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

The episode covered a group turkey hunt with Don, Al Foster, and Steve Shields. Don killed a double-bearded gobbler within his first hour, and the group heard roughly 200 gobbles total, though Don said the friendship mattered more than the bird. Al Foster praised the target-rich turkey grounds on Terry’s Dry Ridge property despite costly mistakes, heard 8-12 gobbling toms, and shot a roughly 19-pound tom with an 11-inch beard. Steve Shields recounted a camera failure caused by a dead battery pack that cost footage of Don’s shot. The show revisited Brandon Epperson’s buck, which officially scored around 203 (Buckmaster) and 202 1/8 (Pope and Young) after a scoring competition that included a lie detector test and score variance from velvet webbing measurement. Joe Johnson discussed a poor shed season caused by an erratic warm winter, tracking over 400 miles on foot. Terry proposed making the group turkey hunt an annual tradition hosted by Brandon.

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