Episode #29 - Don previews some HIT LIST and UP-AND-COMER bucks while Terry is chasing a good buck in KY

Published: 2020-09-08
Episode page
Duration: 78 min

In this episode

doe-behavior

Terry notes that on properties with higher deer numbers, it only takes one doe catching wind of a hunter to blow and ruin the whole night’s hunt. 4:37

doe-estrus

Don restates David’s question on whether they use doe estrus scent during the rut to draw in giant bucks. 72:22

food-plots

Don reports it’s very dry and he had to plant his fall food plots in dust after only a light rain. 12:15

hard-work

Terry says people with stories like Don’s succeeded because they worked hard and sacrificed for their hunting land, not because they had money in the industry. 54:52

human-intrusion

David Lewallen from Blue Mound, Illinois asked what key tips Don and Terry would teach their younger selves as beginning hunters. 62:03

hunting-strategy

Derek Hammond asked whether smaller landowners should hunt deep in a property’s dark reaches to reach less-pressured deer. 56:34

kentucky

Terry reports that some absolute giant bucks have already been killed in Kentucky this year, including at least three boomers taken on opening day. 1:42

last-minute-permission

Terry reports that Wes Delks got last-minute permission to hunt a farm in Northern Kentucky, though the hunt ended up being a bust. 11:40

listener-feedback

Terry shares that a listener who had been hospitalized for about forty days messaged him calling him an inspiration. 41:52

marriage

Don credits having a supporting spouse as huge, noting many women would resent a husband buying hunting land instead of building a new house. 55:25

mentorship

Don says one of the best things is when someone kills the biggest buck of their life and credits something they read or heard from him. 41:18

muzzleloader

Terry announces he picked up his custom long-range muzzleloader today. 34:28

onx

Don has been studying Google Earth and onX to identify landowners near the out-of-state buck before knocking on doors for permission. 11:08

out-of-state-hunt

Don plans to travel out of state the next day on a hot tip about a specific buck, in a state where he can buy a tag over the counter. 9:28

personal-story

Don recalls early financial struggles, including having the electricity shut off more than once because he and his wife couldn’t afford the bill. 48:19

podcast

Terry announces that the previous episode, episode 28, set another download record for the podcast. 40:47

scent-control

Don recalls getting lightheaded after running a scent-crusher ozone bag with camo clothing in his basement one Christmas, without it zipped up all the way. 68:52
David Lewallen asked what Don and Terry do to keep their scent down while hunting. 62:33

season-opener

Don says he must wait about three more weeks before deer season opens for him in Illinois. 1:15

Don decided to share one buck picture a day for a week to see what it would do for social media engagement. 13:52

tacticam

Terry notes the budget TactiCam is getting the most buzz in his cell camera test since it costs about $100. 23:37

trail-camera

Terry reports that in his ongoing cell camera test, the WiseEye camera is sending far better picture quality to his phone than any other camera tested. 20:46
Terry ranks the Browning and Exodus cameras as tied for second place in picture quality in his ongoing cell camera test. 23:09
Terry says the StealthCam and SpyPoint ranked at the bottom of his cell camera test, saying he wouldn’t take them if someone gave them to him. 24:17
Kevin Thayer privately messaged Don asking whether bucks avoiding trail cameras is a learned behavior. 29:05

trail-camera-study

Terry is running 13 trail cameras on a two-acre food plot to study how deer approach it relative to wind direction. 31:54

trophy-buck

Don says one of the bucks he’s tracking is among the best three-year-olds he’s seen in over forty years of deer hunting, and confirms the buck is definitely three. 17:14

velvet-shed

Don says one of the better bucks he’s watched all summer shed his velvet before the end of August, confirmed clean in a picture taken August 28. 5:33

whitetail-cribs

Terry announces the TV show Whitetail Cribs is coming to film at his house this Thursday. 56:03

wiseeye

Terry plans to buy one or two more WiseEye cameras for this hunting season based on the picture quality he’s seen in his test. 26:33

wrong-wind

Terry reports a friend hunted the wrong wind on opening night because he couldn’t accept skipping it, and predictably did not see a single buck. 7:25

youtube

Don reports their YouTube video about creating rope scrapes to take buck inventory was the most-watched video they’ve had yet. 77:46

Deer activity

unnamed buck (harvest) 1:58
unnamed buck (harvest) 2:22
unnamed buck (hunt) 3:51
unnamed buck (trail-camera) 5:33
unnamed buck (history) 16:33
unnamed buck (history) 17:14
unnamed buck (trail-camera) 33:44
unnamed buck (harvest) 45:16
unnamed buck (harvest) 75:53

Listener questions

Question: Kevin Thayer privately messaged Don asking whether bucks avoiding trail cameras is a learned behavior. 29:05 — asked by Kevin Thayer

Answer: Don thinks it’s mostly individual buck personality, with some deer possibly associating cameras with humans, but attributes much of it to scent left behind. 29:38
Answer: Terry adds that impatient hunters who check cameras too often end up educating bucks through repeated human intrusion. 30:19

Question: Derek Hammond asked whether smaller landowners should hunt deep in a property’s dark reaches to reach less-pressured deer. 56:34 — asked by Derek Hammond

Answer: Don says hunting deep into a property’s interior is usually not the best approach; hunt the edges with easy-access stands instead. 58:12
Answer: Terry adds that advice must be applied to each property’s specific layout, since he hunts his farm completely differently than Don hunts his. 60:22

Question: David Lewallen from Blue Mound, Illinois asked what key tips Don and Terry would teach their younger selves as beginning hunters. 62:03 — asked by David Lewallen

Answer: Don says the key lesson is minimizing human intrusion, which is highly detrimental to success if not kept to an absolute minimum. 69:53
Answer: Terry says to enjoy the learning process rather than let social media pressure push beginners toward killing mature bucks too soon. 70:43

Question: Don restates David’s question on whether they use doe estrus scent during the rut to draw in giant bucks. 72:22

Answer: Don says he doesn’t use doe estrus scent anymore, has never had it draw in a shooter buck, and thinks scents are overrated. 72:30
Answer: Terry says he now relies on hunting the downwind side of bedding areas instead of scent, believing being in the right spot matters most. 73:12
Answer: Don adds it’s better to quietly get into the right spot without disturbing anything than to walk in and hang scent. 74:22

Question: David Lewallen asked what Don and Terry do to keep their scent down while hunting. 62:33

Answer: Don says his only scent-control method is playing the wind. 64:17
Answer: Terry notes Don still changes clothes and avoids obvious mistakes, but doesn’t run ozone machines or other scent gimmicks. 66:20

Don and Terry covered season prep and hunting philosophy. Don discussed dry conditions forcing him to plant food plots in dust, an upcoming out-of-state hunt on a hot tip after scouting landowners via Google Earth and onX, and trail-camera bucks including one that shed velvet by August 28 and another he called among the best three-year-olds in over forty years hunting. Terry shared his ongoing cell camera test, ranking WiseEye highest for picture quality, Browning and Exodus tied for second, and StealthCam and SpyPoint at the bottom, plus his 13-camera setup studying wind approach on a food plot. Listener questions covered whether cameras educate bucks, hunting property interiors versus edges, beginner advice, and scent control, with both agreeing minimizing human intrusion and playing the wind mattered more than scent products. Don also reflected on early financial struggles and the reward of listeners crediting the show for their hunting success.

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