Most Hunters Get This Wrong | The Hard Truth About Killing Mature Bucks | Chasing Giants #307

Published: 2026-01-11
Episode page
Duration: 75 min

In this episode

360-blinds

• Terry announces next week’s episode will be recorded live at the 360 event, taking live audience questions. 57:52

antler-brittleness

• Terry asks whether drought-related nutrient deficiency during antler hardening could make antlers more brittle, similar to low calcium weakening human bones. 20:40

antler-damage

• Don observed that bucks on his farm damaged their racks this year at a rate he’s never seen before. 16:31

antler-growth

• A listener asks whether a buck that breaks its rack this year will keep having broken racks, or if it depends on nutrition or genetics. 56:32

antler-point-restrictions

• Don says he is totally against antler point restrictions, believing there are better management approaches. 36:02

apple-trees

• Josh asks for advice on using black plastic drain tile versus spiral wraps to protect apple tree trunks. 41:50

archery-gear

• Terry says he’ll carry his Mathews bow on the Texas trip but also has a new Brenton six millimeter ARC ready to shoot. 6:39

banter

• Terry jokes he’ll sneak into Don’s sanctuary to cut a rub tree and turn it into a pedestal mount, riffing on their mount-space rivalry. 48:40 (light moment)
• Don jokingly offers to make Terry a rub himself, playing along with the mount rivalry banter. 48:54 (light moment)

boom-brothers

• Terry says he and Don have been overwhelmed by listener interest after hosting John Wise, with many people reaching out asking how they can help. 6:51
• Don states that if the ministry program can succeed in Illinois, it can be replicated in any state. 7:16
• John Wise reportedly told Terry he was amazed at how much interaction he got from Chasing Giants listeners. 7:40
• Boom Brothers is scaling their venison ministry in Kentucky in 2026 and preparing to expand into other states in 2027. 8:14
• Terry recommends listeners follow boombrothers.org and sign up for their newsletter. 58:28

buck-to-doe-ratio

• Terry asks Don to describe how his farm’s buck-to-doe ratio has changed, what it is now, and what he thinks the ideal balance should be. 15:53
• Terry asks whether Don, given his isolated farm, would prefer a two-to-one buck-to-doe ratio to keep more bucks home. 25:28

calling

• Hunter Green asks whether calling — rattling, grunting, or blind grunting — adds unnecessary pressure rather than helping harvest deer. 39:50

chasing-assurance

• Terry mentions that John Wise, last week’s guest, also appeared on the Chasing Assurance podcast. 58:41

deer-management

• Drew Harmon asks whether hunters are taking their deer herds for granted, given declining public-land quality and liberal buck limits. 34:16

diet

• Terry says his doctor put him on a very strict diet, similar to Don’s, cutting out foods like Little Debbie’s due to health issues. 9:43

drone-survey

• Don describes a consulting client who went from about four or five deer on a drone survey to around 56 deer the following year after implementing Wes’s plan. 29:18

drones

• Terry believes thermal drones shouldn’t be allowed for hunting during season, but sees them as a fantastic off-season tool for understanding herd dynamics. 12:31
• Don believes drones are an excellent tool in the right hands but could quickly decimate mature bucks in an area in the wrong hands, based on firsthand experience. 13:15

fae-partners

• Terry announces he and Don will present at Shipshewana with FAE Partners, sponsor of the Midwest Sportsman’s Classic, who provided equipment for specific farm projects. 14:02

flu-outbreak

• Don relays that this is reportedly the worst flu outbreak in Illinois in twenty-five years. 3:57

food-plots

• Don explains that diversity of food sources is key because different plants carry different minerals and vitamins that deer need. 23:12

habitat-management

• Terry describes clearing an overgrown pasture near his farm access that was drawing too many deer, after letting another section grow up as habitat over three years. 14:26

