#294 From Old School to High Tech: Don Higgins Reflects on 40 Years in the Deer Woods

Published: 2025-10-12
Episode page
Duration: 81 min

In this episode

buck-age-class

• Jason Fry asked what ‘consistently’ means when leveling up buck age-class targets, and how to age or distinguish bucks with limited, color-blind vision. 33:29

buck-relocation

• Jason Hesselberg asked whether his mature bucks will return to his property once ongoing logging finishes, or relocate elsewhere permanently. 43:33

business-idea

• Terry joked he could build a business converting Amish buggies into fully decked-out deer hunting rigs. 4:59 (light moment)

chasing-giants-tv

• Don began filming a Chasing Giants TV segment on the corn variety comparison and will finish it once tissue analysis results return. 11:20
• Terry announced that Chasing Giants TV has released two new hunt videos since their last update. 11:34

corn-yield

• Don estimated all four corn varieties he sampled for tissue analysis would have made over 200 bushels an acre. 10:39

crop-harvest

• Don said less than 25% of the crop around him remains standing, with the rest coming out as harvest continues. 8:21

deer-corn

• Terry tested deer corn against field corn on his tractor’s front pile; trail cameras showed the field corn untouched while the deer corn was completely wiped out. 10:15

ehd

• Terry said that with EHD continuing to take a toll on Kentucky’s deer, he wants to assess deer numbers to guide doe harvest decisions. 7:37

faith

• Don reflected that despite years of struggle, God opened many doors for him that he ran through rather than hesitating. 27:15

financial-struggle

• Terry said Lee has shared the same experience, telling stories on various shows about having his electricity shut off during lean years. 27:21

health-update

• Terry reported Brent Henderson is recovering well from open heart surgery, though he’s going stir crazy staying home. 59:11

hobby-vs-business

• Terry asked Don whether turning a hobby or passion into a career or business causes it to lose its original appeal. 22:24

humor

• Don joked he would want to bring a horse on his hunting trips, though he wasn’t sure how far a horse could range from home. 5:18 (light moment)

hunting-industry

• Don said he would never encourage one of his grandsons to go into the public-facing side of the hunting industry like he did. 25:01

hunting-season

• Don said he didn’t hunt during the first seven days of season this year because the weather was too hot. 0:51

hunting-technology

• Terry asked Don to explain how his particular age gave him a unique generational perspective on deer hunting technology. 13:45

inbreeding

• Brett Falk asked if killing does to keep buck fawns from dispersing, preventing natural inbreeding avoidance, is counterintuitive to sound herd management. 47:49

land-management

• Terry said logging, TSI, and switchgrass work are long-term plays that pay off for a property years beyond just this season’s shooter buck. 44:47

line-breeding

• Don noted the joke in animal breeding that successful related-animal breeding is called line breeding, while unsuccessful attempts are called inbreeding. 49:55 (light moment)
• Don recalled a theory from Doctor James Crow, known as Doctor Deer, that some giant wild bucks result from inbreeding or line breeding. 48:34

loss

• Terry announced that Duane Hopkins’ father passed away this week and was laid to rest. 59:45
• Don announced that Jason Beachy of JB’s Feet in Ohio lost his battle with cancer this week. 60:40

mailman

• Greg Schroeder asked whether Steven the mailman is still delivering Don’s mail flawlessly, since he hadn’t heard mention of him lately. 28:39

miscanthus

• Jeff Schwager asked whether Miscanthus can serve as a windbreak to block snow, or if it’s easily laid down by wind, snow, and ice. 45:16

podcast-appearances

• Don said he did two podcast interviews this week and has another lined up for the following Monday. 13:55
• Don was interviewed by Mark Kenyon of the Wired to Hunt podcast, who also works with MeatEater. 14:00

seed-calibration

• Mark Jackson asked how to properly calculate seed quantities and slippage, since he always runs short, and how much drill settings matter. 56:22

seed-storage

• Rob Effingham asked how to properly store his leftover planting seed until the next planting season. 54:06

small-business

• Terry said Austin Razor’s and Jay Gingerich have both reached the small-business tipping point of being able to pick and choose their work. 30:00

switchgrass

• Don noted the two biggest bucks he saw hunting that week both emerged from switchgrass bedding in the evening. 32:10

taxidermy

• Terry said an upcoming video will show viewers how to get taxidermist glass eyes to improve harvest trophy photos. 11:53

testimony

• Don recalled speaking at JB’s Feet in June, before Jason Beachy even knew he had cancer. 60:56

trail-camera-history

• Don recalled shooting his first 200-inch buck in 2004, already having over twenty years in the deer woods as trail cameras were just emerging. 15:02

work-ethic

• Don said he never wanted to be born with a silver spoon, preferring to work for and achieve everything himself. 26:54

youth-season

• Don plans to be more selective with his grandson this youth season, no longer allowing yearling or two-year-old bucks and targeting three-year-olds and better. 6:14
• Terry said he hopes Don will soon post on Facebook that Walker got a buck. 60:17
• Terry asked Don if he’s planning to take his grandson out for youth season that evening. 5:48

