Kill More Deer. Feed Hungry Kids. | Boone Brothers | Chasing Giants 306

Published: 2026-01-04
Episode page
Duration: 78 min

In this episode

ata-show

• Terry invites John Wise to attend the upcoming Whitetail Management Conference as his and Don’s VIP guest. 59:34

bedding-areas

• Brock Van Aslan asks whether creating specific bedding spots for bucks versus does is a good strategy, or if thickening cover and staying out lets deer bed where they want. 43:07

boone-brothers

• Terry announces a new 2026 partnership with Boone Brothers, founded by guest John Wise, which will play a pivotal role in land managers’ and hunters’ plans this year. 1:12
• John Wise says Kentucky has both an abundance of deer as a natural resource and an abundance of hungry children, which Boone Brothers aims to connect. 6:27
• John Wise founded a Bible study named Boone Brothers after Daniel Boone, which grew into a ministry after Fish and Wildlife offered to partner on child food insecurity. 7:36
• John Wise explains Kentucky Fish and Wildlife covers processors’ costs so hunters who donate deer through Boone Brothers pay nothing out of pocket. 11:46
• John Wise says Boone Brothers’ mission is simple: feed hunters spiritually so they in turn can help feed kids physically. 14:09
• John Wise explains that Show Walters Meats, an Amish-run processing company in Casey County, developed the Boone Bites recipe and partners with Boone Brothers. 28:55
• John Wise says he was overwhelmed when Terry and Don’s team loaded up hours of usable hunting footage for Boone Brothers’ video content. 40:19

buck-beds

• Don says he doesn’t create specific buck beds but rather ‘buck motels’—thick bedding cover where deer are left free to choose their own bedding spot. 49:01

buck-fever

• John Wise recalls praying for composure as the biggest buck he had ever seen stepped out, saying he could barely feel his hands or feet. 21:02

business

• Don credits a business realignment about seven or eight years ago, driven by pure intentions rather than selfishness, with causing the business to suddenly explode. 33:48

call-to-action

• John Wise asks listeners to pray for Boone Brothers and, starting January 5, follow their social media, download the app, and use it to connect with the ministry. 68:12
• Terry urges all Midwest listeners to follow Boone Brothers on social media and download the app even if their state doesn’t yet have a donation partnership. 69:06

conference-announcement

• Don announces the Real World Whitetail Management Conference, themed ‘real science, real results,’ will feature Dr. Aaron Gaines presenting on the Expect Healthy Deer technology. 58:00

connection

• John Wise recalls that a brief mention of hunting at the end of Terry’s email caught his interest and prompted him to write back. 3:27

consulting-visit

• Terry describes a Fleming County, Kentucky consulting visit where he saw more deer sign than anywhere else he’s consulted across the Midwest. 5:19

deer-health

• Dustin Ward from Liston, Indiana asks whether unusual widespread deer coughing on his farm signals illness and whether he should supplement feed or minerals. 52:20

discernment

• Don says discerning whether an opportunity is God opening a door or the enemy setting a trap starts with examining the purity of one’s own heart. 32:46

doe-harvest

• Terry asks Don whether Boone Brothers solves hunters’ moral dilemma of killing does without a good way to use the meat. 9:36

faith

• Don says he and Terry were taught that to whom much is given, much is expected, and they want to use their podcast platform as a blessing to help others. 2:09
• John Wise describes Boone Brothers as an example of God’s specific revelation, where God taps someone on the shoulder with a particular task beyond general Bible teaching. 38:00
• Don reiterates the podcast’s longtime saying that if you want to be blessed, you should be a blessing to others. 71:11

food-insecurity

• John Wise says twenty-one percent of Kentucky’s children face food insecurity, many without parents able to prepare meals for them. 8:11

food-plots

• John Stewart from Milton, Iowa asks what to plant on just three acres of food plots, plus which supplemental feed to use in the off-season. 49:35

illinois

• Don describes a client in Illinois where nuisance deer permits are handed out freely, letting landowners shoot deer year-round with much of the meat going to waste. 10:24
• Don plans to search for an Illinois DNR contact to connect with John Wise for a potential Boone Brothers partnership in Illinois. 71:25

joke

• Terry jokes that big bucks are actually found in Northeastern Ohio and that there are no big bucks in Kentucky. 15:11 (light moment)

late-season

• Don recommends using late season to evaluate food plots and decide whether to harvest does to keep the buck-to-doe ratio balanced going into winter. 4:44

mission-whitetail

• Terry announces the Mission Whitetail podcast released a new online class with Bobby Worthington about rut funnels. 16:47

origin-story

• Terry recalls sending John Wise a vague email praising his preaching after visiting his daughter’s church, which unexpectedly led to their friendship. 3:01

partnership

• Terry announces Christian music artist Emerson Day has partnered with the show and will tour on the Winter Jam docket this year with Chris Tomlin. 66:33

