Episode #33 - Mid October Update, A Little Cell Camera Update, Little Genetics Discussion, and even a little politics

Published: 2020-10-13
Episode page
Duration: 70 min

In this episode

acorn-crop

• Terry says this is the biggest acorn crop he has ever seen since he started paying attention. 7:57

behind-the-scenes

• During filming of a prior episode, Steve was seen sitting on top of a telephone pole to get footage. 2:17 (light moment)

buck-breeding

• Don relays research indicating a dominant breeding buck in the wild only breeds about four to six does in an entire rut. 43:13

bump-and-dump

• Don advises hunters with limited acreage against bump-and-dump tactics, since a spooked buck may flee to a neighbor’s land and cut kill odds sharply. 28:16

cell-camera-comparison

• Terry ranked the Exodus camera second out of six tested, behind the WiseEye whose nighttime photos he judged slightly better. 17:59

deer-genetics

• Don cites John Gonzaga’s research in Deer and Deer Hunting showing a high percentage of doe twins have different fathers. 46:13

deer-patterns

• Terry saw 30-35 deer nightly in his alfalfa moving into soybeans in September, but that pattern stopped and deer no longer show until right before dark. 7:41

exodus-camera

• Don says he is pretty impressed with the Exodus cell camera he has been testing. 16:51
• Don’s Exodus camera is still running on the same batteries and sending about 20-40 pictures a day. 17:03

family-priorities

• Don urges people not to chase a hunting-related dream to the point it hurts their ability to provide for their family. 58:21

family-priority

• Terry has not hunted in over a week and has decided to let his son get the next chance at a deer. 5:20

genetics

• Terry asks whether Sean Kelly’s question about keeping locally-born bucks relates to Don’s theory of shooting a doe with two buck fawns. 36:20

giveaway

• Starting around Thanksgiving, Don will give away a free seat at his Whitetail Master Course to a winner from three consecutive podcasts. 12:21
• Terry announces Jared Miller won the giveaway cell camera after a random Facebook comment drawing. 14:34

home-turf

• Don says if he still has bucks to hunt at home he will stay and hunt there rather than travel to an out-of-state public spot. 4:02

hunting-philosophy

• Alan Foster told Terry that hunting mature bucks isn’t supposed to be easy, or it would be a different sport. 55:52

hunting-pressure

• Carson Fritz asks whether leaving his three pressured properties alone in October and November will keep mature bucks bedding and feeding there in December. 47:49

mentorship

• Don credits Alan Foster with saving him about ten years on the learning curve when he was 18, and says he now tries to repay that to others. 56:06

october-morning-hunt

• Don plans to break his own rule against October morning hunts by using one foolproof-entry stand while Steve films. 23:53

podcast-schedule

• Don says the podcast is moving from every two weeks to about every ten days in October, then weekly once November begins. 68:25

priority

• Terry’s top priority this year is getting his son on a buck, even if it costs him his own Kentucky buck tag. 5:47

quietkat

• Terry praises QuietKat’s customer service after they quickly arranged replacement parts for his damaged bike rack. 22:12

real-world

• Don says Real World has built its seed company around top customer service to set itself apart from competitors. 22:17

rut-report

• Don announces his daily November Rut Report will run on his Higgins Outdoors Facebook page and invites listeners to follow it. 10:55

target-buck

• Don plans to hunt hard with Steve Shields filming once the cold front arrives, aiming to fill one of his buck tags. 3:01

target-bucks

• Don has about five target bucks this year and hopes to fill both of his Illinois buck tags. 3:45

trail-cameras

• Don bought twelve trail cameras of one brand and already had to send three back for repairs, calling the purchase a mistake. 15:56

tree-saddle

• Don says the tree saddle bit started as a joke and ruffled feathers, but the show supports all hunting methods. 69:38

whitetail-consultant

• Don says he would discourage a son of his from becoming a full-time whitetail consultant. 57:52

whitetail-cribs

• Don urges listeners to watch Terry Peer’s Whitetail Crips video made by Exodus Trail Cameras if they haven’t seen it. 6:18

wiseeye

• Terry highlights the WiseEye’s photo management software, which lets users upload photos and automatically filter out does. 18:14

youth-season

• The past weekend was youth rifle season in Kentucky. 5:01

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (sighting) 2:41
• unnamed buck (sighting) 4:54
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 18:39
• unnamed buck (hunt) 25:31

Listener questions

Question: Terry asks whether Sean Kelly’s question about keeping locally-born bucks relates to Don’s theory of shooting a doe with two buck fawns. 36:20

• Answer: Don answers that killing a doe or two isn’t enough to meaningfully increase inbreeding or line breeding in a wild deer herd. 39:26

Question: Carson Fritz asks whether leaving his three pressured properties alone in October and November will keep mature bucks bedding and feeding there in December. 47:49 — asked by Carson Fritz

• Answer: Don recommends hunting the edges of the properties instead of avoiding them entirely, pushing deer toward the heart so they still bed there by December. 49:29
• Answer: Terry adds that if Carson can’t hunt the property without pressuring it, staying away makes sense, but if he can hunt the outer edges he should take advantage of neighboring pressure. 50:23

Terry described giving his own hunting time to his son this season, prioritizing that over filling his own Kentucky buck tag, especially after Kentucky’s youth rifle weekend. He noted his alfalfa-to-soybean deer pattern had shifted, with deer no longer showing until near dark, and called this the biggest acorn crop he’d seen. Don discussed his roughly five target Illinois bucks and plans to hunt hard once a cold front arrived, with Steve Shields filming, including breaking his usual rule against October morning hunts. The two compared trail cameras, with Terry ranking the Exodus camera second behind WiseEye’s nighttime photos and praising its doe-filtering software, while Don reported repair trouble with a different camera brand. Listener questions from Sean Kelly and Carson Fritz prompted discussion of doe harvest and inbreeding risk, and of hunting property edges rather than avoiding pressured land entirely. Don also cited research on limited breeding by dominant bucks and shared advice on avoiding bump-and-dump tactics.

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