Episode 198 - Buck Traveling Long Distances After The Rut

Published: 2023-12-03
Episode page
Duration: 69 min

In this episode

antler-identification

• Terry described the returning buck’s distinctive unique left beam with a G5, making it unmistakable in photos. 28:08

asio-spotlight

• Terry explained ASIO Spotlight photos must be submitted directly to ASIO, which selects the featured photo. 14:46
• Tarif Al Khatib shot a giant Texas buck with a bow while wearing ASIO gear. 13:35
• The Texas buck Tarif Al Khatib harvested had at least 12 points. 14:03
• Terry noted the Texas buck had both brow tines split, heavily curled beams, a wide frame, and good tine length. 14:09

bedding-area

• Ali Bros asked how to find a target buck’s bedding area without bumping him into a new core area and ruining the season. 41:31

berlin-wall-red-deer

• Don explained that red deer near the former Berlin Wall still refused to cross the open ground twenty years after the wall fell. 21:34
• Don recommends listeners search online for ‘Berlin Wall red deer’ to learn more about the phenomenon. 22:12

bingo-game

• Terry joked about making bingo cards from the hosts’ catchphrases for the audience to play during the live March podcast. 30:54 (light moment)

buck-movement

• Don’s target buck, estimated at four to five years old, disappeared from his farm once the rut intensified in November and was presumed shot. 16:21
• The buck was photographed over eight miles from Don’s house, across an interstate, during the rut. 18:15
• Based on multiple trail-camera photos, Don determined the buck covered a minimum of ten miles of territory. 18:41

cancer-journey

• Don shared that his daughter completed her third chemo treatment of a twelve-week second round, with nine treatments remaining. 64:57
• Don said watching his daughter’s chemo journey makes him unsure whether he would choose chemo himself if diagnosed with cancer. 66:08

deer-home-range

• Terry noted that Dr. Bronson Strickland has discussed how some deer have unusually large home ranges. 23:28
• Terry recalled that Don previously experienced a buck named Trump traveling a long distance from home. 23:34

doe-nutrition

• Terry cited Dr. Strickland’s point that a doe’s nutrition during pregnancy matters more than nutrition after the fawn is born. 27:45

episode-200

• Don asked listeners with trail-camera proof of a 200-inch buck to contact him for a guest spot on episode 200. 63:48

faith

• Terry relayed a church story about a lady who said her first priority in heaven would be to spend a million years staring at Jesus. 67:17

food-plots

• Don noted many hunters plant food plots to peak by November 1 for their vacation while ignoring what deer need through Christmas and January. 27:14

joke

• Don joked he’ll likely get fake 200-inch buck photos claimed to be from places like Downtown Los Angeles just so people can appear on the show. 64:34 (light moment)

kentucky-hunting

• Terry noted Kentucky’s September bow season lets hunters target patternable bachelor groups near a good food program before they disperse. 26:11

late-season-food

• Terry argued that in bait states like Ohio and Kentucky, where hunters stop feeding once they tag a deer, maintaining late-season food plots gives a big advantage. 26:39

late-season-hunting

• Terry asks what hope this buck’s return gives hunters who haven’t tagged out and rely on food and nutrition programs heading into late season. 19:21

life-priorities

• Don urged listeners to keep priorities in order and make the most of every day since loved ones can be taken unexpectedly. 68:55

live-podcast

• Don announced he and Terry will record a live Chasing Giants podcast on March 4 after Strickland’s talk. 29:59

nutricrave-corn

• Don said this year’s drought reduced NutriCrave nutrient test results across the whole Midwest compared to recent years. 38:41
• Don recounted learning that corn must dry down on the stalk after a Minnesota customer’s NutriCrave corn, harvested too early, was refused by deer. 39:20
• Hunter O’Leary asked whether, given his shorter growing season, he’d be better off planting regionally-suited field corn than NutriCrave, which needs more days to mature. 32:41

prayer-time

• Terry announced Wes will lead Chasing Giants’ Sunday night prayer time this week, airing at 7 PM. 68:16

property-purchase

• Don revealed he bought another property in addition to his home farm. 2:58

real-world-dealer-event

• Don announced Dr. Bronson Strickland will speak at the Real World Dealer event on March 4-5. 29:43

scouting

• Don hunted less than usual in November but scouted more than ever, walking many new properties in search of a target buck for this season and next. 1:12

shipshewana

• Real World Wildlife Products offered to make Real World a platinum-level sponsor of the Shipshewana event. 11:24
• Terry announced the show will have a free booth at Shipshewana to talk with people about their mission. 12:11
• Don specified the Shipshewana event will be mid-February, around the 16th and 17th. 12:45

stand-location

• Ryan Pataki asked what the most important thing is when selecting a stand location. 61:13

stand-site

• Don predicts a new stand site showing no deer today will become one of the best stand sites in the whole county within two years. 5:56

