Episode #216 - Don Shoots His First Turkey - Friends Episode

Published: 2024-04-14 Episode page Duration: 61 min

In this episode

buck-scoring

• Terry says no matter what angle you looked at Brandon’s buck, it just didn’t look that big, making it hard to judge on social media. 4:28

business-announcement

• Todd Covey announces he started selling Real World gear out of his Walton building and became a dealer for 360 Hunting Blinds. 53:27

business-contact

• Todd Covey shares his business Earned Outdoors’ contact number and notes he personally answers calls rather than sending them to voicemail. 56:25

camera-failure

• Terry asks Steve Shields how he handled a camera malfunction during the turkey hunt and what it ultimately means. 24:57

charity

• Anne submitted another case to the charity board for a family affected by breast cancer. 50:41

deer-scoring

• Brandon Epperson entered his buck in the quest hunt competition with his buddy Chris and had everyone score the deer that night. 4:53
• Terry recalls the group’s scores for Brandon’s buck varied by about 12 inches depending on how the velvet webbing was measured. 6:07
• Terry notes Brandon had to take a lie detector test as part of verifying the buck for the scoring competition. 6:20
• What did Brandon Epperson’s buck finally officially score in the deer scoring competition? 6:16

family

• Robbie Kohler says his son is now old enough to be playing sports but is also ready to start going hunting. 22:40
• Terry’s daughter will attend a summer study program between her junior and senior year at one of three state universities as part of the Governor’s Scholar program. 49:23

family-achievement

• Terry announces his daughter was recognized as a Kentucky Governor’s Scholar. 49:14

future-hunting

• Brandon Epperson doubts he’ll ever kill another 200-inch buck in Kentucky but plans to keep trying. 7:07

glassing

• How much does Joe Johnson rely on binoculars while shed hunting in big ag country? 41:23

hunting-ethics

• Don says Al Foster’s choice to hunt with a recurve bow instead of a legal crossbow or compound reflects his deep hunting ethics. 14:08

joke

• Don jokingly suggests becoming a Democrat isn’t really the answer to work-life balance, though it would supposedly grant more free time and money. 21:59 (light moment)

lesters-feet

• Terry recounts that Austin started as one of Don’s consulting clients and became a friend who now sits on the Lester’s Feet charity board. 50:28

podcast-trivia

• Terry notes that Robbie Kohler holds the record for the most listener questions, around 12, answered on the Chasing Giants podcast. 20:00

property-management

• Don plans to add at least one or two creek crossings and plant about 20 apple trees on his new 98-acre property. 33:55

retirement-plans

• Don announces plans to slow down his consulting and hunting travel schedule starting next winter. 59:03

shed-hunting

• Joe Johnson explains that an erratic warm winter with swings from the 40s to 70s scattered deer instead of grouping them, hurting shed hunting. 37:47
• Joe Johnson tracked over 400 miles of walking while shed hunting this season, roughly five miles per antler found. 38:45
• Joe Johnson recalls Al spotting shed antlers across from Don’s driveway and telling him to stop the truck immediately. 40:36

shipshewana

• Al Foster recalls that during his weekend at the Shipshewana Legends Roundtable, he never heard a curse word or saw an argument among the crowd. 12:05

track-and-field

• Hayden Shields won the 200, won the 100, and her 4x100 relay team also won at her track meet. 44:48
• Hayden Shields says the school 100-meter record is 12.3 seconds, while her personal best is 12.5, set as a sophomore. 45:22

trapping

• Don plans to start trapping this fall and hopes to get a bobcat tag so he can trap a bobcat. 57:33

turkey-hunting

• Don killed a gobbler with a double beard within the first hour of his turkey hunting career. 0:40
• Don jokes that he’s only a turkey hunting expert on social media, not in real life. 1:06 (light moment)
• Don estimates the group heard roughly 200 turkey gobbles during the hunt. 8:07
• Don says the experience of the hunt meant more to him than the turkey itself, since it let him spend time with good friends. 9:10
• Don’s next goal is to kill a turkey on his own home farm, since they hadn’t been present there until the last two springs. 9:44
• Terry suggests making the group turkey hunt an annual spring tradition, hopefully hosted by Brandon Epperson of Homegrown Outdoors. 59:56
• Don says he’ll turkey hunt again but isn’t as hooked on it as many enthusiasts, and sees nothing wrong with that. 60:40
• Terry closes by calling turkey season a fun experience and a great time of year to be outside. 60:49
• How does Al Foster like hunting turkeys on Terry’s Dry Ridge, Kentucky property? 14:50
• How many toms did Al Foster think were gobbling before the birds came off the roost that morning? 16:16
• Did the group weigh the turkey after Al Foster shot it that day? 17:03

video-production

• Steve Shields notes that camera operators who make major mistakes like his often lose their jobs, unlike his situation working with Don. 28:01

work-life-balance

• Robbie Kohler asks how to enjoy hunting without letting work-related stress from his two jobs ruin the experience. 21:09

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (history) 2:45
• unnamed buck (hunt) 3:29
• unnamed buck (harvest) 3:59
• unnamed buck (history) 5:50

Listener questions

Question: What did Brandon Epperson’s buck finally officially score in the deer scoring competition? 6:16 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Brandon Epperson’s buck scored right around 203 by Buckmaster and 202 1/8 by Pope and Young. 6:34

Question: How does Al Foster like hunting turkeys on Terry’s Dry Ridge, Kentucky property? 14:50 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Al Foster says Terry’s property is a target-rich turkey environment with lots of birds, though the group still made costly mistakes. 15:32

Question: How many toms did Al Foster think were gobbling before the birds came off the roost that morning? 16:16 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Al Foster estimates the group could hear roughly eight to twelve gobbling toms that morning, despite muffled hearing in the ground blind. 16:34

Question: Did the group weigh the turkey after Al Foster shot it that day? 17:03 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Al Foster says the turkey weighed right around 19 pounds, possibly more, and was a big, strong adult bird. 17:05
• Answer: The turkey had roughly an 11-inch beard and spurs over an inch long. 17:15

Question: Robbie Kohler asks how to enjoy hunting without letting work-related stress from his two jobs ruin the experience. 21:09 — asked by Robbie Kohler

• Answer: Don admits he never fully figured out the balance and eventually sold his tree business rather than resolve the conflict between work and hunting. 21:49

Question: Terry asks Steve Shields how he handled a camera malfunction during the turkey hunt and what it ultimately means. 24:57 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Steve Shields recounts that his main camera shut off just as the tom stepped into the clear during Don’s turkey hunt. 26:04
• Answer: Steve later diagnosed the failure as a dead dummy battery in the external battery pack powering his cameras. 27:40

Question: How much does Joe Johnson rely on binoculars while shed hunting in big ag country? 41:23 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Joe Johnson says binoculars are the biggest help he has for shed hunting. 41:28
• Answer: He especially relies on glassing bean stubble, early wheat, and clover fields for deer sign. 41:37

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