Barometer Secrets & Rut Forecast for Early November! | Chasing Giants 297

Published: 2025-11-02
Episode page
Duration: 75 min

In this episode

360-blinds

• Terry announced he and Don will attend the 360 Blinds dealer event in January and invited 360 dealers to meet them there. 25:06

all-day-sit

• Given the favorable barometer forecast, when do you go in prepared for an all-day sit, and what decides that? 28:20

bare-root-trees

• Adam asked how many years bare-root trees take to produce first fruit compared to buying individual seven-gallon potted trees. 37:26

barometer

• Don observed that as the barometer rose during the cold front, deer activity picked up sharply, reinforcing his belief that barometric pressure drives movement. 1:55
• Don believes hunters can watch the barometer to predict when deer will be moving. 2:33
• Don checked the forecast and found the barometer expected to stay above 30 through Thursday, signaling several strong hunting days ahead. 9:38
• Don plans to pay much closer attention to barometric pressure going forward, not just this season but in future years. 50:41

buck-competition

• Is heavier scrape activity creating more competition among bucks this year? 5:56

calculated-risk

• Don’s banker told him his land-buying risks were calculated ones that always pay off, advice Don now shares with younger listeners. 18:16

career-risk

• Terry described taking a major risk at 47, retiring early from a great, stable job and company. 16:35

diet-health

• Don joked that after giving up his Snickers and Doctor Pepper hunting breakfast this year, he feels a whole lot better. 30:31

doe-buck-ratio

• Don believes keeping the doe-to-buck ratio in line has positively affected his property in many ways. 5:48

e-bike-scent-control

• Don recommends laying an e-bike down flat in the weeds rather than leaving it standing, since deer aren’t bothered when it’s lying down. 49:46
• Andrew asked how close to a stand he should ride his e-bike to eliminate ground scent when accessing stands. 47:32

eastern-ohio

• Terry speculated that hunters in Eastern Ohio might see the barometric spike arrive a day or two later than in Illinois. 24:10

encouragement

• Don told Terry, after a devastating setback, that it would prove to be the best thing that ever happened to him and become his biggest blessing within a year. 17:13

episode-planning

• Terry planned to record the next episode a bit later next Saturday so they could discuss deer activity from November 7th and 8th. 50:54

fruit-trees

• Don told Corey that deer cleaned up every pear that dropped from a planted pear tree, showing how quickly wildlife use planted fruit trees. 46:36

gingerich-tree-farm

• Terry explained that Jay Gingerich and Don collaborated to build a ready-made quarter-acre ‘Chasing Giants’ package with the right number of trees and wraps. 39:44
• Don said Gingerich’s exclusive trees were developed by apple breeder Andy and are likely the most disease-resistant available anywhere. 40:50

guest-visit

• Terry announced that musician Emerson Day and her husband Bryce will visit and hunt with him mid-week during a break in her tour. 11:16

habitat-management

• Terry said watching a managed property’s wildlife thrive from invested effort can feel even more special than the hunting itself. 46:03

listener-feedback

• Don asked listeners to share feedback about deer activity on November 7th and 8th, his two favorite hunting days of the year. 23:52

november-7-8

• Don noted that November 7th and 8th are traditionally the days when more mature bucks are killed than any other dates on the calendar. 21:05

opportunity

• Todd Hewing’s father taught that opportunities have only a short window, and those afraid to pull the trigger on them never get ahead. 14:54

regional-timing

• Don said areas east of him typically see the same deer activity patterns he reports about one to two days later. 24:39

rut-behavior

• Given cooler temps and rising barometer, what’s going on with all the bucks right now as the rut approaches? 4:18

rut-kills

• Emily Shad of Novix reportedly shot a big buck on the morning of November 1, per her social media post. 10:17

rut-lockdown

• Some social media commenters claim deer are already in lockdown this early in the season, a recurring seasonal remark Terry and Don hear every year. 1:05

rut-movement

• Don said this was hands-down his best morning hunt since November 1, after five slower mornings hunting through the end of October. 2:39
• Don hunted that morning with his son-in-law Corey, and together they saw six bucks and 15 to 20 does. 3:00

rut-report

• Terry said followers of Don, Chasing Giants TV, and Real World Wildlife Products will see a daily rut report shared across social media. 23:35

rut-timing

• Don urges listeners to spend as much time in the woods as possible this coming week, the best chance of the year to kill a good buck. 11:06

scent-control

• Caleb asked whether Don and Terry hunt quartering winds favorable to bucks even though scent control isn’t a top priority for them. 31:41

scouting-strategy

• Don recalled that when scouting a new property last-minute, he simply hung his stand at the first good-looking spot rather than scouting extensively. 27:57

