Episode #236 - Antler Genetics Follow Mother or Father?

Published: 2024-08-25
Episode page
Duration: 74 min

In this episode

acorn-production

• Don says acorn production is ahead of schedule, noting his heavily loaded white oak tree in the front yard. 9:18

antler-genetics

• Jay Brandenberger asks whether a buck’s similar rack to a prior deer means it’s from the same buck or doe, and which parent contributes more genetically. 39:59

antler-growth

• Terry states antler growth this year was better than it has been in the past few years. 6:57
• Don says every buck he tracked added antler inches this year regardless of age, unlike last year when mature bucks stayed the same or lost inches. 7:12
• Don says comparing two very different growing seasons back to back proved weather is a real factor in antler growth. 7:31
• Don says the vast majority of bucks added inches this year thanks to a fantastic growing season unlikely to repeat soon. 8:03
• Kenneth asks why mature deer didn’t get the same antler growth boost from good conditions that younger deer got. 49:06

antler-shed

• Don recalls the earliest he has personally seen a buck shed antlers was August 26, several years ago. 2:04

archery-accuracy

• Terry describes struggling with holding accuracy and taking his bow to Broken Rack Archery near Cincinnati for tuning. 17:09

book-auction

• Don plans to live auction a signed two-book set at the Shipshewana Chasing Giants podcast event, with all proceeds going to Lester’s Feet. 56:11

buck-behavior

• Don says individual bucks are just as different from one another as individual deer hunters are. 32:47

buck-fidelity

• Chris Marks asks how to keep a couple of 170-inch bucks on his newly leased Pennsylvania property. 34:00

doe-estrus

• Don has observed with captive deer that an individual doe comes into heat on nearly the same calendar day every year. 4:25

early-fall

• Terry recounts an unusually warm, high-79-degree August day that felt like late September or early October. 8:42
• Don reports a consensus from contacts in Canada and South Carolina’s Joe Miles that this fall is about ten days to two weeks ahead of schedule. 10:44

early-rut

• Given early antler growth and hard-horned bucks already, will bucks end up bigger, keep growing, or shed early? 1:20

early-shed

• Don relays that Joe Miles told him his son shot a South Carolina buck on August 15 that had already shed its velvet on opening day. 1:42

ehd-outbreak

• Don corrects himself, noting Wabash County, the EHD hotspot, is actually in Northern rather than Southern Indiana. 23:02
• Don says a map of Indiana EHD cases shows Wabash County as the hardest hit, with about 60 reported cases. 23:21

equipment-consistency

• Don says that when he finds equipment that works, he does not like to change it. 18:24

ethical-shot-placement

• Don says he has never gut-shot a deer in forty-five years of bowhunting. 20:36

fall-range

• Austin Williams asks whether a big buck that appeared once then vanished made an early jaunt to his fall range or is still in his summer range. 31:24

giveaway

• Don announces he is giving away his Mathews lift bow as the grand door-prize at the retreat. 15:20

home-range

• Don says some bucks never leave a small home range while others have ranges spanning several miles apart. 33:00

hunting-timing

• Terry says he hunts the coldest available days regardless of whether they fall in late October or early November. 5:34

illinois-season

• Alex Dunlavy asks whether an early fall and later gun season will help bowhunters and possibly reduce the deer harvest in Illinois. 25:22

kentucky-season

• Terry predicts Kentucky’s later September 7 opener combined with early shedding may make it tough to tag a velvet buck this year. 11:40

land-management

• Don shares that a young consulting client is excited his property now holds more bucks with 10 or more points after adding switchgrass and a sanctuary. 37:08

lesters-feet

• Terry says they connected with a flood of new families needing help from Lester’s Feet over the past two weeks. 53:56

mens-retreat

• Don announces the Solid Rock Chapel men’s retreat for his home church on September 27-28. 14:34

permission-farms

• Mike asks what factor Don prioritized first when evaluating permission farms for hunting. 50:41

photoperiodism

• Don explains the rut is triggered by photoperiodism, with a doe’s pineal gland registering shortening daylight to trigger estrus. 4:10

prayer-time

• Don announces he will address a topic on Sunday Night Prayer Time that listeners have probably never heard a preacher discuss. 57:11

rainfall

• Don describes a dry June followed by a first rain on July 4 and a hurricane bringing more rain in mid-July. 24:29

rut-activity

• Don explains hot weather subdues visible rut activity while cold weather makes bucks move and be seen more. 3:16

rut-timing

• Don states that after decades raising captive deer, the rut always happens at the same time each year. 2:40

shipshewana-show

• Terry says the Shipshewana show floor plan already has all kinds of awesome vendors committed. 53:03
• Terry announces a new Chasing Giants Alley area at the Shipshewana trade show featuring friends and affiliates. 53:33

speaking-engagement

• Don announces he will speak at a Real World Wildlife Products event in Eaton, Ohio on Friday, August 30. 13:01
• Don announces a speaking event at Coldwater, Michigan the following day, August 31. 13:39

stand-setup

• Don says his equipment outperforms his own ability, so he sets up every stand for an eighteen-to-twenty-yard shot. 20:01

