Episode #227 - Science Behind Summer Solstice and Whitetail

Published: 2024-06-23
Episode page
Duration: 66 min

In this episode

aging

• Terry notes that as he ages and deals with effects from two major surgeries, he’s less flexible and limber. 4:38

antler-growth

• Don explains that as days shorten after the solstice, bucks gradually receive the signal to end antler growth, harden antlers, and shed velvet. 20:43

antler-injury

• If Justin passes a buck with a possible pedicle injury this year, will his antlers return to normal or stay non-typical? 25:40
• Does an injury to one side of a buck’s body, like from a car collision, affect antler growth on the opposite side, and can deer recover? 26:48

arborvitae

• Is there a specific reason Don wouldn’t recommend arborvitae trees for a deer screening barrier? 54:23

browse-pressure

• Don is experiencing unprecedented deer and rabbit browse pressure on his soybean food plots this year. 7:46

chasing-giants-growth

• Terry announces Chasing Giants is actually expanding rather than winding down, with a growth announcement coming soon. 31:14

coat-shedding

• Don recalls that his captive deer always began growing their winter coats in mid-to-late August regardless of how hot the weather was. 22:02

custom-gear

• What is your favorite, most essential piece of custom hunting gear you’ve made or had made for yourself? 32:53

deer-predictions

• Will Don make any bold predictions this year and call his shot again like he did with a buck named Babe? 37:13

deer-water-sources

• Don observes a bachelor group of bucks near his house every summer despite there being no water source in the area. 6:28

dream-team

• Don announces a new young consultant is joining him on the Northeast tour as a second speaker as part of his consulting dream team. 15:27

faith

• Terry reflects that God’s creation is remarkably complex, intertwining physiological cues so precisely that species survival depends on the timing. 22:42

land-purchase

• Can Don elaborate on what happened with the potted trees he had to remove after a property deal fell through? 47:28

lesters-feet

• Don reveals that Lester’s Feet, funded entirely through podcast listener support, has now provided literally millions of dollars to families in need. 63:31
• Terry announces a church in Indiana is making Lester’s Feet the mission focus of their July vacation bible school for kids. 63:46
• Terry explains Lester’s Feet also runs the Andrea Hamilton Fund, which specifically helps families navigating breast cancer. 65:06

lithium-batteries

• Terry announces Real World is preparing to launch lithium batteries on their website and urges fans to join the mailing list for updates. 60:23
• Don reveals demand for the new lithium batteries has been so strong that Real World already placed a second order twice the size of the first. 60:57
• Don claims Real World will have the best lithium battery prices he could find anywhere on the internet. 62:10

milorganite

• Don plans to buy Milorganite (“lorganite”) in town to try as a deterrent on his heavily browsed soybean plot. 8:39
• Don explains that Milorganite fertilizer is made from dried, pelletized human sewage and acts as a critter deterrent. 8:46

miscanthus

• Don states Miscanthus is unmatched as a deer screening plant, superior to any tree or annual planting. 58:09
• Don explains Miscanthus beats switchgrass with roughly twice the height, far better standability, and effective screening in a narrower width. 59:33

nutricrave-block

• Terry plans to try a metal dispenser box from Phillips Seed Farms designed to protect NutriCrave blocks from raccoons and rain. 45:15
• An employee at the company manufacturing the NutriCrave blocks doubted early on whether hunters would actually buy any deer blocks. 42:11
• After raccoons quickly devoured a Real World NutriCrave mineral block the first night, how do you keep coons from eating it? 40:41

personal-update

• Terry shares that he started a new job last week and begins his second week the day this episode airs. 62:41

pineal-gland

• What triggers the pivot point that sets the timing of a doe’s reproductive cycle each year? 19:46

quietkat-bike

• Don says the new QuietKat Apex is hands-down the best of the three QuietKat bikes he’s owned. 3:33
• Don, being tall, finds the QuietKat’s step-through frame design a huge improvement for mounting the bike. 5:50

real-estate-contracts

• Don advises that in Illinois a real estate contract without earnest money down is legally worthless, so buyers should always include a deposit. 49:27

rut-myth

• Don states there is no second rut in whitetails, despite a common misconception among hunters. 23:40

soil-nutrients

• Don theorizes his food plot soybeans are more palatable to deer than neighboring ag beans due to improved soil nutrient content. 10:23

soybean-maturity

• Don notes daylight length, not just calendar days, influences when soybean plants mature. 17:46
• Don notes soybeans growing near artificial light sources stay green much longer because they never detect shortening days. 18:20

soybean-maturity-groups

• How does soybean maturity group numbering relate to the summer solstice and day length? 17:02

