LIVE at 360 Blinds: No Script, No Filters — Just Real Questions | Chasing Giants 308

Published: 2026-01-18
Episode page
Duration: 63 min

In this episode

announcement

• Terry announces that Club and Leaf, one of their top dealers, will have a big three sixty display at the Shipshewana Show. 22:21
• Don and Terry will host a breakout session on projects from their own farms that funnel deer toward three 360 Hunting Blinds. 22:32
• Terry announces Chasing Giants will sponsor a trail camera contest at the Midwest Sportsman’s Classic for people’s best trail camera photos. 23:21
• Terry announces Wes Delks will give a seminar in Shipshewana about the mental aspect of hunting. 46:01

book-project

• Don says finishing the book Wes started about him could be his summer project this year. 48:29
• Have you started any new books, and do you have plans for one? 48:00

boone-bites

• Terry explains harvested deer are turned into Boone Bites, a shelf-stable jerky used in school backpack programs to feed hungry kids. 55:58

boone-brothers

• Terry announces a new partnership with the nonprofit Boone Brothers of Kentucky to help hunters ethically use harvested does. 55:23
• Terry explains hunters can take harvested deer free of charge to a processor who partners with Boone Brothers, with the processor getting paid instead. 55:42
• Terry says states like Pennsylvania, Indiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma are on the short list for the Boone Brothers program to expand into. 57:06
• Terry mentions a video shoot planned for Thursday to create promotional content for Boone Brothers. 56:59

bucket-list

• What are Don and Terry’s dream or bucket-list hunts at this point in their lives? 38:37

business

• Terry says he thinks highly of Curtis, who runs a very successful business, and enjoys learning from him. 13:54

business-advice

• Don advises surrounding yourself in business with people whose strengths cover your weaknesses, as he has done with Real World’s team. 24:23
• Don recommends dealers diversify into other outdoor products their same customer base is likely to purchase. 26:05
• What is Don’s best advice or lesson learned for a startup company? 23:47

business-philosophy

• Don says he doesn’t view sponsors or competing food plot companies as enemies, staying on great terms with them despite competing products. 45:23

company-history

• Mark Fisher started Three 360 Hunting Blinds in his garage with the goal of putting God first in everything he did. 7:58

consulting

• Don’s consulting group, which includes six other consultants nationwide, typically works on about 300 properties each winter, a number that keeps growing. 33:59

consulting-team

• Can you talk about the Chasing Giants consulting team and services offered? 33:21

dealer-partnership

• Are all three sixty dealers also Real World Wildlife Products dealers? 44:19

deer-behavior

• Don explains deer bed on ridge points so they can watch multiple directions for danger with the wind at their back, keeping them covered. 20:52

deer-hunting

• What has deer hunting taught you that you’ve carried through life outside the woods? 41:59

doe-harvest

• After heavier doe harvests, Don saw daytime buck activity and rut sign like scrapes increase far beyond anything he’d seen before on his farm. 54:05
• How can hunters get more excited about taking more does? 53:36

doe-management

• Don notes a downside of heavier doe harvests was that nearly every buck on his farm ended up with busted antlers from increased fighting. 54:18

ehd

• What’s the most important thing to focus on after a property is hit hard by EHD? 50:05

faith

• Mark Fisher puts a copy of the book of John in every dealership order, hoping someone will learn about Jesus through the business. 13:31
• Don recalls Wes talking him off the ledge more than once during a tough personal situation, calling him a positive influence. 47:38
• Terry ties the Boone Brothers program to the biblical calling to feed the hungry, citing Jesus’s words about feeding him when he was hungry. 56:48
• Terry says deer hunting gave him a huge platform to talk about Jesus. 42:57
• Terry recalls being jaded against the church for years, viewing it as his father’s employer rather than a place to grow closer to God. 43:12
• Terry says the podcast has let him and Don show they are flawed people who fail and sin daily but are saved by grace. 43:41

gmo

• Is there a link between herbicides, GMO versus non-GMO crops, and their attractiveness to whitetails? 39:38

habitat-management

• Don recalls planting white pine seedlings years ago when few deer were on his farm; today they would be eaten to the ground within a week. 50:18

hinge-cutting

• Don says he isn’t a fan of hinge cutting because if a tree is worthless enough to hinge cut, it’s better to cut it off and let something good grow up. 18:49
• On his own property, less than 10% of trees Don cuts for bedding-area enhancement are hinge cut; most are simply cut off and left to fall. 19:17
• What is Don’s philosophy on hinge cutting, where it’s good or bad, especially for creating bedding areas? 18:29
• In hill country, would you use hinge cutting to funnel deer along a ridge without creating bedding? 20:09