shooter-buck-decisions

• Brock asked whether Don and Terry struggle to shoot mature bucks they’ve watched grow up for years, or if he’s just getting soft. 42:36

stand-strategy

• For a farm you weren’t prepared to hunt, how would you strategize scouting, finding a tree, and hanging a stand this week? 26:04

tim-heath

• Don described his friend Tim Heath of Lincoln, Illinois as the person closest to him in understanding how to manage bucks on a property. 44:04

trail-cameras

• Don runs 55 trail cameras, 22 of them cellular, monitoring numerous properties every day to track deer activity. 7:16

weather-underground

• Don recommends Weather Underground as his go-to tool for planning hunts. 22:37

wildlife-habitat

• Don considers Todd likely the biggest private spender in the country developing wildlife habitat, as distinct from deer-specific habitat work. 13:44

wind-strategy

• Terry believes most hunters understand wind and scent control but still don’t truly grasp how a mature buck uses the wind to his advantage. 35:21
• Don argues that consistently killing mature bucks in October and the late season proves a hunter truly understands how a buck uses the wind. 36:33

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (sighting) 1:00
• unnamed buck (hunt) 8:54
• unnamed buck (harvest) 27:43
• Trump (harvest) 29:18
• Turning Point (hunt) 29:23
• unnamed buck (sighting) 49:22

Listener questions

Question: Given cooler temps and rising barometer, what’s going on with all the bucks right now as the rut approaches? 4:18

• Answer: Don answered that every buck he saw that morning was chasing or pushing does rather than feeding, consistent with rising rut activity. 4:35

Question: Is heavier scrape activity creating more competition among bucks this year? 5:56

• Answer: Don answered yes, describing bucks following and bumping does near a feeding area, as interested in the does as in food. 6:10

Question: For a farm you weren’t prepared to hunt, how would you strategize scouting, finding a tree, and hanging a stand this week? 26:04

• Answer: Don said he’d scout likely spots via onX or Google Earth, then go in midday with a stand and bow, hang it based on that day’s wind, and hunt until dark. 26:44

Question: Given the favorable barometer forecast, when do you go in prepared for an all-day sit, and what decides that? 28:20

• Answer: Don answered he only sits all day for a specific target buck, and only from around November 5 through Thanksgiving weekend. 28:50

Question: Caleb asked whether Don and Terry hunt quartering winds favorable to bucks even though scent control isn’t a top priority for them. 31:41 — asked by Caleb

• Answer: Don answered that regardless of scent control, a deer close enough will smell you, so he doesn’t change his wind strategy based on scent regimen. 32:24

Question: Adam asked how many years bare-root trees take to produce first fruit compared to buying individual seven-gallon potted trees. 37:26 — asked by Adam Dawson

• Answer: Don answered that Gingerich Tree Farm’s Jay sells both bare-root and potted trees, noting he recently planted 25 more potted apple trees himself. 37:48

Question: Brock asked whether Don and Terry struggle to shoot mature bucks they’ve watched grow up for years, or if he’s just getting soft. 42:36 — asked by Brock Van Oslin

• Answer: Don said he now relates to Brock’s dilemma, watching favorite bucks grow up and dreading that shooting them means the story is over. 43:45

Question: Andrew asked how close to a stand he should ride his e-bike to eliminate ground scent when accessing stands. 47:32 — asked by Andrew Diller

• Answer: Don answered he drives the e-bike as close as possible, ideally leaving it lying in the weeds right at the base of his tree. 48:10
• Answer: Terry answered he’ll ride close but not into the woods, slipping in on foot at the wood edge because he thinks it’s quieter. 48:32

Prayer Time

Scripture: 1 Samuel
Theme: servant’s heart
Filling in for prayer time, Terry reflected on 1 Samuel 17, noting David approached King Saul as a humble servant to fight Goliath despite already being anointed king, and challenged listeners to pursue hunting, business, or ministry with a servant’s heart rather than seeking personal glory. 52:22

Sponsors this episode

• Brenton USA

Don described his morning hunt with son-in-law Corey as his best since November 1, after five slower late-October mornings, with six bucks and 15 to 20 does seen, every buck chasing or bumping does rather than feeding. He credited a rising barometer after a cold front for the sharp uptick in activity, saying he now watches pressure to predict movement and plans to keep tracking it going forward. He noted the barometer was forecast to stay above 30 through Thursday, calling November 7th and 8th the traditional peak days for mature buck kills, and urged heavy woods time that week. Listener questions covered scouting an unfamiliar farm on short notice, when to commit to all-day sits, wind and scent strategy, e-bike placement near stands, bare-root versus potted fruit trees, and the difficulty of shooting long-watched bucks. Terry led a prayer reflection on 1 Samuel 17 about pursuing pursuits with a servant’s heart.

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