Episode#203 - Post Season Scouting and Project Advice
Published: 2024-01-14
Episode page
Duration: 81 min
In this episode
antler-drop
- Eric asked whether drought-related stress could cause bucks to drop antlers earlier, similar to its effect on overall antler growth. 54:34
banter
- Don jokes that despite heading to Florida for a seminar, he definitely will not be wearing shorts. 80:24 (light moment)
buck-behavior
- Jordan asked what he could do to get a specific big buck that only shows up on his property after season ends onto his land during season. 49:58
consulting-schedule
- Don says his consulting schedule is completely booked this winter, staying full all the way until about May 1st. 1:24
corn-management
- Brent asked how Don and Terry manage corn plots for hunting, including whether they knock corn down to direct deer movement past stands. 69:54
dealer-summit
- Real World is hosting a dealer summit for all its dealers on March 4-5 in Arthur, Illinois. 11:29
- Don announces Dr. Bronson Strickland will give a seminar the first evening of the Real World dealer summit. 11:37
food-plots
- Dustin asked what food source works best for maximum draw on a 10-acre plot surrounded by hundreds of acres of timber during late season. 34:43
long-term-habitat
- Don recalls always thinking his property would be good ‘in five years,’ until one day he realized it already was pretty good. 53:47
master-class
- Don is teaching two remote master classes this spring: March 23 in Spencerville, Indiana, and April 6 in New Richmond, Wisconsin. 13:07
new-property
- Michael asked what to do on 600 newly-accessed acres where bucks are young with poor antlers and there are three or four does per buck. 58:42
nutricrave-corn
- Don states Real World holds exclusive rights to NutriCrave corn from their breeder, and no one else legitimately sells authentic NutriCrave corn. 71:03
podcast-production
- Terry thanks Steve Shields for creating a new podcast intro that debuted on this episode. 79:28
property-history
- Terry recounts learning that the original owners of a steep Southeast Indiana property he consulted on were moonshiners who hid stills in the woods. 7:00
- Don recalls finding old tombstones and abandoned vehicles deep on properties, evidence of history predating the current landowners. 7:43
rope-scrape
- Terry recommends buying rope material now, in winter, to build rope scrapes and hang them in the yard so chemical scent weathers off before spring. 29:51
- Don explains rope scrape material holds scent deep in its fibers and takes months of weathering to fully remove the chemical smell. 30:25
speaking-engagement
- Terry will speak Monday night at his home church, the Sherman Church of Christ, in Dry Ridge, Kentucky. 9:12
- Don will hold his first-ever Florida seminar on Saturday, January 20, in Lake Butler with a catered evening meal. 9:39
switchgrass
- Don warns Real World Switchgrass supply will be limited this year and is likely to sell out, urging listeners to order early. 23:37
timber-history
- Don says a timber stand dominated by hickory trees is a reliable sign the land was once used as cattle pasture, since cattle avoid young hickories. 69:22
timber-stand-improvement
- Jacob asked whether to replant oaks in newly-thinned wooded cover once sunlight reaches the forest floor, or let natural regeneration fill in instead. 64:39
trade-shows
- Don jokes that at 60 he’s nearly ‘deer showed out’ and wouldn’t mind never seeing another deer, though he still gets the appeal. 1:50 (light moment)
- Don describes exhibiting at trade shows as physically grueling, standing on concrete for three or four days until his back, legs, and feet ache. 3:07
tsi
- Terry advises putting a strategic, prioritized plan together and going in to finish TSI cutting quickly rather than dragging the project out. 27:19
whitetail-summit
- A Whitetail Management Summit with Don speaking is being held February 9-10 at Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. 14:07
- Don will speak March 9 in Greenwood, Delaware with Eastern Outdoors, marking his first time ever presenting in that state. 14:58
Deer activity
Listener questions
Question: Dustin asked what food source works best for maximum draw on a 10-acre plot surrounded by hundreds of acres of timber during late season. 34:43 — asked by Dustin Ward
- Answer: Don says for a heavily wooded 10-acre plot, soybeans are the single best late-season food source since deer clean out corn before winter. 36:26
- Answer: Don recommends not tearing up an aging clover plot; instead frost-seed more clover on top of it each spring to keep it going indefinitely. 39:04
- Answer: Don explains alfalfa is highly nutrient-dense, but Real World avoids selling it because most food plotters can’t maintain the fertility and cutting it requires for success. 42:13
Question: Jordan asked what he could do to get a specific big buck that only shows up on his property after season ends onto his land during season. 49:58 — asked by Jordan Schmidt
- Answer: Don explains that if a buck’s home range doesn’t include your property, there’s often no reliable way to draw him in. 51:01
- Answer: Don encourages patience, saying new habitat work takes years for local deer to key into, and the property will keep improving. 52:21
Question: Eric asked whether drought-related stress could cause bucks to drop antlers earlier, similar to its effect on overall antler growth. 54:34 — asked by Eric Billington
- Answer: Don explains early antler drop results from stress, which can stem from injury or harsh weather like ice storms. 54:47
Question: Michael asked what to do on 600 newly-accessed acres where bucks are young with poor antlers and there are three or four does per buck. 58:42 — asked by Michael Carlson
- Answer: Don advises against heavy hunting pressure since it would educate the property’s young bucks to stand locations before a shooter buck arrives. 59:49
- Answer: Don recommends immediately flooding the new 600-acre property with trail cameras to inventory every buck using it before hunting begins. 58:58
Question: Jacob asked whether to replant oaks in newly-thinned wooded cover once sunlight reaches the forest floor, or let natural regeneration fill in instead. 64:39 — asked by Jacob Cooper
- Answer: Don recommends planting potted oak trees, protected with tube shelters, into thinned timber you plan to own long-term rather than relying on natural regeneration. 67:36
Question: Brent asked how Don and Terry manage corn plots for hunting, including whether they knock corn down to direct deer movement past stands. 69:54 — asked by Brent Fry
- Answer: Don explains he directs deer past his stand in a corn plot by mowing sections of standing corn, since deer prefer feeding where it’s knocked down. 74:16
- Answer: Don applies urea before discing, then sprays liquid nitrogen with residual herbicide right after planting corn so he never has to treat the plot again all season. 78:24
Terry and Don covered land history and management topics, including moonshiners’ stills once hidden on a steep Southeast Indiana property and hickory-dominated timber as a sign of past cattle pasture. They discussed winter TSI work, advising a prioritized plan to finish cutting quickly, and rope scrapes bought now so scent weathers off before spring. Listener questions drove much of the episode: late-season food plots (soybeans over corn on small wooded acreage), maintaining aging clover by frost-seeding rather than replanting, why Real World avoids selling alfalfa, drawing in a buck whose home range lies outside a property, drought-linked early antler drop, managing 600 newly-accessed acres with trail cameras before hunting, replanting oaks versus natural regeneration in thinned timber, and directing deer past stands by mowing sections of standing corn. Don also announced several winter and spring seminar dates, a dealer summit, and warned Real World Switchgrass supply would be limited.
Unofficial fan project. AI-synthesized from public episodes; may contain errors.