Episode #263 - Live from the Iowa Deer Classic

Published: 2025-03-10
Episode page
Duration: 72 min

In this episode

buck-fever

• Amber asks for advice overcoming buck fever that hits before she even draws her bow. 36:38

buck-sign

• Davey asks what the most overlooked sign is that a mature buck lives in an area. 32:36

chasing-giants-tv

• Terry announces new Chasing Giants TV videos on food plot and habitat work are coming out the following week. 8:08
• Terry announces Aaron Gaines has agreed to produce recurring Chasing Giants TV nutrition segments, roughly every six to eight weeks, on improving herd health. 47:21

conservation

• Dennis asks what Don sees as the greatest threats to preserving whitetail hunting for future generations. 14:09

consulting

• Terry plans to drive about two hours north the next morning to consult on a loyal listener’s property while in town for the show. 7:34
• Don reports he consulted in Winterset, Iowa, plans two more visits in Illinois, and has roughly a dozen consults left before wrapping up. 7:41

culling

• Don says his culling-bucks seminar will detail changes made on his own property and will make a statement that goes against mainstream hunting-industry and biologist views on genetics. 2:31

cwd

• Don states the federal government’s CWD funding to states is harmful because states exploit the money, often resorting to sharpshooting deer over bait. 15:26
• Travis jokingly asks Don to choose between letting the Illinois DNR eradicate his herd for CWD or letting Elon Musk’s team ‘drain the swamp.’ 43:11

deer-movement

• Terry relays that fellow podcaster Jeff dismissed recent research claiming bucks do not move more for cold fronts, calling it a ‘load of crap.’ 3:05

deer-recovery

• Rick Lundberg asks how far Don would disturb a bedding sanctuary to search for a deer he’s 98% sure he killed. 18:13

drones

• Dennis follows up asking where the ethical line is with drone use. 16:04

food-plot

• An audience member asks whether standing NutriCrave corn should be mowed for late-season deer food. 30:52

food-plot-design

• Bub Jenkins asks whether a 100-acre food plot should be split into sections or planted as one big field. 42:22

food-plot-equipment

• Don highlights that a sponsor now makes PHG series no-till drills that can be pulled by either an ATV or a side-by-side. 5:06

food-plot-trees

• Josh Hers asks what top five trees would work in a really wet, flood-prone area of his Colorado wildlife property. 9:31

fruit-trees

• Brandon asks whether Don plants fruit trees to diversify food sources beyond food plots near ag land. 39:33
• Brandon asks how often fruit trees need pruning to maximize production. 40:10

genetics

• Don relays Doctor Crowell’s theory that many giant 250-inch-plus bucks resulted from accidental line breeding occurring naturally in the wild. 26:01
• Grant Watson asks whether Don’s isolated farm has an increased chance of line breeding due to its isolation. 25:39
• Grant Watson asks whether line breeding was more prevalent in the 1970s-80s when deer populations were lower. 27:01

giveaway

• Terry announces that Harold is donating four DC2 trail cameras to be given away to Chasing Giants fans over the trade-show weekend. 6:38
• Terry announces Harold Monk is donating a DC2 cellular trail camera and SD card to the winner of the best-question contest. 58:59

hinge-cutting

• An audience sawmill worker asks how to convince hunters doing excessive hinge cutting to stop ruining high-value timber. 51:12

land-value

• John Gingerich asks what specific steps Don would take to add value to a small 25-40 acre hunting tract. 44:53

magazine

• Don reveals he is the editor of Whitetail Life Magazine, with Derek serving as assistant editor and likely future editor. 6:01

marriage

• Amber jokingly asks what her husband owes her after he harvested the giant buck she had passed on and missed the year before. 38:10

miscanthus

• Malen Born Sugar asks how well Miscanthus performs when planted in wetland. 56:24

neighbor-relations

• Josh asks if Don has ideas to convince neighboring landowners to pass on three-year-old bucks. 53:50

prayer

• Terry recalls that Harold Monk organized a company-wide prayer circle for Terry’s mother during her open-heart surgery, cementing their friendship. 60:45

public-land

• Joey Kessinger asks what Don uses for public-land stand sets since screw-in steps aren’t allowed there. 23:51

rubs

• Terry relays that Bobby judges rub sign by the amount of damage done rather than diameter, since a thin whittled tree indicates a bigger, stronger buck than a thick lightly-scraped one. 34:45

scent-control

• Rick Lundberg asks whether Don is totally opposed to any scent control given wind sometimes betrays hunters. 19:12
• Jay Gets jokingly asks whether it’s okay to defecate (‘code brown’) from a tree stand, similar to peeing from one. 48:38
• Jay Gets asks whether defecating from a stand would scare off deer. 48:58
• Jay Gets asks whether Don has had good success using a pelleted fertilizer product called ‘my’ for scent control. 49:16

