Episode #219 - The Most Important Aspect of Hunting Whitetails

Published: 2024-05-05
Episode page
Duration: 62 min

In this episode

bedding

• Terry arranged to return to the Kentucky property after winter to further work out the bedding design. 3:52

brenton-firearms

• Terry said they’ll likely have Evan or Nick from Brenton Firearms on the show soon to help lay out details of the Ohio event. 21:25

buck-age

• Don advised that hunters targeting five- and six-year-old bucks should already be noticing those deer standing out at age three. 29:25

buck-maturity

• Aidan Miller of Clyde, New York asked what the single most important aspect of successful whitetail hunting is and at what age a buck becomes fully mature. 44:29

buggies-and-bullets

• Terry described the ‘Buggies and Bullets’ Ohio event as a full-day demo at a high-end shooting range near Amish country, set for July 20. 20:11
• Terry said the event is likely northeast of Columbus in Central Ohio on July 20, inviting listeners to come spend the day with him and Don. 21:42

consulting-demand

• Don said calls and emails for consulting have been nonstop, with more requests the first week of May than he’s ever seen. 4:53

consulting-team

• Don said Terry, Wes, Bobby, Mark, and new hire Caleb would need to help pick up the growing consulting workload. 4:39

crp

• Terry visited a listener’s newly purchased Western Kentucky property with a large CRP tract expiring this year, needing decisions on reenrollment versus food plots. 3:28
• Kyle Wenger asked what to plant in leftover waterway and terrace acreage excluded from his family’s new monarch-butterfly CRP program. 38:38

food-plot-timing

• Terry advised listeners to read field conditions rather than the calendar, making sure soil prep is right before planting to avoid setting up later failure. 61:11

gifts

• Wes brought Don shirts made by his consulting client Jamie Pearson as a gift. 1:50

grain-sorghum

• Don recommended ordering the limited grain sorghum pilot product quickly, since sales have been brisk and supply is limited. 7:57
• Terry explained the grain sorghum pilot blend was chosen from testing multiple varieties across all their farms last year, selecting the two best performers. 8:22

haiti-mission-auction

• Terry announced he again donated a consulting visit to the Higgins Outdoors Dream Team’s Haiti Mission Auction this year to help fund mission work in Haiti. 5:19
• Terry announced that auction coordinators Andre and Kevin recorded a short video about the Haiti Mission Auction that would air after the sponsor spot. 5:37

humic-acid

• Don plans to use his new drill on the tractor to apply humic acid to all his food plots the same afternoon. 60:17

ladder-stands

• Terry noted that he and Don have grown more accustomed to hunting heavy ladder stands over the years, which makes them tougher to hang. 1:29

live-podcast

• Terry said the Buggies and Bullets event will include an evening live podcast plus thermal and night-vision demo opportunities as it gets dark. 22:07

marketing

• Terry insisted that Real World running out of product isn’t a marketing ploy despite accusations, and that they are being honest with listeners. 7:27

mathews

• Terry noted the venue is also a Mathews archery dealer, so attendees will be able to shoot Mathews bows at 3D targets. 20:59

miscanthus

• David Aman, a new Real World dealer from Highland, Illinois, asked how deer travel through a Miscanthus screen and whether to leave an opening as a doorway. 47:40

miscanthus-planting

• Don plans to plant Miscanthus and a couple of food plots Sunday afternoon after church if the ground dries out enough. 60:47

mulching

• Don plans to mulch around roughly 50 newly planted persimmon trees the morning after recording. 60:03

product-availability

• Don announced Real World has sold out of hundred-day corn and switchgrass, though the hundred-twelve-day corn is still available. 6:41
• Duane told Terry the last batch of a Real World product is currently being bagged, meaning supply is essentially gone. 7:15
• Don confirmed Real World will sell out this year purely because demand exceeded projections, not because of any marketing scheme. 7:51

property-acquisition

• Wes observed that clients who keep buying neighboring land just end up with more acreage, not a better property. 58:57

quietkat

• Terry said QuietKat confirmed plans for a demo/obstacle course area for bikes at the Buggies and Bullets event. 20:47

scent-management

• Wes pointed out that clients sometimes don’t need more deer habitat, but rather a place for their scent to blow so the existing habitat can be hunted. 57:43
• On one plan, Wes used a client’s new cattle pasture as a place for the client’s scent to blow, plus an access route to the stand. 58:12

schedule

• Terry announced the show already has a summer schedule of public appearances, seminars, and a live podcast lined up. 6:25

soil-temperature

• Don advised waiting for proper ground moisture and warm soil temperatures rather than rushing to plant by the calendar, for better results. 61:39

soybeans

• An Ohio dealer told Don that his phone started ringing off the hook with soybean buyers after Don and Terry mentioned soybeans on a recent podcast episode. 7:03

speaking-engagements

• Don announced a Wisconsin dealer event at Milford Hills Hunt Club, owned by Lloyd Marks and his son Royce. 18:25
• Don announced an August Michigan event at Real World dealer Urban Smucker’s location in the Coldwater area. 19:00
• Don said the Michigan event is planned as a major gathering with three speakers and a facility holding about 600 people. 19:17
• Don announced Eastern Outdoors lined up five or six back-to-back dealer events in mid-July, mostly in New York and Pennsylvania. 19:35