Deer activity

• Turning Point (hunt) 1:41
• unnamed buck (harvest) 30:39
• unnamed buck (harvest) 31:09
• Herman (harvest) 34:06
• unnamed buck (sighting) 40:52
• unnamed buck (harvest) 42:25

Listener questions

Question: Terry asked Don if he’s planning to take his grandson out for youth season that evening. 5:48 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don said yes, his grandson would arrive around 4:30 so they could be in the blind by five. 5:52

Question: Terry asked Don to explain how his particular age gave him a unique generational perspective on deer hunting technology. 13:45 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don explained he belongs to a narrow generational sweet spot who learned to hunt before modern technology but were young enough to fully embrace it. 14:47

Question: Terry asked Don whether turning a hobby or passion into a career or business causes it to lose its original appeal. 22:24 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don said hunting and land management are still just as enjoyable; what’s lost its appeal is dealing with some of the people in the public side of the business. 23:10

Question: Greg Schroeder asked whether Steven the mailman is still delivering Don’s mail flawlessly, since he hadn’t heard mention of him lately. 28:39 — asked by Greg Schroeder

• Answer: Don said Steven stopped delivering mail about a year ago and, with their encouragement, started his own fencing business instead. 29:01

Question: Jason Fry asked what ‘consistently’ means when leveling up buck age-class targets, and how to age or distinguish bucks with limited, color-blind vision. 33:29 — asked by Jason Fry

• Answer: Don said consistency means hitting your target buck class roughly 80% of the time, or four out of five years, before raising your standards. 35:50
• Answer: Don said he can usually recognize which specific buck he’s watching almost instantly from trail-camera familiarity, without needing to study it at length. 37:56

Question: Jason Hesselberg asked whether his mature bucks will return to his property once ongoing logging finishes, or relocate elsewhere permanently. 43:33 — asked by Jason Hesselberg

• Answer: Don said mature bucks rarely relocate outside their home range; they may just shift to using a different part of it due to disturbance. 43:41

Question: Jeff Schwager asked whether Miscanthus can serve as a windbreak to block snow, or if it’s easily laid down by wind, snow, and ice. 45:16 — asked by Jeff Schwager

• Answer: Don said he’s never seen wind knock down Miscanthus, and along property borders snow simply drifts and piles against it. 45:51

Question: Brett Falk asked if killing does to keep buck fawns from dispersing, preventing natural inbreeding avoidance, is counterintuitive to sound herd management. 47:49 — asked by Brett Falk

• Answer: Don called it a great observation but said such close inbreeding among buck fawns and does is so infrequent it isn’t consequential to the local deer herd. 48:17

Question: Rob Effingham asked how to properly store his leftover planting seed until the next planting season. 54:06 — asked by Rob Effingham

• Answer: Don said a lot of seed carries over year to year with very little germination loss if stored properly. 54:51
• Answer: Don recommended storing leftover seed in a plastic tote in the basement, where dampness helps and mice are kept out. 55:24

Question: Mark Jackson asked how to properly calculate seed quantities and slippage, since he always runs short, and how much drill settings matter. 56:22 — asked by Mark Jackson

• Answer: Don said every drill varies slightly, so the calibration charts provided are only starting points that should be tested and adjusted. 57:11
• Answer: Don said he always buys a bit of extra seed rather than risk running short. 57:41

Prayer Time

Scripture: Matthew
Theme: surrendering fear and trusting God’s will before surgery
Brent recounts collapsing in fear before emergency open-heart surgery, crying out repeatedly that he didn’t want it, then echoing Jesus in Gethsemane by asking that the trial pass but ultimately surrendering to God’s will over his own, which brought him peace. 72:34

Don explained he skipped the first week of season due to hot weather, then discussed getting his grandson ready for youth season, planning to be more selective this year and only allow bucks three years or older. Terry raised concerns about EHD’s continued toll on Kentucky’s deer and wanting to assess numbers before making doe harvest decisions. Don shared corn variety testing for tissue analysis, estimating all four samples would exceed 200 bushels an acre, and Terry described a deer-corn versus field-corn trail camera test. Listener questions covered aging bucks with limited vision, whether logging would push mature bucks off Jason Hesselberg’s property, Miscanthus as a windbreak, doe harvest and inbreeding avoidance, and seed storage and drill calibration. Don also reflected on decades in the industry and discouraged his grandsons from its public-facing side. The episode closed with news of Jason Beachy’s death, Brent Henderson’s heart surgery recovery, and Duane Hopkins’ father’s passing.

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