EPISODE 300! Don Changes His Mind on the Rut + Drone Debate Heats Up!

Published: 2025-11-23
Episode page
Duration: 63 min

In this episode

career

• Terry recalls that when he and his wife were laid off the same day about a year and a half ago, Don told them it would be the best thing that ever happened to them. 15:30

chasing-assurance

• Terry announces their dad released the first session of a divorce study on the Chasing Assurance podcast. 2:02
• Terry previews that the next Chasing Assurance episode will dig into church history behind divorce and remarriage narratives. 2:18

deer-biology

• Terry notes researcher Strickland confirmed this doe/fawn dispersal pattern through Mississippi State Deer Lab collar research. 52:37

deer-management

• Don says hunters need to start looking out for the deer resource instead of their trophy walls. 43:34
• Don explains a mature buck’s odds of being killed are only about 10% if bedded on a neighbor’s property instead of yours. 45:27
• Joe Nelden asks whether bucks passed to reach maturity eventually sense the property isn’t ideal and move on to a better one. 43:50

doe-management

• Don advises that if a property has too many does, it’s time to start shooting more of them to correct herd balance. 29:31
• Alan Glick asks whether shooting does with buck fawns early in archery season helps keep those buck fawns from being pushed out. 50:29

drones

• The Illinois DNR’s position is that flying a drone with the purpose of spotting deer is illegal regardless of season or survey purpose. 37:36
• Don worries drones in the wrong hands can be devastating on mature bucks. 31:48
• Terry argues unlike a cell camera or dog, a drone lets someone grid an entire farm and pinpoint exactly where a specific deer is bedded before a hunt. 40:19
• Don warns that someone with a drone can check out an entire township for deer in under an hour. 41:38
• Terry says bucks seen on social media have been found and targeted for hunts based on thermal drone imagery beforehand. 42:17
• Terry says he feels empathy for drone survey operators who built a legitimate business, even though he opposes the practice. 43:08
• Jacob McGinnis asks whether drone survey companies are searching for shot deer or conducting general surveys, and worries about misuse by hunters. 30:36

ehd

• Terry describes a tough season hunting one specific deer in a high-EHD area with much lower deer numbers than usual. 12:58
• Terry relays that fellow hunter Todd Hewing has also reported deer numbers hit hard where he hunts nearby. 13:39

farm-management

• Terry asks whether Don’s favorite hunting spots have changed after his farm expansion work with new crossings, blinds, food, and orchards. 26:49

food-vs-cover

• Jake Hall asks, when taking over a new farm with lots of cover but no food, whether to prioritize food or cover if forced to choose one. 53:17

gun-season

• Terry plans to hunt gun season willing to take his target buck with a .350 Legend, then pause hunting until around January. 14:07

habitat-projects

• Tyler Abernathy asks whether he should start habitat improvement projects now or wait until the season ends in mid-January. 55:57

herd-management

• Don explains that managing the deer herd is about as important as managing the property itself. 29:07

hunt-footage

• Don says he captured the entire encounter with this buck on video, including the shot and the buck falling. 21:06

hunt-video

• Terry announces a hunt video will premiere during Friday night’s podcast, with Al Foster joining Don on stage. 22:40

hunting-history

• Don recalls shooting his first deer in 1979 when his home county checked in only about 25 deer that year. 35:42

hunting-mindset

• Roger used to say you could be having the worst season of your life and, in five seconds, the best season of your life. 15:20

hunting-pressure

• Terry says how a property is hunted, especially minimizing intrusion, delivers the biggest short-term ROI for consulting clients. 55:09

hunting-technology

• Don recommends the hunting industry take a major step back on technology use to protect the future of quality deer hunting. 34:09

land-consulting

• Terry says this season’s observations gave him new ideas for consulting clients about setups on hard edges of bedding cover. 16:15

podcast-history

• Don recalls that when the podcast started, they didn’t know if they would even make it to 50 episodes. 0:38
• Don recounts the podcast went from biweekly to weekly by demand and reached 300 episodes despite worrying about running out of material. 0:55

podcast-humor

• Terry jokes the podcast’s longevity is a testament to listeners’ patience rather than the hosts’ quality. 1:01 (light moment)
• Don jokes that without Terry there would be no podcast since all he knows how to do is sit and talk. 1:21 (light moment)
• Terry jokes the listener must not have heard many episodes given how often the topic has been covered. 51:04 (light moment)
• Terry jokes that Steve Shields is off fighting Bigfoot to explain his reduced podcast presence. 50:22 (light moment)

podcast-milestone

• Terry and Don mark reaching the 300th episode of the Chasing Giants podcast. 0:33

prayer-time

• Terry announces Wes Delks will lead the Sunday Night Prayer Time segment following the show. 57:48
• Terry says Wes Delks always has profound words for someone so young, comparing listening to him to going to church. 57:52

rut-timing

• Don says he now believes November 7-8 aren’t actually his favorite rut days, leaning instead toward the middle of the month. 4:11
• Don’s trail cameras showed more daylight buck activity on November 18th and 19th than any other dates this season. 7:10
• Don recalls that gun hunters historically got the best deer movement weekend every year, always later in November. 4:37
• Terry suggests deer movement results from multiple weather factors aligning rather than one single ‘golden ticket’ condition. 8:02
• Al Foster wrote articles called ‘Nature’s Rhythms’ for Whitetail Life Magazine. 9:08
• Don believes deer movement peaks when multiple factors like barometer, wind, temperature and moon phase align, not any single factor alone. 9:54
• Terry recalls that last year he shot the David Buck on November 16th after seeing little movement around the 7th and 8th. 10:46
• Don says decades of working with Al Foster confirmed gun season consistently produced the best deer movement, always later in the month. 11:25
• Terry asks whether deer move as well during heavy rain and drizzle as they do after rain breaks, given Don’s rut-timing observations. 24:37

