Doubting Thomas, Dealer Event & BIG Scrape Magnet News | Chasing Giants Podcast 314

Published: 2026-03-01
Episode page
Duration: 49 min

In this episode

alfalfa

• Terry recommends researching the right alfalfa variety for your area rather than buying random seed, since it’s expensive. 32:50
• Don recommends contacting Green Prairie’s Duane Hopkins for alfalfa advice. 32:12
• Will you offer an alfalfa either by itself or in a mix like the clover chicory mix? 31:13

box-blind

• Terry says using a box blind as an excuse to hunt the wrong wind is already going too far. 29:07
• How much can you get away with on wind direction if hunting out of a box blind? 28:26

broadcasting-seed

• Terry explains guys without planters can broadcast beans as thick as they want since beans adapt well. 37:12

business-expansion

• Terry says the company’s Midwest market share is strong but they want to expand into the Southeast. 43:23

company-growth

• Terry states the company has never had a down sales year. 43:13

consulting

• Don is looking forward to spring when his consulting travel will be finished. 14:26

crop-rotation

• What is the ideal crop rotation if you own a pH drill, and do you use it for corn? 29:53

dealer-event

• The Real World Wildlife Products dealer event drew about 450 people, more than double the first two events. 10:10
• Over 200 pallets of product went out to dealers over the two-day dealer event. 10:38
• Terry describes the RWWP, Chasing Giants, and Green Prairie community as an excited, special group falling in line together. 11:49

deer-bedding

• Don theorizes deer bed in open fields at night because they feel safer being able to see approaching predators. 34:29
• Terry agrees deer likely feel safer bedding in the open at night since predators hunt by scent and sight from cover. 35:57
• On a 50-acre property with trouble getting deer to bed in winter, is it a lack of cover? 27:48

deer-genetics

• Does the doe’s genetics determine a buck’s antler potential, and can you favor the odds for stronger buck genetics? 39:34

fae

• Terry and Don did a special project with FAE, the presenting sponsor, showcasing their habitat work at the show. 6:03

faith

• Don’s grandfather was the one who introduced him to Jesus years ago. 2:00
• Don credits Jesus with taking care of his personal faults. 47:41

family-legacy

• Don shot his first squirrel on the farm together with his grandfather. 1:40

farm-history

• Don recalls that while his grandfather was alive, there were no deer on this farm. 1:57

grain-sorghum

• Don explains deer love to bed in grain sorghum, more than corn, likely because it hides them without feeling boxed in. 33:32
• What is the height of the sorghum blend? 33:13
• Can you use grain sorghum as a rotational crop to soybeans rather than corn? 36:30

gratitude

• Terry reflects he continues to feel humbled by people following the show at every event. 47:18

hawk-optics

• Don and Terry partnered with Hawke Optics and are working with Cameron on creative products for the deer hunting community. 23:04

higgins-hot-seat

• Knowing Don, would he use his Higgins Hot Seat segment to thank the people at Shipshewana and the dealer event? 18:35

mineral

• What time of the year do deer start to eat or need mineral? 38:51

miscanthus

• Don recommends planting Miscanthus about four inches deep, and tree seedlings as deep as possible. 27:13
• Terry says it’s better to have two guys riding on the back of the Miscanthus planter. 26:57
• Terry says hand-planting Miscanthus requires loose soil. 27:30
• Can I put pre-emergent herbicide on third-year Miscanthus before spring growth? 25:15
• What is the most efficient way to plant Miscanthus? 25:52

mission

• Don states deer hunting is their passion and platform but not their purpose; their purpose is reaching lost deer hunters. 3:32

planting-handbook

• Terry says the planting handbook will soon be available to people who are not dealers. 12:18
• Don says the handbook’s main purpose was to answer dealers’ most frequently asked questions. 46:36
• The planting handbook, originally passed out to dealers, will soon be made available to others too. 45:12
• Can you explain planting timing, equipment, and herbicides for corn, beans, harvest salad, and deadly dozen? 44:49

prayer-time

• Terry announces Sunday Night Prayer Time follows right after the closing credits. 48:34

rope-scrapes

• How many rope scrapes should you use on a property, or how many per acre? 44:08

sales-revenue

• What is the total value of Real World products sold in 2026 so far, and what’s the growth percentage to date? 41:50

scrape-magnet

• Terry says dealers gobbled up all of the Scrape Magnet product from the first launch. 13:18
• Scrape Magnet will be carried at major hunting shows, including by Scott Feneldahl’s Extreme Custom Food Plots in Wisconsin. 13:32
• Scrape Magnet is also going to the Iowa Deer Classic, and Jay Gingerich is taking it to Iowa. 13:41
• Terry says the response to Scrape Magnet’s announcement overwhelmed him after two years of quiet development. 23:47
• Scrape Magnet sold out between the Shipshewana show and the dealer event after being kept quiet for two years. 23:56
• Don says they stocked up on Scrape Magnet but still sold out and could have sold more. 24:17
• Terry explains the beauty of Scrape Magnet is that ropes can be seasoned during the off-season. 24:39
• Terry recommends soaking hemp ropes in a bucket to season them ahead of the season. 24:44

shed-hunting

• Terry found two shed antlers while riding his new Grub Implement side-by-side. 14:55
• Don found about five sheds while pulling 23 cameras the previous day. 15:13
• Have you found any shed yet? 15:10