scrapes

• Simon Yates asks whether the buck-to-doe ratio correlates with how many scrapes are seen. 50:20

stand-placement

• An audience member asks Don’s opinion on placing a camo-clad mannequin in a stand before season to acclimate deer. 13:00

switchgrass

• Josh Hers asks whether his 100-acre grass conversion would be too wet for switchgrass. 11:22
• Jared Yoder asks whether Don intentionally plants switchgrass thinner in spots to encourage bedding. 57:08

trails

• Malen Born Sugar asks how important it is to cut trails through a thick, freshly cleared 40-acre timber tract. 55:28

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (sighting) 20:16
• unnamed buck (harvest) 22:09
• unnamed buck (management) 29:22
• unnamed buck (hunt) 37:55

Listener questions

Question: Josh Hers asks what top five trees would work in a really wet, flood-prone area of his Colorado wildlife property. 9:31 — asked by Josh Hers

• Answer: Don says persimmons tolerate wet feet well, while chestnuts need a dry site with low soil pH; he later adds swamp white oaks and burr oaks also work. 10:22

Question: Josh Hers asks whether his 100-acre grass conversion would be too wet for switchgrass. 11:22

• Answer: Don says the Real World switchgrass variety does well in either bottomland or upland sites, even surviving flooding. 11:43

Question: An audience member asks Don’s opinion on placing a camo-clad mannequin in a stand before season to acclimate deer. 13:00

• Answer: Don says he wouldn’t do it; he hangs stands in early spring instead and wants the stand hit as little as possible. 13:17

Question: Dennis asks what Don sees as the greatest threats to preserving whitetail hunting for future generations. 14:09 — asked by Dennis

• Answer: Don cites advancing technology, especially drones and modern cell cameras, as removing the challenge of pursuing mature deer. 14:21

Question: Dennis follows up asking where the ethical line is with drone use. 16:04

• Answer: Don says drones in the wrong hands are a poacher’s dream and are ripe for abuse. 16:52

Question: Rick Lundberg asks how far Don would disturb a bedding sanctuary to search for a deer he’s 98% sure he killed. 18:13

• Answer: Don says he’ll turn over every leaf in the sanctuary to find a deer he’s 98% sure is dead, calling it unethical not to. 18:29

Question: Rick Lundberg asks whether Don is totally opposed to any scent control given wind sometimes betrays hunters. 19:12

• Answer: Don says a mature buck will not give up the wind under most conditions regardless of scent control efforts. 21:42

Question: Joey Kessinger asks what Don uses for public-land stand sets since screw-in steps aren’t allowed there. 23:51 — asked by Joey Kessinger

• Answer: Don says he now uses climbing sticks, having moved away from screw-in steps which he used to loosen and back out each spring. 23:57

Question: Grant Watson asks whether Don’s isolated farm has an increased chance of line breeding due to its isolation. 25:39 — asked by Grant Watson

• Answer: Don agrees his isolated, hard-culled farm has an increased chance of line breeding versus a typical property. 26:49

Question: Grant Watson asks whether line breeding was more prevalent in the 1970s-80s when deer populations were lower. 27:01

• Answer: Don believes line breeding was actually less prevalent decades ago because lower deer numbers meant more dispersal. 27:19

Question: Davey asks what the most overlooked sign is that a mature buck lives in an area. 32:36 — asked by Davey

• Answer: Don says most hunters underestimate how little human intrusion it takes to bump a mature buck off a property. 33:19

Question: Bub Jenkins asks whether a 100-acre food plot should be split into sections or planted as one big field. 42:22 — asked by Bub Jenkins

• Answer: Don says 100 acres is extreme for a food plot and should definitely be broken up into sections. 42:32

Question: Travis jokingly asks Don to choose between letting the Illinois DNR eradicate his herd for CWD or letting Elon Musk’s team ‘drain the swamp.’ 43:11 — asked by Travis

• Answer: Don says the country matters more than his deer hunting, so he’d let them ‘drain the swamp’ and find another place to hunt. 43:28

Question: An audience member asks whether standing NutriCrave corn should be mowed for late-season deer food. 30:52

• Answer: Don says deer will hit mowed corn much harder than standing corn, though he’s not sure why. 31:08

Question: Jay Gets jokingly asks whether it’s okay to defecate (‘code brown’) from a tree stand, similar to peeing from one. 48:38 — asked by Jay Gets

• Answer: Don jokes he hasn’t tried that trick, adding it probably won’t work as well as peeing did. 48:54

