Episode #258 - Live Podcast from Mt. Hope Ohio

Published: 2025-01-26
Episode page
Duration: 81 min

In this episode

aging-bucks

• What is the best way to age a buck on the hoof with no prior history on him? 14:25

antler-growth

• Terry shot a four-year-old buck this year that scored 167 inches, having added almost 40 inches of antler growth from age three to four. 29:39
• At what age does a buck typically make its biggest jump in antler growth? 29:00

baiting

• As an Ohio resident, what would your wish list be for supplemental feeding and baiting regulations? 57:08

bedding-cover

• If a three-year-old buck has claimed a bedding sanctuary you’d normally mow, should you still mow it? 60:34

chasing-giants-tv

• Chasing Giants TV plans to release a bunch of habitat videos this spring. 7:20

cody-orr

• Austin’s friend Cody Orr from North Carolina became paralyzed from the lower ribs down after diving into a lake at age 15, yet lives out life positively every day. 36:38
• What were the emotional highs and lows Austin experienced this season with Cody’s hunt and his own buck? 36:24

coonless-feeder

• A Coonless deer feeder, donated by Austin’s family, is being raffled off at the event with the winner taking it home that night. 45:43

culling

• Terry explains he culled his 167-inch buck as the weakest of the farm’s four-year-olds, illustrating identifying and removing genetically weaker bucks in an age class. 33:01

dons-health

• Don has suffered ongoing illness over recent months and had a fever for three days leaving him completely bedridden and unable to attend the live show. 3:24

faith

• Terry tells the crowd no friendship, relationship, or conversation about Jesus is worth losing over an animal like a whitetail on the wall. 44:16

favorite-buck

• What was the most fun buck you’ve ever killed, and why? 64:04

gingerich-trees

• JB’s Feed and Supply is taking March orders for Gingerich Trees, consolidating them on one truckload for pickup at JB’s on April 5. 28:00

hunt-videos

• About six or seven hunt videos are already filmed and will be released heading into 2025. 7:35

joe-miles

• Joe Miles is currently hunting in South Texas, and Terry predicts he’ll end up with another giant buck before the season ends. 7:08

lesters-feet

• Grant Nicodemus announces that 100% of the live auction proceeds go to Lester’s Feet. 48:14

live-show

• Roughly 900 to 1,000 people gathered in Mount Hope, Ohio for the live show to raise money for Lester’s Feet, with the podcast sponsored by ASIO Gear. 3:06

neighbor-management

• Terry states that the most important factor in developing a property for big bucks is managing your neighbors, not just your own land. 22:45

nutricrave

• The raffle winner also receives 1,000 pounds of NutriCrave corn for the first fill of the Coonless feeder. 45:57

ohio-regulation

• Terry mentions he’s heard Ohio may be discussing a proposal to limit nonresident hunters. 58:39

podcast

• Terry hopes listeners’ takeaway is that two under-produced, low-quality podcast hosts still try to put the Lord first. 6:34

property-line

• What should be done about hunters who pile corn and set tree stands right on property lines? 42:35

scent-control

• Does Don use any scent control, or does he simply hunt the wind? 59:11

solar-farms

• Terry argues solar farms bought with government subsidies push family farms into financial trouble, forcing sales to large corporations, and warns China ends up owning much of the country’s farmland. 20:21

supplemental-feeding

• Is it a misconception that mature bucks won’t eat from feeders, and does it improve the longer feed is out? 53:30

technology

• What is the biggest threat to the deer hunting industry today: technology or ethics, including drones? 11:16

tony-lapratt

• Terry recounts that at a Shipshewana debate, someone asked Don if he’d take Hillary hunting and he refused, while Tony LaPratt volunteered to take her instead. 52:50 (light moment)

tree-saddle

• Why doesn’t Terry like hunting out of a tree saddle? 23:15

weekly-content

• The team also plans weekly content covering soil health, food plots, and TSI to help viewers manage habitat. 7:42

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (harvest) 29:39
• Smokey (history) 30:40
• Mel (history) 30:40
• Zacchaeus (history) 30:40
• unnamed buck (harvest) 55:35
• unnamed buck (harvest) 64:29
• unnamed buck (harvest) 69:19
• unnamed buck (harvest) 69:55

Listener questions

Question: What is the biggest threat to the deer hunting industry today: technology or ethics, including drones? 11:16