shipshewana

• Don experienced the crowd for the Doubting Thomas video reveal at Shipshewana as bigger than his prior Tony LaPratt debate crowd, exceeding his expectations. 0:53
• Don got emotional during the video reveal, which he had not expected to happen. 1:04
• Shipshewana attendance was up over 40% this year. 4:31
• Terry says the show pays tribute by reconnecting the Wensel brothers and Bobby to newer generations. 5:04
• Wes Delks drew a standing-room-only audience speaking at Shipshewana. 6:34
• Terry felt exhausted from back-to-back Shipshewana pressure and the Scrape Magnet soft launch heading into the dealer event. 11:25
• Terry calls the last two weeks of Shipshewana and the dealer event stressful but special. 47:12

spring

• Terry says spring is one of his all-time favorite seasons because that’s when everything comes together. 48:20

spring-planting

• Terry is looking forward to seed time on the tractor as his favorite time of year for planting. 48:12
• Don says planting season will resume in about another thirty days. 48:29

testimony

• A gentleman told Don and Terry he was recently baptized after accepting Jesus while listening to Chasing Giants driving his trash truck. 3:45

trail-cameras

• Terry and Don pulled about 22 stands and 30 cell cameras in Illinois. 15:02

wensel-brothers

• Don used to write handwritten letters to Gene Wensel, who would reply in kind. 5:39
• Don’s collection of Gene Wensel’s letters was destroyed when a roof leak let water ruin them. 5:50

white-deer

• Is the buck or doe with all the white on it still around? 41:17

workload

• Don observes that Terry runs his own company and handles 90% of the Chasing Giants business. 12:40

Deer activity

• Doubting Thomas (harvest) 1:52
• unnamed buck (sighting) 35:23
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 41:23

Listener questions

Question: Have you found any shed yet? 15:10

• Answer: Don had pulled 23 cameras the day before and found about five sheds while pulling them. 15:13

Question: Knowing Don, would he use his Higgins Hot Seat segment to thank the people at Shipshewana and the dealer event? 18:35 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don says more than anything he just hopes people can see his true heart. 21:26

Question: Can I put pre-emergent herbicide on third-year Miscanthus before spring growth? 25:15

• Answer: Don says you can, but a good established Miscanthus stand shouldn’t need it since it chokes out weeds itself. 25:21

Question: What is the most efficient way to plant Miscanthus? 25:52

• Answer: Don says a special planter called a Naturally Native, which opens a trench and packs it closed as rhizomes are dropped in. 25:56

Question: On a 50-acre property with trouble getting deer to bed in winter, is it a lack of cover? 27:48

• Answer: Don says it is either a lack of cover or a lack of food. 28:01

Question: How much can you get away with on wind direction if hunting out of a box blind? 28:26

• Answer: Don says there’s really no way to say how much wind leeway a box blind allows, since too many factors are at play. 28:59

Question: What is the ideal crop rotation if you own a pH drill, and do you use it for corn? 29:53

• Answer: Don has used his pH drill for corn by blocking off rows to create roughly 30-inch spacing. 30:00
• Answer: Don says there is no single ideal crop rotation; he preaches diversity across plots and years. 30:26

Question: Will you offer an alfalfa either by itself or in a mix like the clover chicory mix? 31:13

• Answer: Don says Green Prairie already offers several alfalfas, but Real World Wildlife Products has no plans to offer one itself. 31:18

Question: What is the height of the sorghum blend? 33:13

• Answer: Don estimates the grain sorghum blend stood about shoulder high on him this past fall. 33:16

Question: Can you use grain sorghum as a rotational crop to soybeans rather than corn? 36:30

• Answer: Don says yes, you can rotate any combination as long as there’s no herbicide carryover between years. 36:35

Question: What time of the year do deer start to eat or need mineral? 38:51

• Answer: Don says deer eat mineral a little year-round but really start hitting it hard right now, February and March. 39:08

Question: Does the doe’s genetics determine a buck’s antler potential, and can you favor the odds for stronger buck genetics? 39:34

• Answer: Don says the doe genetics play a huge role in a buck’s antler potential, since he gets antler genetics from his mother as much as his father. 39:51

Question: Is the buck or doe with all the white on it still around? 41:17

• Answer: Don says he hasn’t seen the white deer in a while, though he used to get her picture occasionally. 41:23

Question: What is the total value of Real World products sold in 2026 so far, and what’s the growth percentage to date? 41:50

• Answer: Don says year-to-date sales were up a little over 30% compared to last year, though the comparison could be misleading given last year’s slow start. 42:48

Question: How many rope scrapes should you use on a property, or how many per acre? 44:08

• Answer: Don estimates three well-placed rope scrapes on a 120-acre property could inventory every buck using it. 44:40

Question: Can you explain planting timing, equipment, and herbicides for corn, beans, harvest salad, and deadly dozen? 44:49

• Answer: Don says the handbook passed out at the dealer event answers all of these product-specific planting questions. 45:02

Sponsors this episode

• ASIO Gear
• Mission Whitetail

Don and Terry recapped the Doubting Thomas video reveal at Shipshewana, where Don was surprised by a crowd bigger than his prior Tony LaPratt debate and got emotionally overwhelmed, with attendance up over 40%. Don shared his grandfather introducing him to squirrel hunting and to Jesus on the farm, and a listener’s baptism story tied to the show. They discussed the exhausting back-to-back stretch of Shipshewana and a dealer event drawing about 450 people, where Scrape Magnet sold out after two years of quiet development. Other topics included pulling stands and cameras with some shed finds, the new planting handbook, alfalfa sourcing advice, and partnerships with FAE and Hawke Optics. Listener questions covered Miscanthus planting methods, wind leeway in box blinds, crop rotation flexibility, mineral timing, doe genetics’ role in antler potential, and year-to-date sales up a little over 30%. A Sunday Night Prayer segment followed the episode.

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