switchgrass

• Justin Korsmeyer, whose frost-seeded switchgrass failed to germinate, asked when the best time is to seed switchgrass. 48:36
• Terry asked whether waiting until May to no-till switchgrass makes artificial freezer stratification more necessary. 53:01

trail-camera

• Don’s buck reappeared on trail cameras on two outlying properties after being missing during the rut. 16:29

tree-planting

• Don plans to plant apple trees from Gingerich Tree Farm, loosening the soil with a 24-inch auger for better root establishment. 2:02
• Don listed incoming apples, pears, chestnuts, 300 spruce trees, and 130 burlapped oak trees from Jay Gingerich for his tree-planting projects. 2:33

waterhole

• Don plans to have Austin dig a strategic waterhole on his new property to funnel deer toward his stand. 4:15

weather-underground

• Kurt Kasitka asked Don to elaborate on how he uses Weather Underground’s line graphs to forecast peak buck activity days. 44:17

whitetail-master-classes

• Don announced a remote Whitetail Master Class on March 23 in Spencerville, Indiana. 7:44
• Don announced a second remote Whitetail Master Class on April 6 near New Richmond, Wisconsin. 8:13
• Don set the remote master class cost at $950 per student with a $250 deposit. 9:01

wildflowers

• Matthew Montag asked whether mixing switchgrass or surrounding wildflowers with Miscanthus could make plantings good for both bees and deer. 55:30

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (harvest) 13:41
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 16:29
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 18:15
• Trump (history) 23:34
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 28:08

Listener questions

Question: Terry asks what hope this buck’s return gives hunters who haven’t tagged out and rely on food and nutrition programs heading into late season. 19:21 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don explains that providing abundant late-season food when supply is scarce keeps deer coming to a property year after year. 20:19
• Answer: Don adds that bucks absent all season show up on his farm once the weather turns bad, because it’s a known reliable food source. 22:38

Question: Hunter O’Leary asked whether, given his shorter growing season, he’d be better off planting regionally-suited field corn than NutriCrave, which needs more days to mature. 32:41 — asked by Hunter O’Leary

• Answer: Don announced NutriCrave now comes in new 112-day and 100-day maturities for 2024, closer to short-season regions. 33:45
• Answer: Don explained NutriCrave’s nutrient content doesn’t peak until late in the dry-down period, so it must fully dry on the stalk before testing. 34:18

Question: Ali Bros asked how to find a target buck’s bedding area without bumping him into a new core area and ruining the season. 41:31 — asked by Ali Bros

• Answer: Don says the solution is to locate bedding areas before the season starts, gathering information year over year rather than during the hunt. 41:46

Question: Kurt Kasitka asked Don to elaborate on how he uses Weather Underground’s line graphs to forecast peak buck activity days. 44:17 — asked by Kurt Kasitka

• Answer: Don explains that when the temperature and barometric pressure lines converge on the graph, that marks prime hunting time. 46:20
• Answer: Don predicts the coming Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning will be prime hunting time based on the graph. 46:28

Question: Justin Korsmeyer, whose frost-seeded switchgrass failed to germinate, asked when the best time is to seed switchgrass. 48:36 — asked by Justin Korsmeyer

• Answer: Don recommends waiting until about May 1 to no-till switchgrass rather than frost seeding it. 50:41
• Answer: Don recommends spraying weeds with glyphosate mixed with atrazine or simazine before no-tilling switchgrass to prevent weed competition. 50:57

Question: Terry asked whether waiting until May to no-till switchgrass makes artificial freezer stratification more necessary. 53:01 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don confirms it matters more and recommends freezing and thawing the seed bag repeatedly to jump-start stratification of hard seed. 54:09

Question: Matthew Montag asked whether mixing switchgrass or surrounding wildflowers with Miscanthus could make plantings good for both bees and deer. 55:30 — asked by Matthew Montag

• Answer: Don says he’d prefer wildflowers be mixed with some grasses if used at all. 55:51
• Answer: Don adds that from a hunting standpoint he prefers a straight stand of switchgrass rather than mixed wildflowers. 57:23

Question: Ryan Pataki asked what the most important thing is when selecting a stand location. 61:13 — asked by Ryan Pataki

• Answer: Don says access is by far the most important factor for any stand location. 61:42
• Answer: Don warns that without good access, a stand gets burned out after only a few hunts regardless of sign nearby. 62:10

Don reported hunting less but scouting more in November, walking new properties for a target buck. His four-to-five-year-old target buck vanished from his farm during peak rut and was presumed shot, but resurfaced on trail cameras over eight miles away, across an interstate, showing he’d covered at least ten miles of territory; Terry compared this to a past buck named Trump and to research on large deer home ranges, and Don cited red deer near the former Berlin Wall still avoiding open ground years later. Terry asked what this meant for hunters relying on late-season food, and Don explained abundant late-season nutrition keeps deer returning yearly, with absent bucks often reappearing once weather turns bad. Listener questions covered switchgrass seeding timing, stratification, bedding-area scouting, stand access, and short-season NutriCrave options. Don also shared that his daughter completed her third of twelve chemo treatments.

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