joke

• Don jokes that the look Robin is giving him means he’ll be sleeping in the truck that night. 15:36 (light moment)
• In your opinion, is there more of wheels or doors in the world? 40:28

kids-hunting

• Don warns that letting a young kid just pull the trigger while dad does everything else is a good way to burn the child out on hunting. 27:45
• What is Don’s philosophy on getting kids involved in hunting? 26:52

land-management

• Don says land ownership lets him dictate how deer move on a property, sometimes to a great degree. 32:31

mental-toughness

• Wes Delks will present examples of how a positive attitude made a difference both in killing deer and in handling neighbor property-line disputes. 46:40

ohio-property

• Has Don’s Ohio property sold, and what did he learn from developing it? 28:26

personal

• Terry introduces his wife Casey and Don’s wife Robin, both attending a live podcast for the first time. 14:48

prescribed-fire

• Don recalls a Missouri property where the never-burned side of a trail had far better deer cover than the side burned annually for turkey. 52:23
• Don recommends cutting thick cedar stands that wildlife aren’t using, letting them lay a year, then burning to regenerate great cover. 52:42
• Do you prescribe fire before doing TSI? 50:44

property-consulting

• Can you talk about the property you visited yesterday? 16:08

property-selection

• Don says the specific property matters far more for deer hunting success than the county or state it’s located in. 29:16
• What should you look for when buying a hunting property to manage for hunting? 40:51

property-size

• What is the smallest and largest property Don has consulted on? 41:25

sales-tips

• Terry recommends dealers point out the peephole window as a selling feature to taller customers who need to stretch inside the blind. 36:54

sanctuary

• How do you identify where to put a sanctuary on a new property? 30:07
• What can you do for a hill-country sanctuary you’re worried you can’t burn? 31:42
• Did you ever put a sanctuary on a property line? 49:54

switchgrass

• Once the sanctuary area is identified, how do you implement bedding, with or without switchgrass? 31:17
• What do you recommend for switchgrass overgrown with foxtail: burning or herbicide? 37:23

tell-all-book

• Don considers writing a tell-all book about the hunting industry as a final project, though he fears it would close more doors than it opens. 48:33

three-sixty

• Don recalls contacting Mark Fisher to try to buy three sixty blinds after being impressed by them at a trade show, but Mark turned down the offer. 10:33
• Don says Mark Fisher runs Three Sixty very similarly to how Real World Wildlife Products is run, recognizing dealers as the foundation of the business. 12:19
• With all the copycat blinds out there, what sets three sixty blinds apart from the others? 34:19
• If you could change one thing about three sixty blinds, what would it be? 35:40

tsi

• What is the best time to TSI your property for optimal results next season? 17:47

waterfowl

• Don notes every ag field on the Chesapeake property had a wheat cover crop planted for geese, meaning deer have food available literally everywhere. 17:00

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (harvest) 10:58
• unnamed buck (hunt) 11:30
• unnamed buck (harvest) 11:53
• Walker (harvest) 26:37

Listener questions

Question: What is the best time to TSI your property for optimal results next season? 17:47

• Answer: Do TSI right now, before spring green-up, so sunlight hits the ground and stimulates new woody vegetation, weeds, and briars. 17:59

Question: What is Don’s philosophy on hinge cutting, where it’s good or bad, especially for creating bedding areas? 18:29

• Answer: Don isn’t a fan of hinge cutting; if a tree is worthless enough to hinge cut, he’d rather cut it off entirely and let something better grow. 18:49

Question: In hill country, would you use hinge cutting to funnel deer along a ridge without creating bedding? 20:09

• Answer: Yes; create a travel corridor down the ridge and cluster bedding cover at the point where the ridge breaks into a bottom, using fallen or hinge-cut trees. 20:39

Question: What is Don’s best advice or lesson learned for a startup company? 23:47

• Answer: Focus your business on kids, pets, or hobbies, since people spend ridiculous amounts of money on those regardless of the economy. 24:01

Question: What is Don’s philosophy on getting kids involved in hunting? 26:52

• Answer: Don encourages parents to let the child choose their own interest rather than pushing them into hunting. 27:07

Question: Has Don’s Ohio property sold, and what did he learn from developing it? 28:26

• Answer: Don still has two Ohio tracts for sale; his main lesson is that the specific property matters more than the county or state. 29:16

Question: How do you identify where to put a sanctuary on a new property? 30:07

• Answer: The first thing to consider is access, including whether the property has one or multiple access points. 30:24