sponsor-event

• Terry teased that one of the show’s sponsors is planning a special event in Ohio, with a date finally set. 17:46
• Terry confirmed a date has finally been set for the special Ohio sponsor event. 18:00

stand-placement

• Terry said most hunters don’t realize how far into their sanctuary they hang stands compared to how conservatively he and Don hunt property edges. 54:50
• Thomas Chandler of Greenwich, Ohio asked how often Don gets winded by deer given his careful stand placement, and what percent chance a deer coming downwind represents. 52:53

ticks

• Terry said this has been the worst tick year he’s ever seen in his area. 3:09

trail-camera-data

• Don plans to replicate Wes’s detailed trail-camera-history method on his own target bucks this year, possibly turning it into a video or article. 35:24
• Don described tracking wind directions using the Intellicast or Weather Underground website’s history to figure out where and when he could lay eyes on the Trump buck. 36:43

trail-cameras

• Don explained that quality cameras matter because they can sit soaking on a property for an entire season without being checked, avoiding human intrusion, while still confirming they worked the whole time. 38:04
• Ethan Jansen asked whether Don and Terry have found success hunting a pinch on the downwind side of bedding when the wind is out of the south. 22:53
• Chase Nicely asked what Don looks for in trail camera placement when trying to locate and pattern a specific target buck. 26:27

tree-stands

• Don and Wes Delks finished hanging tree stands on the new 90-acre property, with Wes helping put up three ladder stands Don couldn’t manage alone. 1:19

waterways

• Terry recounted deciding to mow a large waterway rather than let it become bedding cover, since he needed it as QuietKat access across the field. 43:51

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 35:05
• Trump (harvest) 36:25

Listener questions

Question: Ethan Jansen asked whether Don and Terry have found success hunting a pinch on the downwind side of bedding when the wind is out of the south. 22:53 — asked by Ethan Jansen

• Answer: Don suggested the pinch might be too tight for a mature buck, recommending a roughly 20-yard-wide travel corridor instead of a narrow ten-foot gap. 24:03
• Answer: Don added that a south wind alone won’t shut down rut activity, though it may reduce daylight movement; hunters should still get at least night camera pictures. 25:24

Question: Chase Nicely asked what Don looks for in trail camera placement when trying to locate and pattern a specific target buck. 26:27 — asked by Chase Nicely

• Answer: Don explained that what matters most is learning a target buck’s range and how much time he spends within a specific area, rather than pinpointing exact travel details. 27:37

Question: Kyle Wenger asked what to plant in leftover waterway and terrace acreage excluded from his family’s new monarch-butterfly CRP program. 38:38 — asked by Kyle Wenger

• Answer: Don advised assessing the whole neighborhood, not just the property itself, to see whether food or cover is in shorter supply before deciding what to plant. 39:21
• Answer: Terry added he avoids planting food anywhere that can’t be hunted strategically, since it can spread deer out and hurt access elsewhere. 42:16

Question: Aidan Miller of Clyde, New York asked what the single most important aspect of successful whitetail hunting is and at what age a buck becomes fully mature. 44:29 — asked by Aidan Miller

• Answer: Don said a buck isn’t mature until age five, comparing four-year-olds to a 35-year-old man and five-year-olds to a man in his mid-forties. 44:59
• Answer: Don said the single most important factor for hunting success is the property itself, since great habitat with no deer or poor habitat with deer both determine your odds. 45:58

Question: David Aman, a new Real World dealer from Highland, Illinois, asked how deer travel through a Miscanthus screen and whether to leave an opening as a doorway. 47:40 — asked by David Aman

• Answer: Don told David a determined deer will push through Miscanthus regardless, noting deer make their own paths through thick stands on his farm. 48:44
• Answer: Terry added that Miscanthus takes about three years to thicken up, so young deer will initially walk through it like an open field. 49:23

Question: Thomas Chandler of Greenwich, Ohio asked how often Don gets winded by deer given his careful stand placement, and what percent chance a deer coming downwind represents. 52:53 — asked by Thomas Chandler

• Answer: Don said he hasn’t tracked exact numbers but estimated fewer than 5% of deer passing his stands ever wind him. 53:19
• Answer: Don added he can’t recall the last time a mature buck winded him — probably a decade — since it’s almost always a doe or yearling that catches his scent. 56:01

Terry and Don discussed the growing consulting workload, with Don noting nonstop calls and emails and naming Terry, Wes, Bobby, Mark, and new hire Caleb as needed help. Wes and Don finished hanging stands on a new 90-acre property, and Terry visited a Western Kentucky property with expiring CRP acreage needing food plot decisions. They covered Real World product sellouts, including hundred-day corn, switchgrass, and a limited grain sorghum pilot blend, insisting the shortage reflected real demand rather than a marketing ploy. Terry recapped Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania dealer events and detailed the Buggies and Bullets Ohio event on July 20, featuring QuietKat demos, Mathews archery shooting, and an evening live podcast with thermal and night-vision demos. Wes explained clients sometimes need scent-management space rather than more habitat. Don shared trail-camera insights on patterning target bucks, including tracking Trump, a buck he hunted and finally harvested the first day he ever saw him. Listener questions covered pinch points, Miscanthus screens, and stand-wind percentages.

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