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (harvest) 1:45
• unnamed buck (sighting) 2:15
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 11:05
• unnamed buck (harvest) 20:59
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 31:12
• unnamed buck (harvest) 35:11
• Smokey (harvest) 37:59
• unnamed buck (harvest) 41:47
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 42:20
• unnamed buck (harvest) 47:08

Listener questions

Question: Given early antler growth and hard-horned bucks already, will bucks end up bigger, keep growing, or shed early? 1:20

• Answer: Don answers that all of the possibilities apply, depending on the individual buck. 1:32

Question: Alex Dunlavy asks whether an early fall and later gun season will help bowhunters and possibly reduce the deer harvest in Illinois. 25:22 — asked by Alex Dunlavy

• Answer: Don says an early fall with November-like temperatures in October would bode well for bowhunters. 26:10
• Answer: Don says he has no idea how the early fall will affect gun hunters’ success. 26:17

Question: Austin Williams asks whether a big buck that appeared once then vanished made an early jaunt to his fall range or is still in his summer range. 31:24 — asked by Austin Williams

• Answer: Don guesses the buck made an early jaunt into his fall range rather than remaining unseen in his summer range. 31:37

Question: Chris Marks asks how to keep a couple of 170-inch bucks on his newly leased Pennsylvania property. 34:00 — asked by Chris Marks

• Answer: Don says there is no reliable way to keep a mature buck home once its pattern is established. 34:13

Question: Jay Brandenberger asks whether a buck’s similar rack to a prior deer means it’s from the same buck or doe, and which parent contributes more genetically. 39:59 — asked by Jay Brandenberger

• Answer: Don says the commonly cited figure is that a buck gets 60% of his antler traits from his mother and 40% from his father. 41:15

Question: Kenneth asks why mature deer didn’t get the same antler growth boost from good conditions that younger deer got. 49:06 — asked by Kenneth

• Answer: Don clarifies that this year every buck he has pictures of, regardless of age, added antler inches. 49:34

Question: Mike asks what factor Don prioritized first when evaluating permission farms for hunting. 50:41 — asked by Mike

• Answer: Don says the single overriding factor is who else is hunting that farm. 51:03
• Answer: Don says freedom from human intrusion is what a mature buck desires most and what he looks for in a property. 51:43

Prayer Time

Theme: introduction to how men should treat women
Don introduces the Sunday Night Prayer Time topic of how Christian men should treat women, framed by his own journey from indifference toward girls to deep appreciation after having daughters. 58:46

Theme: statistics on mistreatment of women
Don cites United Nations figures that one hundred million women are missing worldwide and five thousand girls are murdered annually by their own parents for perceived family shame. 63:22

Scripture: Galatians
Theme: equality of men and women in Christ
Don quotes Galatians 3:28 that there is neither male nor female in Christ, arguing this shows men and women are equal before God. 64:43

Scripture: 1 Peter
Theme: husbands honoring wives as heirs of grace
Don quotes 1 Peter 3:7 instructing husbands to live with their wives understandingly and honor them as co-heirs of grace, warning that failing to do so hinders prayers. 65:29

Scripture: Ephesians
Theme: husbands loving wives sacrificially
Don quotes Ephesians 5:25, which calls husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. 66:08

Scripture: Ephesians
Theme: mutual love and respect in marriage
Don quotes Ephesians 5:33, instructing husbands to love their wives as themselves and wives to respect their husbands. 66:28

Scripture: John
Theme: salvation offered equally to all
Don quotes John 3:16, emphasizing that salvation is offered to ‘whoever’ believes, underscoring that God’s gift is the same for women as for men. 69:37

Don and Terry discussed early seasonal signs pointing to a fall running well ahead of schedule: Joe Miles’ son took a South Carolina buck already hard-horned on opening day, Don’s own earliest personal shed-antler sighting was August 26, and contacts in Canada and South Carolina agreed the season was roughly ten days to two weeks early. They tied this to a warm-then-cold weather pattern, photoperiod-driven rut timing, and ahead-of-schedule acorn drop. Both noted this year’s antler growth was notably better than recent years, with Don observing every tracked buck, regardless of age, added inches. Terry described tuning his bow at Broken Rack Archery, while Don explained his conservative eighteen-to-twenty-yard stand setups and spotless gut-shot record. Listener questions covered antler genetics (60/40 maternal-paternal split), buck home-range variability, and keeping mature bucks on newly leased land. Don closed with a Sunday Night Prayer segment on how Christian men should treat women, citing scripture on mutual honor and love.

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