Episode #251 - Update on Don & Joe Miles Kills 2 Giant Mexico Bucks!

Published: 2024-12-08
Episode page
Duration: 46 min

In this episode

age-structure

• Terry asks whether they’re seeing unusually high deer numbers or simply higher quality bucks on this Mexico hunt. 11:35

asio-gear

• Joe reports that ASIO Gear had its best Black Friday sale ever this year. 36:30
• Joe credits Terry and Don’s promotion for helping ASIO Gear have its best November ever. 37:13
• Joe jokingly plugs ASIO Gear’s discount code, ‘Chasing Giants twenties,’ during the show. 13:41 (light moment)

bow-hunting

• Joe says that after more than thirty-five years of bow hunting, this was the best two days of hunting he’s ever had. 18:04

chasing-giants-tv

• Joe says he and cameraman Andrew captured good footage from the Mexico hunt that will appear on Chasing Giants TV. 16:19

don-higgins

• Don Higgins announced on social media that he is in the hospital undergoing tests, prompting the show to bring in a substitute cohost this week. 5:41

exotic-species

• Joe notes the Mexico ranch also has exotic species like axis deer and fallow bucks alongside the native whitetails. 14:51

humor

• Joe jokes that he’s glad to be on the show, though not glad about the circumstances behind it. 5:09 (light moment)
• Terry jokes he doesn’t want natural disasters disrupting hunts to become an annual pattern. 34:51 (light moment)

hunting-blinds

• Terry asks whether they hunt from tripods or shooting houses in Mexico. 12:55

hunting-philosophy

• The Wensel brothers taught Terry and Don at last year’s Legends Roundtable not to refer to hunting as ‘a sport.’ 19:12

industry-transparency

• Terry believes the industry’s willingness to admit mistakes rather than fake perfection helps viewers learn and relate more to the hosts. 17:40

joe-miles

• Joe Miles confirms he is joining the podcast remotely from a hunting location in Mexico. 5:18

kansas-hunting

• Joe saw sixteen different bucks come through his Kansas funnel setup this season but never the specific target buck he had pictures of. 23:54

mexico-hunting

• Joe Miles says this is his fifth year hunting in Mexico and that he absolutely loves it. 6:45

mexico-location

• Terry asks where in Mexico Joe is hunting and how far south of Texas that is. 15:24

mexico-terrain

• Terry asks what the Mexico terrain looks like, wondering if it’s desert, cactus country, or hilly. 12:32

mexico-wildlife

• Terry asks what other animals besides whitetail deer they’re seeing on the Mexico ranch. 14:16

mission-whitetail-podcast

• Joe says the Mission Whitetail podcast is still going well, recently featuring guest Meredith, a longbow hunter from Virginia. 36:48

personal-experience

• Terry clarifies he actually shot a wounded buck three years ago, rather than going three straight years without any harvest. 24:25

podcast-announcement

• Terry announces the show looks different this week, with Joe Miles serving as a substitute cohost. 5:01

podcast-plan

• Terry and the team decided to keep producing the podcast this week and let Don rest instead of pushing him to appear. 5:49

podcast-schedule

• Terry plans for next week’s episode to return to the regular hosts instead of Joe filling in. 37:36

ranch-management

• Joe explains the Mexico ranch’s management program requires bucks to be at least six years old before they can be harvested. 10:05

rut-timing

• Terry asks whether the rut has started yet in Mexico given how far south they are. 10:44

self-critique

• Joe admits his shot on the first Mexico buck wasn’t his best work and that he needs to sharpen his skills. 16:28

self-deprecating-humor

• Joe jokes he’d be the poster child in a hunting-mistakes encyclopedia because he’s screwed up every possible thing over the years. 17:52 (light moment)

south-carolina-buck

• Joe plans to fly home from Mexico and resume hunting the South Carolina buck, with about three weeks left in the season. 34:24

target-buck-pressure

• Terry says he felt more rewarded than relieved when he finally killed his buck, since he never lowered his standard despite outside pressure. 25:13
• Terry asks whether killing his South Carolina buck felt like a weight lifting off after so much pressure chasing one deer. 21:49

transparency

• Don Higgins was transparent in a video about hunting ‘Zacchaeus,’ admitting on camera that he had screwed up. 17:24

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (harvest) 8:20
• unnamed buck (harvest) 8:24
• unnamed buck (management) 8:38
• unnamed buck (harvest) 9:13
• unnamed buck (harvest) 9:35
• unnamed buck (hunt) 24:25
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 26:51
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 28:16
• unnamed buck (hunt) 28:43
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 29:22
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 32:33
• unnamed buck (hunt) 34:12

Listener questions

Question: Terry asks whether the rut has started yet in Mexico given how far south they are. 10:44 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Joe says it’s classic pre-rut, comparable to late October up north, with scraping, rubbing, and posturing but no chasing yet. 10:53

Question: Terry asks whether they’re seeing unusually high deer numbers or simply higher quality bucks on this Mexico hunt. 11:35 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Joe says the ranch has a well-balanced age structure, with four-, five-, and six-year-old bucks visible in any given sit, calling it ‘Disney World.’ 12:25

Question: Terry asks what the Mexico terrain looks like, wondering if it’s desert, cactus country, or hilly. 12:32 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Joe describes the terrain as extremely flat brush country with a few drainages and no trees or bushes over five feet tall. 12:40

Question: Terry asks whether they hunt from tripods or shooting houses in Mexico. 12:55 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Joe says they hunt from box-style shooting houses, similar to 360 blinds. 12:58

Question: Terry asks what other animals besides whitetail deer they’re seeing on the Mexico ranch. 14:16 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Joe says they’ve seen hogs and javelinas, describing javelinas as small, ferocious critters native to the region. 14:24

Question: Terry asks where in Mexico Joe is hunting and how far south of Texas that is. 15:24 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Joe says they cross the border near Laredo and hunt just south of Texas’s Golden Triangle region (McAllen, Laredo, Eagle Pass). 15:50

Question: Terry asks whether killing his South Carolina buck felt like a weight lifting off after so much pressure chasing one deer. 21:49 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Joe says he wouldn’t call it the weight of the world coming off. 21:59
• Answer: Joe adds that killing a buck is great but isn’t necessary for him to consider a season successful. 24:14

With Don Higgins hospitalized undergoing tests, Joe Miles filled in as substitute cohost, joining remotely from a hunting ranch in Mexico where he was in his fifth year hunting and called the experience among the best hunting he’d had in over thirty-five years of bow hunting. He described the ranch’s management program, which required bucks to reach at least six years old before harvest, its mix of whitetails with exotic axis and fallow deer, and killed a big ten and later an absolute giant eight, plus was pointed toward a wide, broken-tined eight the ranch staff called that year’s ranch buck. He detailed the flat brush terrain, box-style shooting houses, javelinas and hogs on the property, and pre-rut deer behavior. Terry and Joe also discussed Terry’s own long pursuit of a buck, clarifying he’d shot a wounded one three years back rather than going scoreless, and Joe planned to return home to hunt South Carolina with about three weeks left in the season.

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