Question: Once the sanctuary area is identified, how do you implement bedding, with or without switchgrass? 31:17

• Answer: It depends on the surrounding area; you want cover that’s different from what’s found on neighboring properties. 31:24

Question: What can you do for a hill-country sanctuary you’re worried you can’t burn? 31:42

• Answer: Don says he doesn’t worry about burning; instead look for pinches and flatter spots on the hillside where deer will actually want to bed. 31:56

Question: Can you talk about the Chasing Giants consulting team and services offered? 33:21

• Answer: Besides Don, the consulting team includes Terry, Wes Delks, Derek Burkholder, David Elliott, Bobby Worthington, and Caleb Gehman on the East Coast. 33:37

Question: With all the copycat blinds out there, what sets three sixty blinds apart from the others? 34:19

• Answer: The window system is the best out there; it’s been copied but never topped by anything better. 34:31

Question: If you could change one thing about three sixty blinds, what would it be? 35:40

• Answer: Don jokes Mark should sell all blinds only in the ASIO Camo from Chasing Giants. 35:56

Question: What do you recommend for switchgrass overgrown with foxtail: burning or herbicide? 37:23

• Answer: Burn it in early spring and spray Quinclorac, which controls foxtail without harming switchgrass. 37:33

Question: What are Don and Terry’s dream or bucket-list hunts at this point in their lives? 38:37

• Answer: Don would like to charter a bus of friends to a Texas ranch for a week of good food and hunting, whatever the game. 39:15

Question: Is there a link between herbicides, GMO versus non-GMO crops, and their attractiveness to whitetails? 39:38

• Answer: Deer can detect and clearly prefer non-GMO crops over GMO ones. 39:49

Question: In your opinion, is there more of wheels or doors in the world? 40:28

• Answer: Terry jokingly answers that there are more wheels than doors in the world. 40:39

Question: What should you look for when buying a hunting property to manage for hunting? 40:51

• Answer: What surrounds the property matters far more than what’s actually on it, since what’s on it can be changed. 41:20

Question: What is the smallest and largest property Don has consulted on? 41:25

• Answer: The smallest property Don consulted on was eight acres, in Michigan. 41:30
• Answer: The largest property is probably around 2,000 acres. 41:54

Question: What has deer hunting taught you that you’ve carried through life outside the woods? 41:59

• Answer: Don says the best thing deer hunting ever did for him was the people he met through it. 42:08

Question: Are all three sixty dealers also Real World Wildlife Products dealers? 44:19

• Answer: No, they aren’t, though Don wishes they were and offers to help dealers get set up with Real World. 44:30
• Answer: They value the partnership with Mark and three sixty rather than competing. 44:44

Question: Have you started any new books, and do you have plans for one? 48:00

• Answer: Wes started a book about Don, interviewing him and his parents, and sent it last summer for Don to edit for accuracy. 48:06

Question: Did you ever put a sanctuary on a property line? 49:54

• Answer: Possibly, depending on what’s on the neighboring side of the property. 49:58

Question: What’s the most important thing to focus on after a property is hit hard by EHD? 50:05

• Answer: It’s a great time to do habitat projects that are impossible with a full deer herd present. 50:13

Question: Do you prescribe fire before doing TSI? 50:44

• Answer: Don isn’t a fan of fire in the woods since it can cut down the understory cover. 50:57

Question: Can you talk about the property you visited yesterday? 16:08

• Answer: Don visited a Chesapeake Bay property with terrain like the Midwest, but with an overwhelming number of Canada geese in every field. 16:14

Question: How can hunters get more excited about taking more does? 53:36

• Answer: Don shares that after shooting far more does, daytime buck activity and rut sign on his farm improved dramatically. 54:05

This episode was a live podcast featuring guest Mark Fisher of Three 360 Hunting Blinds, whose business Don compared to Real World Wildlife Products for its dealer-focused, faith-driven approach. Terry announced upcoming events including a Shipshewana display, a breakout session on farm projects, a trail camera contest, and a Wes Delks seminar on hunting’s mental side. Terry also detailed a new Boone Brothers of Kentucky partnership turning harvested does into jerky for school hunger programs. Listener questions covered TSI timing, Don’s skepticism toward hinge cutting and prescribed fire, sanctuary placement based on access and surrounding cover, switchgrass management, and the Chasing Giants consulting team’s roughly 300 properties handled each winter. Don discussed lessons from consulting work, including that specific property traits outweigh location, and shared that heavier doe harvests on his farm increased daytime buck activity and antler damage from fighting. He also recalled a Chesapeake Bay property overrun with geese and reflected that the people met through hunting mattered most to him.

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