#292 - Public Land Busts, Big Timber Dreams, & Target Bucks

Published: 2025-09-28
Episode page
Duration: 70 min

In this episode

bowhunting

• Don realized right after releasing his arrow that the buck he’d hit wasn’t the same big buck he had seen minutes earlier in the dark. 24:53

cattle

• Don plans to buy bred heifers in South Dakota and may make a trailer trip there next week, taking him out of a few hunting days. 15:06

christmas-merch

• Terry floated putting together a Christmas merch run with Chasing Giants logos if listeners want it, with profits going to Lester’s Feet. 53:47

consulting-materials

• Every client receives a notebook with a pocket holding the detailed written plan for their particular property. 46:46

consulting-team

• Don’s consulting team includes Terry, Wes, Bobby, David Elliott, Caleb Gehman on the East Coast, and Derek Burkholder in Northern Indiana. 40:58
• Don’s whole consulting team met in Illinois this summer for a PowerPoint session and property walkthrough to share ideas and improve their approach. 47:21

consulting-travel

• Wes reportedly lives on the road nearly full-time consulting, traveling well beyond when Don and Terry finish, even into Canada. 33:34

crops

• With no rain coming, will all the crops around Don be out by the second week of October? 18:18

cull-bucks

• Terry says a heavy-bodied buck on trail camera at his place needs to be culled. 19:04
• Don estimates about half a dozen bucks on his property he wouldn’t mind seeing culled. 19:50
• Terry doesn’t want to shoot a cull buck too early since he’s holding out for a mature deer to use his new Kentucky access and improved habitat. 20:24
• How many cull bucks does Don think he and Corey need to gauge, and will that wait until crops are out? 18:43

doe-factory

• Does Don seeing more bucks and fewer does this summer support the ‘doe factory’ theory? 48:39

doe-management

• Don says there’s no shortage of does on his farm and he won’t lay off doe harvest entirely, just shoot fewer than last year. 16:38
• Don will shoot a doe with buck fawns if the opportunity comes by his stand, but won’t shoot every doe opportunity like last year. 17:46
• What is Don’s doe strategy on his farm this year, and when will he start harvesting does? 15:38
• Why is it important to wait until all the crops come out before assessing doe numbers? 16:09
• How is doe timing affected by neighbors having to do late or second plantings this year? 16:57

ehd

• Don suspects muddy, ground-dug water holes may attract the midge that carries the EHD virus. 35:35

health

• Don feels about ten years younger than he did last year at this time since starting his diet in May. 33:13
• Don started a diet on May 1 and lost 20 pounds without trying, by cutting carbs. 34:14

hunting-ethics

• Don says ethical bow hunters don’t tag another buck’s kill and don’t repeat a bad shot decision after learning the hard lesson once. 27:08

hunting-trailer

• Terry is nearly finished outfitting a new enclosed hunting trailer to get ready for out-of-state hunting through the rut. 56:38

illinois

• Terry scouted a roughly 500-acre property in southern Illinois that’s becoming available, with the owner planning to lease half of it next year. 9:37
• Terry has bow-hunting permission on the new southern Illinois property, though gun hunters will also be on it this year. 10:05

iowa

• Terry and Don expect to be able to draw an Iowa tag next year using their accumulated points. 5:24

kentucky

• The Kentucky property will be split into three tracts, one about 80 acres and two roughly 180 to 200 acres each. 8:19

land-consulting

• The landowner contracted Chasing Giants Land Consulting to divide the 500-acre Kentucky timber tract into three separate tracts. 6:56
• Terry argues land consulting work can’t be done from an aerial photo alone and requires physically walking the property. 32:23
• Terry says he puts extra detail into each client’s plan so the client has no unanswered questions. 45:58
• What are Don’s top three and least favorite states to consult in, and where does Michigan rank? 28:46
• Why should someone hire Don or his team, and what makes them different from other whitetail consultants? 40:25

merch

• Chasing Giants partners with Moran Creek Outdoors for branded T-shirts and basic merch, linked below the show. 53:12

midwest-land-group

• The tracts will be listed through Midwest Land Group once that company officially moves into Kentucky. 7:54