shipshewana

• Terry announces he is entering something into the Shipshewana show’s expanded art contest this year. 19:23
• Terry explains the Shipshewana show, officially the Midwest Sportsman’s Classic, is held in Shipshewana, Indiana. 18:41
• Don jokingly guesses the show’s baking event is basically a cherry pie contest. 19:47 (light moment)
• Terry announces a Chasing Giants booth at the Shipshewana show will display Don’s four 200-inch bucks for attendees. 20:23

south-texas

• Terry announces a bucket-list plan to hunt a huge low-fence South Texas ranch in late January. 14:32
• Terry and Austin Raisor, possibly joined by Joe Miles, plan to scout a South Texas property for something tied to Lester’s. 14:46

steve-shields

• Terry shares that Steve Shields tore muscles connecting his hamstring in a softball injury and has been in a back brace doing rehab all season. 48:59
• Don says he and Steve Shields are working on a handbook for Real World Wildlife Products dealers. 49:55
• Caleb asks what happened to Steve Shields and whether he had another opportunity come up. 47:30

walker

• Terry asks whether Don’s grandson Walker has a specific buck goal for gun season or is still ready to shoot anything. 23:48

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (harvest) 1:52
• David Buck (harvest) 10:46
• unnamed buck (hunt) 12:36
• unnamed buck (harvest) 21:01
• Smokey (history) 21:14
• unnamed buck (history) 21:25
• king David (harvest) 21:42
• unnamed buck (sighting) 28:34
• Doubting Thomas (harvest) 28:49

Listener questions

Question: Terry asks whether Don’s grandson Walker has a specific buck goal for gun season or is still ready to shoot anything. 23:48

• Answer: Don says that if they’re patient, Walker should get his biggest buck ever by the time the weekend is over. 24:15

Question: Terry asks whether deer move as well during heavy rain and drizzle as they do after rain breaks, given Don’s rut-timing observations. 24:37

• Answer: Don says he sees far less movement in heavy rain, but a light drizzle doesn’t slow deer down at all. 24:51

Question: Terry asks whether Don’s favorite hunting spots have changed after his farm expansion work with new crossings, blinds, food, and orchards. 26:49

• Answer: Don says his favorite spots haven’t changed but have improved as the whole farm has gotten better through his management work. 27:00

Question: Jacob McGinnis asks whether drone survey companies are searching for shot deer or conducting general surveys, and worries about misuse by hunters. 30:36 — asked by Jacob McGinnis

• Answer: Don says drones in the right hands are valuable, especially for finding wounded deer hunters have shot and lost. 31:19

Question: Joe Nelden asks whether bucks passed to reach maturity eventually sense the property isn’t ideal and move on to a better one. 43:50 — asked by Joe Nelden

• Answer: Don explains a mature buck’s top priority is avoiding human intrusion, which is why building a sanctuary is essential to keeping him. 44:40

Question: Caleb asks what happened to Steve Shields and whether he had another opportunity come up. 47:30 — asked by Caleb

• Answer: Don explains Steve Shields took a new opportunity that was a great financial move, entirely his own decision. 47:41

Question: Alan Glick asks whether shooting does with buck fawns early in archery season helps keep those buck fawns from being pushed out. 50:29 — asked by Alan Glick

• Answer: Don explains research shows that if you shoot a doe, she won’t be there next spring to run off her yearling buck fawns, so they tend to stay nearby. 52:11

Question: Jake Hall asks, when taking over a new farm with lots of cover but no food, whether to prioritize food or cover if forced to choose one. 53:17 — asked by Jake Hall

• Answer: Don says that if forced to choose, he’d take cover over food every time since killing big deer means hunting where they bed. 53:25

Question: Tyler Abernathy asks whether he should start habitat improvement projects now or wait until the season ends in mid-January. 55:57 — asked by Tyler Abernathy

• Answer: Don recommends not starting habitat projects until firearm season is over, then weighing personal availability. 56:11
• Answer: Don adds that once you start, finish quickly and get out rather than dragging the project out over the whole winter. 56:56

Prayer Time

Scripture: Luke
Theme: solitude and prayer
Wes prays thanking God for the day, the Holy Spirit, and the Chasing Giants family, asking that listeners calm and quiet their hearts this deer season and be intentional about seeking quiet time with God, closing in Jesus’ name. 62:16

Sponsors this episode

• ASIO Gear

Terry and Don marked the podcast’s 300th episode, recalling early doubts about lasting even 50 episodes before it grew from biweekly to weekly. Don shared trail camera data showing more daylight buck activity around November 18-19 than earlier dates, and both discussed how deer movement peaks when multiple weather factors align rather than any single condition. Terry described a difficult season pursuing one buck in a high-EHD area with reduced deer numbers, planning to hunt gun season with a .350 Legend before a South Texas trip. Much of the episode centered on drone use for deer scouting, with Don and Terry arguing it threatens quality hunting by letting operators pinpoint bedded bucks, while Don also noted legitimate uses like finding wounded deer. Listener questions covered Walker’s gun season goals, rain’s effect on movement, habitat project timing, and doe harvest effects on buck fawns. Wes Delks led the closing prayer segment.

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