Episode #196 - Lock Down Breaking Loose as Weather Changes

Published: 2023-11-19
Episode page
Duration: 58 min

In this episode

bedding

• Terry stressed that if a hunter can’t get close enough to bedding, on the property line or otherwise, the odds of a mature buck in daylight drop drastically. 55:34

bedding-vs-food

• Terry suggested that on a 40-acre hardwood tract, bedding is likely more important than food, and asked Don to comment on improving bedding. 54:16

black-friday-sale

• Terry announced Joe Miles would join to discuss ASIO’s biggest-ever Black Friday sale ahead of Thanksgiving. 14:58

crp

• Shay Meyer asked what habitat program his farm is in and how he can keep paying lower property taxes if he takes land out of agricultural use. 37:40

disclaimer

• Terry jokingly warned listeners not to take tax advice from Don, since it could get everyone in trouble. 42:28 (light moment)

gun-season

• Terry mentioned that friend Chambers was out gun hunting in Nebraska as its season opened. 5:37
• Terry noted Illinois gun season opens Friday this week. 5:50

habitat-plan

• Ben Limner asked how to incorporate existing deer movement, like beds and trails, when developing a habitat plan for a previously unmanaged 40-acre property. 51:28

hunting-trip

• Don noted Terry traveled from Kentucky for a couple days of bow hunting before Illinois gun season opens Friday. 1:14

lockdown

• Terry described lockdown as one of the most frustrating times of year because hunters can sit all day and never see a single deer. 2:53
• Don said mid-November in the Midwest is, in his opinion, the toughest time to intentionally kill a giant buck. 3:19

mail-video

• Don noted the earlier Mail video has nearly 2,000,000 views, more than any other hunting video he could find. 14:32

merchandise

• Terry announced Chasing Giants shirts and new ASIO Chasing Giants hats are restocked after picking up three boxes. 1:34

mower

• Don’s dad bought a new Bad Boy mower from Terry, who brought it up on a trailer. 1:48

new-holland

• Terry revealed he is now a New Holland equipment dealer. 56:34
• Terry joked it wouldn’t surprise him if someone from New Holland were listening, hinting he’d like them as a sponsor. 56:51 (light moment)

not-hunting

• Don explained he isn’t hunting this trip because he no longer has a target buck to chase. 2:05

nutricrave

• Don reported Ohio dealer JV’s Feed has already purchased two semi loads of NutriCrave deer corn. 8:52
• Terry explained the corn wasn’t picked earlier because it would have had too high a moisture content. 9:15
• Don explained NutriCrave corn needs to dry down on the stalk to raise its nutrient levels. 10:00

shout-out

• Terry gave a shout-out to Devin Hurley, a local pastor recognized by listeners. 15:42

social-media

• Terry said he and Don now receive upwards of 100 to 200 social media messages a day. 11:56

sunday-night-prayer-time

• Terry encouraged listeners to check out and share the Sunday Night Prayer Time show on Chasing Giants TV. 57:14

thanksgiving

• Terry announced Higgins Outdoors would release another big Thanksgiving Day video this year, continuing a longtime tradition. 12:35
• Legendary bowhunter Roger Rothhaar taught Don that Thanksgiving weekend is an ideal time to shoot a monster buck as the biggest bucks become vulnerable then. 47:44
• Don noted Thanksgiving falls on the 23rd this year, leaving a full week of November left, making the weekend prime time. 50:20

thanksgiving-hunting

• Ryan asked what tactics or pointers could help him fill his buck tag during Thanksgiving weekend. 47:21

thanksgiving-video

• Don announced a free Thanksgiving-morning YouTube video telling the story of Babe, a buck taken this year, open to anyone, not just Academy members. 13:09

tree-planting

• Patrick asked whether planting chestnut and oak trees in wet, muddy spring conditions ahead of a Kentucky drought was a mistake. 43:24

tree-storage

• Terry asked whether tree seedlings, like Miscanthus rhizomes, should be stored dormant in a cooler when conditions aren’t right for planting. 44:49

weather

• Don forecast rising barometric pressure and an extended outlook making Saturday morning hunting conditions absolutely beautiful. 4:55

whitetail-master-academy

• Terry noted Don announced Whitetail Master Academy is getting its own Facebook page and giving away free memberships to grow the platform. 10:55

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (sighting) 4:09
• Babe (harvest) 13:09
• unnamed buck (harvest) 15:57

Listener questions

Question: Shay Meyer asked what habitat program his farm is in and how he can keep paying lower property taxes if he takes land out of agricultural use. 37:40 — asked by Shay Meyer

• Answer: Don advised enrolling qualifying acreage in government programs like CRP to get the lower agricultural tax rate instead of the higher recreational rate. 39:03
• Answer: Don recommended visiting the local USDA office since program rules vary by state and county. 42:04

Question: Patrick asked whether planting chestnut and oak trees in wet, muddy spring conditions ahead of a Kentucky drought was a mistake. 43:24

• Answer: Don confirmed it was a mistake: mud that dries hard as concrete afterward prevents a newly planted tree’s damaged roots from penetrating the soil. 43:44
• Answer: Don advised waiting until ground conditions are right before planting rather than pushing to plant early in wet, muddy soil. 44:10

Question: Terry asked whether tree seedlings, like Miscanthus rhizomes, should be stored dormant in a cooler when conditions aren’t right for planting. 44:49

• Answer: Don explained trees should be kept cool near 35 degrees in refrigerated storage, never frozen, until planting conditions are right. 45:47

Question: Ryan asked what tactics or pointers could help him fill his buck tag during Thanksgiving weekend. 47:21

• Answer: Don hunts the downwind edge of bedding cover in mornings, since bucks patrol that edge to scent danger or a hot doe. 49:04
• Answer: In the evenings Don moves closer to food sources where does and trailing bucks are headed. 49:17

Question: Ben Limner asked how to incorporate existing deer movement, like beds and trails, when developing a habitat plan for a previously unmanaged 40-acre property. 51:28 — asked by Ben Limner

• Answer: Don said he sometimes accounts for existing deer travel patterns but also actively works to dictate deer movement to the hunter’s advantage. 52:32
• Answer: By placing food plots strategically, Don dictates deer to bed on one side of the property and feed on the other, directing movement in the hunter’s favor. 53:38

Question: Terry suggested that on a 40-acre hardwood tract, bedding is likely more important than food, and asked Don to comment on improving bedding. 54:16

• Answer: Don said the priority depends on neighboring land: if neighbors have big ag fields, bedding cover is essential since deer will naturally feed in those fields. 54:36

Terry, visiting from Kentucky for bow hunting before Illinois gun season opened Friday, joined Don to discuss lockdown-phase struggles, with Terry calling it one of the most frustrating stretches since hunters can sit all day without seeing deer, and Don calling mid-November the toughest window to intentionally kill a giant buck. Don forecast rising barometric pressure making Saturday morning conditions favorable, and cited Roger Rothhaar’s teaching that Thanksgiving weekend is prime time as big bucks grow vulnerable. Terry emphasized that failing to get close to bedding sharply lowers odds of daylight movement. Listener questions covered CRP enrollment for lower agricultural tax rates, a Kentucky planting mistake in wet spring mud ahead of drought, cooler storage of dormant seedlings, downwind bedding-edge tactics for Thanksgiving hunts, and using food plot placement to dictate deer movement on a 40-acre property, including weighing bedding versus food based on neighboring land use. Don also announced a free Thanksgiving video telling the story of Babe, a buck taken this year.

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