miscanthus

• Should Adam build a dirt-and-rock mound for screening instead of waiting for his struggling Miscanthus to mature? 54:45

opening-day

• Don says his early-season sits won’t be in a prime spot and will mostly be observation hunts. 14:59

public-land

• Don drove eight hours to scout a low-pressure Minnesota public tract known for good bucks after hearing about it from a source. 1:17
• Don found the Minnesota tract already had other hunters and concluded the odds of killing a good buck there were extremely low. 1:59
• Don already has a Minnesota hunt booked for winter plus several trips planned in Wisconsin and Iowa. 4:24
• Don says he hasn’t given up on the dream of shooting a giant buck on public land and will keep pursuing it. 5:11
• Don says he has chased public-land buck leads and rumors for years but has never actually killed a buck because of a tip. 10:38
• Did Don walk around and scout the Minnesota property, or cut bait given the pressure and small size of the tract? 2:29
• Does Don have more plans to scout public land up north, or is he playing it by ear? 4:03

reflection

• Don encourages listeners to use time in the stand reflecting on becoming a better person, Christian, husband, and father. 57:11

regret

• Is there a buck Don regrets shooting, and what’s the story behind it? 21:06

timber

• Terry said he’d never seen a property with as many mature white oaks as the Kentucky timber farm he visited. 6:12
• Don once consulted on a small Illinois property with giant oaks that had likely never been logged. 8:37

trail-camera

• Terry hung trail cameras on the Kentucky timber property and already got pictures of a decent buck. 7:38

travel

• Terry plans to travel to Tennessee for an insurance audit and will decide what to hunt based on what shows up on his two new tracts. 56:28

turning-point-buck

• Don is designating a different five-and-a-half-year-old, 170-class buck as this year’s ‘Turning Point’ buck, naming it in honor of Charlie Kirk. 13:45
• What are Don’s plans for the buck called Turning Point, and why did he change the name? 12:22

water-holes

• Don recommends a plastic livestock tank of around 300 gallons as a good size for a food-plot water hole. 35:49
• Don recommends placing water holes in an easy-to-access spot, ideally near a food source, to concentrate deer at one location. 36:09
• Don believes water holes have their place but shouldn’t be deep inside a sanctuary, at most on its edge, to avoid human intrusion. 35:09
• Don saw a groundwater-fed water tank on an Ohio client’s property that stayed ice-free in single-digit cold without needing to be filled. 37:55
• What is the right size for a water hole, and where should it be placed relative to food sources or trails? 34:37

weather

• Don expects warm eighty-degree temperatures at season opener to keep bucks bedded until near dark, limiting daylight movement. 14:28
• How is the recent rain and weather forecast likely to affect Don’s hunting strategy as season opens? 14:05

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 7:38
• Turning Point (history) 12:50
• Turning Point (management) 13:45
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 19:04
• unnamed buck (management) 19:13
• unnamed buck (management) 19:20
• unnamed buck (management) 19:30
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 19:56
• unnamed buck (sighting) 23:18
• unnamed buck (harvest) 25:22

Listener questions

Question: Did Don walk around and scout the Minnesota property, or cut bait given the pressure and small size of the tract? 2:29

• Answer: Don only scouted briefly, saw signs of multiple hunters already there, and decided not to put out cameras or hang a stand because the odds were too stacked against him. 3:19

Question: Does Don have more plans to scout public land up north, or is he playing it by ear? 4:03

• Answer: Don already has a Minnesota trip booked for winter and several more planned in Wisconsin and Iowa. 4:24
• Answer: He hasn’t given up on the dream of shooting a public-land giant and will keep plugging away. 5:11

Question: What are Don’s plans for the buck called Turning Point, and why did he change the name? 12:22

• Answer: The original Turning Point buck scored smaller than Don expected once measured, so he decided to give that buck another year to grow. 13:07

Question: How is the recent rain and weather forecast likely to affect Don’s hunting strategy as season opens? 14:05

• Answer: Don expects the warm eighty-degree forecast to keep bucks bedded until near dark, limiting daylight movement early in the season. 14:28

Question: What is Don’s doe strategy on his farm this year, and when will he start harvesting does? 15:38