• Answer: Playing Don in reverse, Ray Miller jokingly claims there’s no issue with property-line hunting, corn piles, drones, or bad deer recovery practices. 12:01
• Answer: Terry seriously answers that drones are probably the single most dangerous tool that could be misused negatively in the hunting industry. 13:50

Question: What is the best way to age a buck on the hoof with no prior history on him? 14:25

• Answer: Playing opposite-Don, Ray jokes that a tiny-looking deer is actually old. 14:46
• Answer: Terry explains a trail camera aging trick: as bucks age, the sagging distance in rear body proportions increases, letting you scale photos to judge age. 16:45

Question: At what age does a buck typically make its biggest jump in antler growth? 29:00

• Answer: Ray Miller says, on the record, bucks usually jump most from age three to four, though every deer differs. 29:21
• Answer: Terry advises not fixating on a specific age jump, but instead identifying which three- and four-year-old bucks show special genetic potential. 32:00

Question: Why doesn’t Terry like hunting out of a tree saddle? 23:15

• Answer: Terry says he’s injury-prone enough to need urgent care every three months, and fears tethering into a saddle would leave him hanging upside down by the neck. 23:53

Question: What were the emotional highs and lows Austin experienced this season with Cody’s hunt and his own buck? 36:24

• Answer: Austin says killing his buck felt bittersweet because he’d invested everything into helping his new friend Cody get a deer first. 36:31
• Answer: Austin told Cody he was sad to have shot the deer himself, but promised Cody would return next year to try for a bigger buck. 40:43
• Answer: Austin calls the whole experience a roller coaster, noting the buck was a bully pushing other deer off and hoping Cody returns for a bigger one. 40:50

Question: What should be done about hunters who pile corn and set tree stands right on property lines? 42:35

• Answer: Playing opposite-Don, Ray jokes he’d tear down fences and invite the offending neighbors over for dinner. 42:48

Question: Is it a misconception that mature bucks won’t eat from feeders, and does it improve the longer feed is out? 53:30

• Answer: Ray Miller says mature buck feeder use depends on how long they’ve been exposed to it, with skepticism higher on newly leased ground. 53:49
• Answer: Ray adds that bucks raised around year-round feeding get fully used to it. 54:13

Question: As an Ohio resident, what would your wish list be for supplemental feeding and baiting regulations? 57:08

• Answer: Ray Miller says he’d want out-of-season feeding restricted and believes removing baiting would put more mature bucks on the landscape, helping small-acreage hunters. 57:20

Question: Does Don use any scent control, or does he simply hunt the wind? 59:11

• Answer: Terry recalls that twenty years ago Don was particular about chlorophyll tablets and dressing out carefully in the field. 59:20
• Answer: Terry says Don now avoids Ozonics or scent sprays entirely, relying mainly on the wind. 59:37

Question: If a three-year-old buck has claimed a bedding sanctuary you’d normally mow, should you still mow it? 60:34

• Answer: Terry says as long as grass is still visible under thickening cedars and brush, the bedding area is still functional and doesn’t need mowing yet. 61:54
• Answer: Terry adds that grasses are the real indicator of usable bedding, and once grass is choked out, the sanctuary is lost. 62:23

Question: What was the most fun buck you’ve ever killed, and why? 64:04

• Answer: Ray Miller says his favorite was a buck he and Aidan watched grow from three to five years old on their first farm before finally killing it. 64:29
• Answer: Terry surprises the crowd by naming his smallest mounted buck, around 118 inches, as his most fun kill. 65:09

Prayer Time

Scripture: Matthew
Theme: unhurriedness
Wes Delks shares his 2026 word ‘unhurried,’ pointing to the blind men calling out to Jesus in Matthew 20 as a model, and prays listeners would slow down like Christ, leading to deeper conversations and eternal impact. 77:03

The episode centered on a live show in Mount Hope, Ohio drawing roughly 900 to 1,000 attendees to raise money for Lester’s Feet, held while Don was bedridden after a three-day fever. Terry discussed culling a four-year-old buck that scored 167 inches after nearly 40 inches of antler growth from age three to four, and stressed that managing neighboring land matters as much as one’s own property. Listener questions covered aging bucks on the hoof, feeder use by mature deer, scent control, and bedding-area management, with Ray Miller frequently answering in an exaggerated reversal of Don’s usual positions. Austin recounted a bittersweet season helping his paralyzed friend Cody Orr hunt before shooting his own buck. Terry also warned about solar farms displacing family farms and a possible Ohio proposal limiting nonresident hunters. Wes Delks led a prayer on unhurriedness, drawing from Matthew 20.

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