health

• Don describes being sick with flu-like illness for about a week but says he is on the mend and improving day to day. 3:01
• Terry plans to have his wife dose him with vitamin C to fight the flu while traveling to the ATA Show, though he refuses to wear a mask. 3:45
• Don recounts being so sick during a consulting trip that he couldn’t sleep all night in his motel, finally driving home at 4:30 AM. 9:07

illinois

• Don notes Illinois’s 25,000 nonresident archery tag limit was reached for the first time this year. 37:44

jack-houston

• Terry recommends Jack Houston of Midwest Deer Surveys as the person he trusts most for herd analysis. 12:06
• Terry names Jack Houston as the one ethical operator he’d recommend for drone deer surveys, noting Houston will survey his own farm. 27:02

mikes-mighty-micros

• Terry says he now never sprays a post-emergent herbicide without adding Mike’s Mighty Micros after seeing the results it produces. 54:18
• Terry warns listeners that people accidentally kill clover after applying Mike’s because they fail to clean their sprayers when switching herbicides. 54:46
• Jeff Gibson reports his clover plots treated with Mike’s Mighty Micros and pH balancer are seeing much heavier deer browse pressure this year. 49:09

nonresident-limits

• Don argues the most important step any state can take for mature buck age structure is pairing regulations with a reasonable nonresident hunter limit. 37:10

politics

• Don voices a political opinion that election fraud will keep happening unless someone is prosecuted for what he calls the stolen 2020 election. 50:14

prayer-time

• Terry reminds listeners that Devin Hurley will host Sunday night prayer time this week. 58:07

question-of-the-week

• Terry asks whether Don would shoot a target buck missing a tine since last seen and have it rebuilt for the mount, or pass him another year. 29:51

regenerative-farming

• Don relays a YouTube video where a cattle farmer explained the nutrient content difference between grass-fed and grain-fed beef. 21:27

shipshewana

• Terry plans to have Derek find another volunteer to judge the baking contest at the Shipshewana Show since his diet won’t allow him to eat the entries. 10:15
• Don plans to break his diet at the Shipshewana Show cherry pie contest, saying a couple days of indulgence won’t hurt him. 10:31

small-property

• Eric Phillips asks whether 10 acres of woods can be a decent hunting spot or if it’s too small a property. 43:10

sprayer-maintenance

• Don confirms an improperly cleaned sprayer nozzle killed part of his soybeans on his own farm, matching the sprayer-cleaning issue Terry described. 55:22

taxidermy

• Terry still capes out management bucks he doesn’t plan to mount and gives the hides to his taxidermist, who can use extra capes for damaged client trophies. 46:53
• Aiden Eisler asks how Don and Terry honor deer they harvest — whether they shoulder mount cull bucks and always mount their season’s target buck. 44:58

texas-hunt

• Terry reveals he and Austin are preparing the largest raffle in Lester’s Feet history tied to a South Texas hunt with well-known friends. 5:58

travel

• Terry announces he and Don will travel to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for the 360 Blinds dealer event in Summit. 4:23

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (hunt) 17:48
• unnamed buck (history) 31:17
• unnamed buck (harvest) 31:26
• Zacchaeus buck (hunt) 40:51
• King David buck (harvest) 47:56

Listener questions

Question: Terry asks Don to describe how his farm’s buck-to-doe ratio has changed, what it is now, and what he thinks the ideal balance should be. 15:53

• Answer: Don reports his buck-to-doe ratio is currently about one-to-one, getting roughly as many buck trail-camera photos as doe photos. 18:24

Question: Terry asks whether drought-related nutrient deficiency during antler hardening could make antlers more brittle, similar to low calcium weakening human bones. 20:40

• Answer: Don says he’s never personally confirmed a correlation between drought nutrient deficiency and brittle antlers, though he found the timing of the question ironic. 21:13

Question: Terry asks whether Don, given his isolated farm, would prefer a two-to-one buck-to-doe ratio to keep more bucks home. 25:28