• Answer: Don plans to shoot fewer does than last year’s eight, aiming for around four to five this season. 15:57

Question: Why is it important to wait until all the crops come out before assessing doe numbers? 16:09

• Answer: Because Don’s area is over 90% ag fields, deer live out in the crops all summer and don’t move onto his property much until harvest. 16:20

Question: How is doe timing affected by neighbors having to do late or second plantings this year? 16:57

• Answer: Don says crops in his neighborhood are drying fast with no rain in the forecast, so he doesn’t expect doe harvest timing to drag out. 17:42

Question: With no rain coming, will all the crops around Don be out by the second week of October? 18:18

• Answer: Don isn’t sure about the second week of October, but is confident the crops will be gone by November 1, the rut. 18:28

Question: How many cull bucks does Don think he and Corey need to gauge, and will that wait until crops are out? 18:43

• Answer: Don says there are at least three bucks aged three and older that he’d already give the green light to shoot. 18:52

Question: Is there a buck Don regrets shooting, and what’s the story behind it? 21:06

• Answer: Don says the mistaken-identity buck taught him a lasting lesson, and he’s been extremely picky about what he shoots ever since. 26:27

Question: What are Don’s top three and least favorite states to consult in, and where does Michigan rank? 28:46 — asked by Nick Essenmacher

• Answer: Don says he doesn’t really have three favorites or least favorites, though he prefers jobs close to home where he can sleep in his own bed. 31:00

Question: What is the right size for a water hole, and where should it be placed relative to food sources or trails? 34:37 — asked by Carl Compton

• Answer: Don recommends a roughly 300-gallon plastic livestock tank as a sizable, low-maintenance water hole. 35:49
• Answer: He prefers an easy-to-access location, ideally near a food source, to give deer more reasons to visit the spot. 36:09

Question: Why should someone hire Don or his team, and what makes them different from other whitetail consultants? 40:25

• Answer: Don’s team starts every project with about nine or ten questions covering hunting pressure, terrain, and goals before ever visiting a property. 41:13
• Answer: Don believes the detailed written plan his team provides is second to none compared to other consultants. 44:23
• Answer: He says ongoing follow-up support after the visit is another area where his team outperforms other consultants. 44:35

Question: Does Don seeing more bucks and fewer does this summer support the ‘doe factory’ theory? 48:39 — asked by Michael Raines

• Answer: Don says it has nothing to do with a doe factory; it’s simply a result of how he’s managing the herd. 52:09
• Answer: He still provides the same summer food sources as always; the only change is he now has fewer resident does after heavier doe harvest. 50:07

Question: Should Adam build a dirt-and-rock mound for screening instead of waiting for his struggling Miscanthus to mature? 54:45 — asked by Adam Kate

• Answer: Don recommends doing both: build the mound and plant Miscanthus on top of it. 54:57
• Answer: He suggests building the mound as high as possible and planting Miscanthus across the top for extra screening height. 55:00
• Answer: Terry adds that Miscanthus needs plenty of nitrogen, so topsoil and fertility matter when prepping the mound. 55:57

Prayer Time

Theme: the parable of the lost sheep as a picture of God’s pursuing love
After helping a friend plant food plots amid a severe regional EHD deer die-off, Eric wrestled with why keep planting for so few surviving deer, then compared that devotion to God’s far greater love, illustrated by the parable of the lost sheep, and urged listeners to seek the lost and share the gospel. 66:49

Don recapped an eight-hour trip to scout a low-pressure Minnesota public tract, only to find other hunters already there and conclude his odds of a good buck were extremely low; he still has winter trips planned in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa and said he hasn’t given up on a public-land giant. Terry described a 500-acre Kentucky timber property, thick with mature white oaks, that the landowner hired Chasing Giants to split into three tracts for future listing through Midwest Land Group, plus a new roughly 500-acre southern Illinois property he’s scouting with bow access. Don renamed his ‘Turning Point’ buck after last year’s namesake measured smaller than expected, discussed easing off doe harvest this season, and shared a mistaken-identity buck he shot in low light, saying the lesson made him pickier since. He also gave water-hole sizing and placement advice, and Eric closed with a prayer built on the parable of the lost sheep.

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