stand-hanging

• Don got up at 4:30 a.m. to bike a stand and gear back to a new property before the day got hot. 1:37

succession

• Who will take over Chasing Giants after Don retires or becomes too old to continue? 29:33

summer-solstice

• Terry notes the summer solstice around June 20-21 effectively sets the deer hunter’s calendar for the entire year. 21:04

tissue-analysis

• Will Don have Dwayne run tissue analysis comparing his soybeans to the neighbor’s once they’re a bit further along? 10:39

tour-schedule

• Don announces his July tour begins July 18 at Milford Hills Hunt Club in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin. 13:45
• Terry announces he will appear at the Odon Outdoor and Hunting and Fishing Expo in Davies County, Odon, Indiana on August 3. 16:00

weed-control

• Terry plans to spray his soybean fields this weekend because weeds are outgrowing the beans amid dry weather. 7:31

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 27:35
• unnamed buck (history) 28:08
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 28:49
• unnamed buck (sighting) 37:53

Listener questions

Question: Will Don have Dwayne run tissue analysis comparing his soybeans to the neighbor’s once they’re a bit further along? 10:39

• Answer: Don confirms he’ll do tissue analysis, noting two soybean plots were split in half to test soil amendments like humic acid side by side. 10:47

Question: How does soybean maturity group numbering relate to the summer solstice and day length? 17:02

• Answer: Don explains soybeans are categorized by maturity group number, with higher numbers indicating a longer life cycle for that variety. 17:09

Question: What triggers the pivot point that sets the timing of a doe’s reproductive cycle each year? 19:46

• Answer: Don explains a deer’s pineal gland detects changing daylight length, which drives the annual reproductive and antler-growth cycle. 19:51

Question: If Justin passes a buck with a possible pedicle injury this year, will his antlers return to normal or stay non-typical? 25:40 — asked by Justin Kenner

• Answer: Don explains that if the buck’s pedicle itself was injured, the deer will have a permanently messed-up antler for life. 25:53

Question: Does an injury to one side of a buck’s body, like from a car collision, affect antler growth on the opposite side, and can deer recover? 26:48

• Answer: Don explains a leg injury affects the same-side antler if it’s a front leg injury, but the opposite-side antler if it’s a rear leg injury. 27:09

Question: Who will take over Chasing Giants after Don retires or becomes too old to continue? 29:33 — asked by Clinton Martin

• Answer: Don says he’s not retiring soon, but he and Terry have an arrangement for Terry to take over Chasing Giants when Don eventually steps back. 30:17

Question: What is your favorite, most essential piece of custom hunting gear you’ve made or had made for yourself? 32:53 — asked by Gabe Shyve

• Answer: Don says his favorite custom gear is a camera arm he had made about fifteen years ago that he still uses today. 33:02

Question: After raccoons quickly devoured a Real World NutriCrave mineral block the first night, how do you keep coons from eating it? 40:41 — asked by Kendall Yoder

• Answer: Don says raccoons will always be an issue regardless of the product; the real solution is controlling the raccoon population, not the specific block. 41:07

Question: Can Don elaborate on what happened with the potted trees he had to remove after a property deal fell through? 47:28 — asked by Ben Sweeney

• Answer: Don explains that after planting trees on the property that fall, the land deal fell through, forcing him to dig up all the newly planted trees the following spring. 51:44

Question: Is there a specific reason Don wouldn’t recommend arborvitae trees for a deer screening barrier? 54:23 — asked by Jason Yoder

• Answer: Don explains arborvitae (white cedar) isn’t native to most areas and deer will devour the foliage up to about six feet, leaving no effective screen. 56:32

Question: Will Don make any bold predictions this year and call his shot again like he did with a buck named Babe? 37:13 — asked by Jason Hesselberg

• Answer: Don says it’s too early to make predictions on his farm’s bucks this year, but he’d have a better answer by late August or September 1. 39:48

Don and Terry connected biological timing to summer routines: Don biked gear to a new property before heat set in and battled unprecedented deer and rabbit browsing on his soybean plots, theorizing improved soil nutrients made his plants more palatable than neighboring ag beans, and planned to try Milorganite as a deterrent. Terry discussed spraying weedy soybeans in dry conditions. The core discussion centered on the summer solstice as the reset point for the deer calendar, with Don explaining how shortening daylight, detected by the pineal gland, drives antler hardening, velvet shedding, and reproductive timing, and Terry reflecting on the complexity of that design. Don also debunked the second rut myth, discussed soybean maturity groups, answered listener questions on pedicle and leg injuries affecting antlers, recommended Miscanthus over arborvitae for screening, and noted plans for Terry to eventually take over the podcast.

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