Thermal Drones, Trail Cameras & Big Buck Strategies | Chasing Giants Podcast #282

Published: 2025-07-20
Episode page
Duration: 79 min

In this episode

bedding-area

• Rod Foust asked how to determine whether a bedding area is big enough to hold mature bucks. 56:10
• Terry asked whether bedding area size correlates with how many bucks will use it. 57:46

belize

• Terry noted that large Amish and Mennonite communities exist in Belize. 3:11
• Terry explained that much of Belize’s agriculture is run by Mennonite farmers who settled in the country generations ago. 3:30

belize-travel

• Terry described taking a bus ride into the mountains near the Guatemalan border in Belize and climbing steep pyramid ruins dated to roughly 1,200 BC. 2:33

chad-sprague

• Don noted Grub Equipment’s lead sales rep, Chad Sprague, is an experienced Alaskan hunting guide. 27:16

consulting

• Terry said the most valuable information for a consulting visit is how many deer are using the property. 63:31

crimping

• Michael Gulich asked what advantage crimping offers over mowing a cover crop before planting fall food plots. 38:07

deer-density

• Terry asked what impact taking far more deer than usual off the property had on its overall holding capacity. 8:17

deer-harvest

• Don said he shot more than double the number of deer he’d ever taken in one season on his farm last year. 9:11

deer-movement

• Don explained that a large part of their consulting work is manipulating deer movement to put deer where the hunter wants them. 64:14

diversion-fences

• Terry said Derek plans to set up drop-shipping for diversion fence materials to save listeners money. 32:49

drone-survey

• Don relayed that a client of Wes Delks saw his property’s deer population grow from about a dozen to roughly 70 after implementing Wes’s habitat plan. 12:12

drone-technology

• Don recounted that Jack showed up with a brand-new drone, one of only six of its kind in the United States. 14:31

emerson-day

• Terry announced Emerson Day will be a guest on the show this week. 65:48

family-priorities

• Terry reflected that on past vacations he often prioritized work or hunting over family, and now regrets those missed moments with his family. 1:41
• Don said he and Terry always encourage people to keep their priorities in order, with family at the very top of the list. 2:17

farm-progress-show

• Don announced the Farm Progress Show will be held in Decatur, Illinois, August 26-28, where Chasing Giants will have booths. 6:03

genetics

• Kurt Kousitka asked whether genetics is the most critical factor for trophy antler size versus age and nutrition. 51:35

green-prairie-seed

• Terry noted that Green Prairie Seed was rebranded from Kitchen Seed. 6:15

grub-equipment

• Don announced Grub Equipment in Covington, Indiana, run by Brandon Ricketts, is now sponsoring Chasing Giants and became a Real World dealer. 25:53

higgins-hot-seat

• Terry asked Don what his worst vacation experience was for the Higgins Hot Seat segment. 35:24

mentorship

• Don said he and Terry aim to share forty years of hard-earned lessons to help listeners shave years off their own learning curve. 50:39

new-property

• Ben Hurshberger asked what to do on a brand-new property before his winter consulting visit without wasting time or making mistakes. 60:10

nutricrave-corn

• Don plans to film a Chasing Giants TV video showing off his NutriCrave corn plots. 7:06

property-comparison

• Frank Mozingo asked how Don could prove his property is the best whitetail property in North America acre for acre. 43:23

reconyx

• Don said in side-by-side testing no other trail camera brand has come close to getting even half as many pictures as Reconyx. 18:34

shipshewana-show

• Terry announced he and Don are continuing their partnership with the Shipshewana Show. 31:16

sunday-night-prayer

• Terry announced Dan Piper’s Sunday Night Prayer Time segment closes out the episode. 66:07

tax-incentives

• Terry said the new dealership can offer tax incentives on equipment purchases for buyers who don’t qualify for standard ag exemptions. 29:23

wiseye

• Don bought three more WiseEye cameras after impressive side-by-side testing, bringing his total to five. 19:37
• Don plans to produce a Chasing Giants TV video comparing WiseEye and Reconyx. 19:45

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (harvest) 53:44

Listener questions

Question: Terry asked what impact taking far more deer than usual off the property had on its overall holding capacity. 8:17 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don said too many deer can hurt a property’s ability to produce giant mature bucks. 9:38
• Answer: Don said his food plots now show far less browse pressure than a year earlier. 9:25

Question: Michael Gulich asked what advantage crimping offers over mowing a cover crop before planting fall food plots. 38:07 — asked by Michael Gulich

• Answer: Don said he’s been skeptical of crimping because timing must be nearly perfect for it to work well. 38:59
• Answer: For fall plots, Don recommends mowing to three or four inches rather than relying on crimping. 41:24

Question: Frank Mozingo asked how Don could prove his property is the best whitetail property in North America acre for acre. 43:23 — asked by Frank Mozingo

• Answer: Don proposed comparing properties by having owners submit their top five buck photos yearly for at least five years, then comparing results. 45:46

Question: Kurt Kousitka asked whether genetics is the most critical factor for trophy antler size versus age and nutrition. 51:35 — asked by Kurt Kousitka

• Answer: Don said genetics, not age or nutrition, sets the ceiling on antler size. 52:54
• Answer: Don said typical versus nontypical antlers are genetically determined, though leg or foot injuries can also cause nontypical racks. 55:02

Question: Rod Foust asked how to determine whether a bedding area is big enough to hold mature bucks. 56:10 — asked by Rod Foust

• Answer: Don said any thicket big enough for a buck to lay in is big enough to hold a mature buck. 56:20
• Answer: Don said the real factor is human intrusion, not the size of the bedding area. 56:28

Question: Terry asked whether bedding area size correlates with how many bucks will use it. 57:46 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don said larger, low-intrusion sanctuary areas typically hold more bucks than smaller ones, though intrusion matters more than size. 58:05

Question: Ben Hurshberger asked what to do on a brand-new property before his winter consulting visit without wasting time or making mistakes. 60:10 — asked by Ben Hurshberger

• Answer: Don advised spending the first year learning the property, hunting with good wind and access, before committing to major clearing or permanent plots. 62:17

Question: Terry asked Don what his worst vacation experience was for the Higgins Hot Seat segment. 35:24 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don said dragging himself to water parks and amusement parks for his kids, despite disliking water, was his least fun vacation experience. 35:57

Prayer Time

Scripture: Psalms
Theme: running to God like a child in hard times
Dan Pifer shares how God used his son’s joyful worship, a viral reel about parenting, and Mark 10:14 to teach him to run to God with childlike trust rather than self-reliance, closing the segment in prayer. 75:26

Sponsors this episode

• ASIO Gear

Terry and Don covered consulting, gear, and sponsorship news before taking listener questions. Don said knowing how many deer use a property is the most valuable consulting information, since much of their work involves manipulating deer movement. Terry asked about the effect of taking far more deer than usual off his property; Don said overpopulation can hurt a property’s ability to produce mature bucks, though his food plots now showed less browse pressure. Listener questions covered crimping versus mowing before fall plots, whether genetics caps antler size, bedding area size and human intrusion, and preparing a new property before a winter consulting visit. Don also described testing showing Reconyx cameras outperforming rivals, prompting him to buy more WiseEye cameras, and announced Grub Equipment, run by Brandon Ricketts, as a new sponsor and dealer. The episode closed with Dan Pifer’s Sunday Night Prayer Time.

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