same-time-same-place

• Ray Delongpray asks whether the same-time, same-place theory still holds late season given hunting pressure, food, snow depth, and temperature. 61:16

shipshewana-show

• Terry announces a phone number, (574) 354-6030, for Midwest Sportsman’s Classic schedule information in Shipshewana, Indiana, aimed especially at Amish listeners without internet access. 28:21

target-buck

• Terry asks John Wise whether he has ever deliberately targeted one specific deer he knew about from a previous year. 64:56

video

• Terry and Don plan a new Chasing Giants TV video visiting their food plots to help hunters who still have deer tags make late-season decisions. 4:06

weather

• Don attributes an unusually warm fall with green leaves lingering into November, followed by early snowfall in Illinois, to conditions that can cause deer pneumonia. 54:02

worship

• John Wise describes the moment of a successful bow shot as a worshipful experience of gratitude for what God created and the beauty of the hunt. 23:34

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 20:48
• unnamed buck (harvest) 21:16
• Trump buck (hunt) 22:49
• Doubting Thomas Buck (harvest) 24:33
• unnamed buck (history) 54:59
• unnamed buck (sighting) 56:27
• unnamed buck (history) 56:31
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 65:31

Listener questions

Question: Brock Van Aslan asks whether creating specific bedding spots for bucks versus does is a good strategy, or if thickening cover and staying out lets deer bed where they want. 43:07 — asked by Brock Van Aslan

• Answer: Don says to forget internet advice and not overcomplicate things—keep it simple and listen to people who have actually succeeded at killing mature bucks. 46:16
• Answer: Don believes you can create a specific spot, like hinge-cutting a tree, where a deer would want to bed given the right wind and visibility. 45:45
• Answer: John Wise agrees and adds that staying completely out of bedding areas—avoiding any human scent or footprint—is key to keeping bucks patternable. 47:45

Question: John Stewart from Milton, Iowa asks what to plant on just three acres of food plots, plus which supplemental feed to use in the off-season. 49:35 — asked by John Stewart

• Answer: Don recommends Real World Generation 2 soybeans as the single best food plot choice, plantable in the same plot for many years in a row. 50:35
• Answer: Don recommends complete feed over cheaper deer corn or blocks since complete feed supplies every vitamin, mineral, and nutrient the herd needs. 52:00

Question: Dustin Ward from Liston, Indiana asks whether unusual widespread deer coughing on his farm signals illness and whether he should supplement feed or minerals. 52:20 — asked by Dustin Ward

• Answer: Don explains deer can get pneumonia, and this year’s unusual weather swings created perfect conditions for the illness to spread through the herd. 53:35
• Answer: Don suspects erratic fall weather patterns caused several dead, unmarked mature bucks he’s heard about recently, including a 249-inch giant, to develop fatal pneumonia. 55:33

Question: Ray Delongpray asks whether the same-time, same-place theory still holds late season given hunting pressure, food, snow depth, and temperature. 61:16 — asked by Ray Delongpray

• Answer: Don says the same-time, same-place theory holds especially well in early and late season, though timing shifts more with weather than other times. 61:46
• Answer: Don says a buck that comes to a food source this winter will likely return next winter under similar conditions, as long as he’s still alive. 62:54

Question: Terry asks Don whether Boone Brothers solves hunters’ moral dilemma of killing does without a good way to use the meat. 9:36

• Answer: Don responds with a challenge: if John can get Boone Brothers working with Illinois’s restrictive nuisance-permit system, he can partner with any state in the country. 11:33

Question: Terry asks John Wise whether he has ever deliberately targeted one specific deer he knew about from a previous year. 64:56

• Answer: John Wise says he sets a target buck every year and has noticed specific bucks show clear patterns at the start and end of season, disappearing during the rut. 65:05

Prayer Time

Scripture: Proverbs
Theme: inquiring of the Lord in all decisions, big and small, in the new year
Emerson Day reflects on David’s habit of inquiring of the Lord in all things and encourages listeners to include God in both big and small plans for the new year, closing with Proverbs 3:6’s promise that acknowledging Him will direct their path. 77:00

Terry announced a new 2026 partnership with Boone Brothers, founded by guest John Wise, describing how a vague email about a church visit led to their friendship and how a brief mention of hunting drew Wise’s reply. Wise explained Boone Brothers grew from a Bible study into a ministry connecting Kentucky’s abundant deer with food-insecure children, with Fish and Wildlife covering processing costs so donating hunters pay nothing. He cited twenty-one percent child food insecurity in Kentucky and described a Show Walters Meats partnership. Don contrasted this with an Illinois client where nuisance permits let landowners shoot deer year-round with meat going to waste, prompting Terry to ask whether Boone Brothers could resolve that moral dilemma; Don challenged Wise to bring the program to Illinois. Listener questions covered food plot bedding strategy, three-acre plot planting, unusual deer coughing linked to weather-driven pneumonia, and whether same-time-same-place theory holds late season. The episode closed with Emerson Day’s prayer on inquiring of the Lord in the new year.

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