt with him and Steve Shields, targeting Babe and a big eight-pointer, with three hunters sharing seven-by-seven blinds. Don and Terry debated aggressive versus conservative tactics on patterned bucks and discussed managing properties in heavily pressured neighborhoods, coyote removal, bachelor-group age mixing, CRP thinning timing, and antler-versus-body-size fighting advantages, answering listener questions from Jake Justice, Jay Yoder, Steven Taylor, Justin Hughes, Paul Sarita, and Chris Goederman. Don reflected on his marriage, his mother-in-law raising his wife Robin in church, and the support received since announcing daughter Andrea’s cancer diagnosis, including a song from Colton James, connected through Jeff Davis. Sponsor promotions from ASIO, Brenton, and QuietKat were also mentioned.

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