• Answer: Don says he’s backing off doe harvest and now aims for at least a two-to-one, possibly three-to-one, doe-to-buck ratio. 26:16

Question: Drew Harmon asks whether hunters are taking their deer herds for granted, given declining public-land quality and liberal buck limits. 34:16

• Answer: Don agrees hunters as a whole are short-sighted, prioritizing instant gratification over long-term deer herd management. 35:07

Question: Hunter Green asks whether calling — rattling, grunting, or blind grunting — adds unnecessary pressure rather than helping harvest deer. 39:50 — asked by Hunter Green

• Answer: Don says he’s not a fan of calling because it educates more deer than it helps harvest, and he avoided calling entirely this season. 41:39

Question: Josh asks for advice on using black plastic drain tile versus spiral wraps to protect apple tree trunks. 41:50 — asked by Josh

• Answer: Don recommends using both the spiral wrap and plastic tube — the wrap fits snug against the trunk to keep mice from nesting and girdling it, which can happen with only the wider tube. 42:23

Question: Eric Phillips asks whether 10 acres of woods can be a decent hunting spot or if it’s too small a property. 43:10 — asked by Eric Phillips

• Answer: Don says a 10-acre property can produce great bucks, largely because of the quality habitat surrounding it rather than the parcel’s size. 43:31

Question: Aiden Eisler asks how Don and Terry honor deer they harvest — whether they shoulder mount cull bucks and always mount their season’s target buck. 44:58 — asked by Aiden Eisler

• Answer: Don says target bucks typically get shoulder mounted, while management or cull bucks instead receive a European skull mount so they’re still honored. 45:34
• Answer: Terry says every target buck he harvests goes on the wall as a mount, unlike management deer. 46:32

Question: Jeff Gibson reports his clover plots treated with Mike’s Mighty Micros and pH balancer are seeing much heavier deer browse pressure this year. 49:09 — asked by Jeff Gibson

• Answer: Don confirms he’s seen the same heavy clover browsing on his own farm and has also treated his clover with Mike’s Mighty Micros and the pH balancer. 52:12

Question: A listener asks whether a buck that breaks its rack this year will keep having broken racks, or if it depends on nutrition or genetics. 56:32

• Answer: Don explains a buck with a broken rack will be fine the next year as long as the pedicle isn’t damaged, allowing normal antler growth to continue. 57:12

Question: Terry asks whether Don would shoot a target buck missing a tine since last seen and have it rebuilt for the mount, or pass him another year. 29:51

• Answer: Don says it depends on the specific buck’s age, but the vast majority of the time a buck missing a tine will get a free pass rather than be shot. 30:28

Prayer Time

Scripture: 1 Corinthians
Theme: steadfast Christian service
Devin Hurley reflects on the church’s responsibility beyond Sunday worship, tying it to a sermon series he’s preaching, and turns to Paul’s charge in 1 Corinthians 15:58 to be steadfast and abound in the Lord’s work, assured that labor for the kingdom is never in vain. 61:02

Don and Terry opened discussing recent flu illness for both, with Don noting reports called it the worst Illinois flu outbreak in twenty-five years, before covering upcoming travel to a 360 Blinds dealer event and the ATA Show. They discussed a large South Texas raffle in the works, ongoing venison ministry growth after hosting John Wise, and diet changes prompted by Terry’s doctor. Management topics included recommending Jack Houston for herd surveys and drone use, clearing overgrown habitat, mineral diversity in food plots, and Mike’s Mighty Micros herbicide additive, with a warning about sprayer contamination killing clover. Don argued against antler point restrictions, favoring nonresident tag limits, and described his farm’s roughly one-to-one buck-to-doe ratio while now targeting a higher doe-to-buck ratio. Listener questions covered small-property hunting potential, tree protection methods, calling pressure, mounting practices for target versus management bucks, and broken-rack antler recovery. Devin Hurley was set to lead Sunday prayer.

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