Question: Jay Gets asks whether defecating from a stand would scare off deer. 48:58

• Answer: Don jokes it would probably clear the whole property of deer. 48:59

Question: Jay Gets asks whether Don has had good success using a pelleted fertilizer product called ‘my’ for scent control. 49:16

• Answer: Don says the fertilizer product works well as scent control until rain washes it away, and it shouldn’t be overused. 49:20

Question: Simon Yates asks whether the buck-to-doe ratio correlates with how many scrapes are seen. 50:20 — asked by Simon Yates

• Answer: Don suspects a tighter buck-to-doe ratio increases competition, driving bucks to scrape and rub more while searching harder for does. 50:37

Question: An audience sawmill worker asks how to convince hunters doing excessive hinge cutting to stop ruining high-value timber. 51:12

• Answer: Don says he isn’t a fan of hinge cutting and suggests cutting worthless trees off at the ground instead to let sunlight regenerate the area. 52:07

Question: Josh asks if Don has ideas to convince neighboring landowners to pass on three-year-old bucks. 53:50 — asked by Josh

• Answer: Don says it isn’t his place to tell other hunters what to shoot; he focuses instead on keeping bucks on his own property as many daylight hours as possible. 54:13

Question: Malen Born Sugar asks how important it is to cut trails through a thick, freshly cleared 40-acre timber tract. 55:28 — asked by Malen Born Sugar

• Answer: Don suggests using a skid loader to create a trail that funnels deer past tree stands as they move from bedding to feed. 55:48

Question: Malen Born Sugar asks how well Miscanthus performs when planted in wetland. 56:24

• Answer: Don says Miscanthus does not tolerate wet feet and shouldn’t be planted where it will get flooded. 56:30

Question: Jared Yoder asks whether Don intentionally plants switchgrass thinner in spots to encourage bedding. 57:08 — asked by Jared Yoder

• Answer: Don instead plants Miscanthus within the switchgrass field, since switchgrass thins naturally against it and deer like bedding with Miscanthus at their back. 57:30

Question: Brandon asks whether Don plants fruit trees to diversify food sources beyond food plots near ag land. 39:33 — asked by Brandon

• Answer: Don says diversifying food sources, including fruit trees, is a key part of setting a property apart. 40:03

Question: Brandon asks how often fruit trees need pruning to maximize production. 40:10

• Answer: Don says on his farm fruit trees aren’t pruned after establishment; it’s survival of the fittest. 40:30

Question: John Gingerich asks what specific steps Don would take to add value to a small 25-40 acre hunting tract. 44:53 — asked by John Gingerich

• Answer: Don says the first step is creating the best possible bedding cover to get bucks bedded on the property, then staying out of it. 45:35

Question: Amber asks for advice overcoming buck fever that hits before she even draws her bow. 36:38

• Answer: Don advises getting deer as close as possible, since shorter distances shrink the margin for error from nerves or misjudged range. 37:36

Question: Amber jokingly asks what her husband owes her after he harvested the giant buck she had passed on and missed the year before. 38:10

• Answer: Don jokes her husband shouldn’t get to bow hunt again until she herself takes a 200-inch buck. 38:28

Prayer Time

Theme: closing prayer of thanksgiving and protection
Harold Monk closes the live event thanking God for His power and grace through Jesus Christ, asking protection over children and grandchildren in a challenging world, and thanking Him for Terry and Don’s commitment to Christ. 63:20

Scripture: Matthew
Theme: the church gathered in Christ’s name beyond the building
Aaron Gaines reflects on Matthew 18:20 to explain that church is not confined to a building but happens wherever two or three gather in Jesus’ name, tying it to living out faith daily rather than only on Sundays. 69:13

This live trade-show episode featured Terry and Don fielding an extensive round of listener questions alongside housekeeping and prayer segments. Don previewed his culling-bucks seminar, saying it would challenge mainstream genetics views, and relayed Doctor Crowell’s theory that many 250-inch-plus bucks arose from accidental natural line breeding, agreeing his own isolated, hard-culled farm faced increased odds of it. He argued CWD funding pushes states toward sharpshooting deer over bait, and named advancing technology, especially drones and cell cameras, as the biggest threat to hunting’s future, calling drone misuse a poacher’s dream. Listener questions covered wet-site plantings (persimmons, switchgrass, Miscanthus), splitting large food plots, avoiding scent control overreliance, hinge-cutting damage to timber, and building bedding cover on small tracts. Harold Monk and Aaron Gaines each offered closing reflections, and Terry announced trail-camera giveaways and upcoming Chasing Giants TV segments.

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