Episode #252 - Don says, “THERE IS NO SECOND RUT!”

Published: 2024-12-15
Episode page
Duration: 78 min

In this episode

audience-support

• Don received roughly 1,300 supportive social media messages and prayers after sharing his health scare, plus hundreds more direct outreach messages. 5:54
• Terry noted that news of Don’s health scare even spread within Amish communities, prompting many phone calls to the show. 6:18

buck-culling

• Don advises never culling year-and-a-half-old bucks regardless of antler shape, waiting until roughly age three when true potential shows before culling. 61:35

buck-fawn-survival

• How many buck fawns does it take to produce one target buck—at least five years old and 180 inches—given predation, mowing, poaching, and hunting mortality? 38:33

dealer-event

• Terry announced that 360 Hunting is planning a January dealer day to showcase its new production facility and products. 67:17

diet

• Don has avoided soda pop and candy bars since mid-May as part of improving his diet before his health scare. 8:25

fawn-health

• How would you approach and investigate a small, motherless doe fawn showing scours before it was found dead, and would you harvest it? 48:49

goal-setting

• Don urges hunters to keep the same target-buck goal from opening day through the last afternoon, since compromising it prevents ever reaching bigger goals. 28:19

health

• Terry recalled that Don previously had lightheaded episodes while hunting the rut together in Illinois and was reluctant to climb into a tree stand. 9:05

health-scare

• Don Higgins revealed his CT scan showed two ‘mini stroke’ type events, one before his hospitalization and one during it. 2:16
• Don is being fitted for a 30-day heart monitor and will undergo a sedated MRI the following week to diagnose his condition. 1:12

late-season-hunting

• Don stated that if a previously identified target buck appears he shoots it regardless of season timing, and advises others to do the same. 27:41
• Don warned that shooting a buck below your goal late in the season is effectively shooting next year’s bigger, more mature buck. 26:50

mock-scrapes

• Is there a reason to use a rope instead of a branch or vine for mock scrapes, since vines look more natural? 42:21

new-segment

• Terry announced a new unscripted segment called ‘Higgins on the Hot Seat’ starting the first of the year, where Don answers unprepared topics live. 67:27

poaching

• Don recommends hiding obstacles like an overturned field harrow inside switchgrass or Miscanthus screening to stop poachers from driving through it. 64:02

prayer-time

• Terry reminded listeners to stay tuned after the closing credits for the Sunday night prayer time segment airing right after the episode. 68:48

property-ceiling

• Don explained every property has a maximum potential, or ‘ceiling,’ and his consulting goal is to help clients reach but not exceed that ceiling. 14:34

property-management

• Wes Delks told Don years ago that a repeat consulting client’s second property is always noticeably better than their first. 10:23
• Don confirmed he has never seen a repeat client’s second property turn out worse than their first property. 10:46

rope-scrapes

• Don recommends buying plain hemp or manila rope from a farm store rather than pre-packaged scent ropes for rope scrapes. 44:55

screening

• What should I plant along my road frontage to screen deer, since poachers shoot deer there and my screening keeps getting sprayed or driven over? 63:08

second-rut

• Since deer are chasing in both mid-November and mid-December, is there really a second rut, and can you cover it more? 55:49

social-media

• Don observed that for every critical commenter, there are hundreds of supportive fans, making negativity a tiny minority. 6:38

speaking-engagement

• Don announced he will present his new deer-management seminar at the Kansas Whitetail Summit around March 1 and the next weekend at the Iowa Deer Classic in Des Moines. 17:54

video-hunting

• Don suggests hunters struggling to stick to their goal try videoing bucks instead of shooting them, for satisfaction without compromising standards. 32:25

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 35:50
• unnamed buck (harvest) 36:54
• unnamed buck (harvest) 53:45
• unnamed buck (history) 59:13

Listener questions

Question: How many buck fawns does it take to produce one target buck—at least five years old and 180 inches—given predation, mowing, poaching, and hunting mortality? 38:33 — asked by Casey Larson

• Answer: Don estimated several thousand buck fawns are born off his farm per buck reaching five years and 180 inches, but his own farm’s management yields far better odds. 41:14

Question: Is there a reason to use a rope instead of a branch or vine for mock scrapes, since vines look more natural? 42:21 — asked by Drew Harmon

• Answer: Don said bucks seem to prefer ropes over vines and won’t find ropes scattered everywhere like they do vines, especially valuable on public land. 43:58

Question: How would you approach and investigate a small, motherless doe fawn showing scours before it was found dead, and would you harvest it? 48:49 — asked by Steve Martinez

• Answer: Don guessed the fawn was orphaned before its gut fully developed, since it was never seen with its mother, leading to digestive failure. 49:01

Question: Since deer are chasing in both mid-November and mid-December, is there really a second rut, and can you cover it more? 55:49 — asked by Keith Miller

• Answer: Don denied a second rut exists, calling it one continuous rut with peaks and valleys, similar to how there’s only one summer with varying hot spells. 56:20

Question: What should I plant along my road frontage to screen deer, since poachers shoot deer there and my screening keeps getting sprayed or driven over? 63:08 — asked by Benjamin Maines

• Answer: Don recommended planting five rows of Miscanthus, calling it the best screen available, to block sightlines along the road frontage. 63:21

Prayer Time

Theme: Christmas as a rescue mission
Harold likened the Christmas story to a rescue mission, saying God sent Jesus because humanity could not save itself, comparing it to the rescue plot of Saving Private Ryan, culminating in Christ’s death and resurrection. 70:49

Don Higgins opened up about his health scare, revealing his CT scan showed two mini-stroke type events, one before and one during hospitalization, and that he was being fitted for a 30-day heart monitor ahead of a sedated MRI. He and Terry discussed the outpouring of support, roughly 1,300 messages plus hundreds more, and how word even reached Amish communities. Terry recalled Don having lightheaded spells while hunting Illinois years earlier. Don shared consulting philosophy, describing every property’s management ‘ceiling’ and noting repeat clients’ second properties always improve. He urged hunters to hold their target-buck goal through the season’s last afternoon rather than compromise, and answered listener questions on rope scrapes versus vines, Miscanthus road screening against poachers, doe fawn scours, and why he considers the rut one continuous event rather than two. Harold delivered a Christmas prayer likening the nativity to a rescue mission.

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