Episode #35 - Don shoots his 3rd 200”+ Buck - The story of Mel - A 220” World Class Whitetail

Published: 2020-11-01
Episode page
Duration: 70 min

In this episode

banter

• Terry jokingly told Don one more time that he’s crazy, timed right before the outro music. 70:00 (light moment)

books

• Don announced his first book is nearly sold out, with only about four or five cases left before it’s gone forever. 68:00

community

• Don said he tries to congratulate local hunters who shoot a deer he’s tracked, sharing his own trail camera pictures or shed antlers of that buck with them. 45:33

community-support

• Don credited his ability to keep hunting big bucks to support from people who listen to the podcast, subscribe on YouTube, or buy his books and magazine articles. 44:26

consulting

• Don urged anyone on the East Coast interested in winter consulting to reach out soon, since he only makes one such trip per winter. 66:45

covid

• Don revealed his wife and daughter tested positive for COVID the week before he shot the buck, and he knew he had also contracted it. 33:15
• Don planned to rest through high winds and hoped to feel well enough from COVID to resume hunting by Monday. 57:41

decision-making

• Don said he prayed during the drive home from a St. Louis radio appearance, asking for wisdom to decide whether to shoot the buck. 24:11
• Don decided in advance that he would only shoot the buck if his rack came in completely intact, using any broken tine as a sign to let him walk. 24:24

deer-behavior

• Don explained that every mature buck has a distinct personality, and this deer was completely different in temperament from either Trump or Smokey. 5:47

giveaway

• Don announced a giveaway of free attendance to a spring Whitetail Master Course class, entered by subscribing to the YouTube channel and following the Higgins Outdoors Facebook page. 59:32

hunting-discipline

• Don slipped out of a 360 blind and ended a hunt early when the buck came out too far away, worried nearby deer would spook and alert him. 28:04

hunting-philosophy

• Don explained that for him the real thrill is the hunt and the chase, not the kill itself. 39:27
• At 57 years old, Don said he’s shot more than his share of big deer, and the hunt itself is really where it’s at for him anymore. 40:15

hunting-plans

• Don said he still has three bucks over 170 inches left to pursue with his second tag this season. 58:00

hunting-strategy

• Don recommends leaving a stand when the hunt clearly isn’t producing rather than continuing to sit and risking spooking deer. 28:39
• Don switched to morning hunting after realizing warm weather was returning the following week, a tactical call that directly led to shooting the buck. 31:36

inside-corners

• Brandon McDaniel asked how to decide which of two inside field corners requiring the same westerly wind to hunt. 53:20

listener-questions

• Don announced listeners can submit questions for the podcast at chasinggiants.com, and selected questioners get answered on air. 56:06

mel

• Terry recalled that he and Don deliberately avoided discussing this deer on the podcast because he ranged so far off Don’s property that other hunters could have targeted him. 5:32
• Weakened by COVID after shooting the buck, Don went home and took a two-hour nap instead of immediately checking on the fallen 200-inch deer. 33:49
• Terry told Don he was the craziest man he’s ever seen for passing on this deer. 38:24

morning-hunting

• Don’s rule is that morning hunts only work in the perfect scenario, and he really only has one or two stands suited for it. 29:50

rut-activity

• Don experienced incredible rut activity the morning he shot the buck, seeing seven different bucks with four surrounding his stand at once. 31:50

rut-myths

• Don announced he released a video called Rut Myths, produced by Steve, detailing four things about the rut he considers common misunderstandings. 60:37
• Don said it’s been at least ten years since he saw a buck during the rut that he did not already have on trail camera before. 62:15
• Don cited radio collar research showing hunting pressure during hunting season cannot push a mature buck out of his home range. 63:34

secrecy

• Don advises keeping quiet about a big buck’s location until the hunt is completely over. 6:21

trail-cameras

• Terry recommends cell cameras as an option so hunters don’t have to physically enter an area to check a trail camera. 50:55
• Terry observed that Don accesses his trail cameras from a route completely separate from where deer travel or his stand sits, to avoid tipping deer off. 51:21
• Tony Schrader from La Crescent, Minnesota asked whether checking trail cameras for daylight buck movement contradicts only hunting best spots when conditions are right. 48:53

video-release

• Don announced the hunt video, produced by Steve, is expected to post to the Chasing Giants at Higgins Outdoors YouTube channel within about two weeks. 59:05

whitetail-master-course

• Terry noted that attendees of the master class will see where Smokey was killed and where Don and Terry saw the buck as a 216-inch deer without shooting him. 59:59

youtube-channel

• Terry noted Don’s YouTube channel has four popular videos: the rut myths debunking, Playing the Wind, the number one mistake deer hunters make, and the rope scrape video. 64:35

Deer activity

• Mel (harvest) 1:34
• Mel (history) 2:16
• unnamed buck (history) 3:20
• unnamed buck (history) 4:32
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 4:55
• unnamed buck (history) 7:21
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 9:29
• unnamed buck (sighting) 9:45
• unnamed buck (history) 10:11
• unnamed buck (history) 11:12
• unnamed buck (history) 11:55
• unnamed buck (harvest) 12:36
• unnamed buck (hunt) 14:09
• unnamed buck (hunt) 16:28
• unnamed buck (history) 17:01
• unnamed buck (sighting) 22:01
• unnamed buck (hunt) 27:05
• unnamed buck (hunt) 30:20
• Mel (harvest) 32:21
• Mel (harvest) 35:51
• Mel (trail-camera) 64:59

Listener questions

Question: Tony Schrader from La Crescent, Minnesota asked whether checking trail cameras for daylight buck movement contradicts only hunting best spots when conditions are right. 48:53 — asked by Tony Schrader

• Answer: Don said he avoids placing trail cameras close to stand sites, using them instead for general inventory purposes regardless of whether photos come at night or during the day. 49:34

Question: Brandon McDaniel asked how to decide which of two inside field corners requiring the same westerly wind to hunt. 53:20 — asked by Brandon McDaniel

• Answer: Don said the choice between the two corners comes down entirely to wind direction. 53:40
• Answer: Terry added that hunters should also weigh which corner has the best access route, choosing the one with the right wind and easiest entry and exit. 54:37

Sponsors this episode

• BuyAFarm.com
• 360 Hunting Blinds
• QuietKat
• Real World Wildlife Products
• Vortex Optics
• Lone Wolf Treestands
• Mathews Archery

The episode centered on a big buck Don and Terry had deliberately kept off the podcast until now, since he ranged far enough off Don’s property that other hunters could have gone after him. Don described watching the buck as a three-year-old feeding 25 yards away in a food plot and choosing not to shoot because he knew the deer’s age, and later, driving home from a St. Louis radio appearance, praying for wisdom on whether to take him. Don had decided beforehand he’d only shoot if the rack came in fully intact. He shot the buck the week his wife and daughter tested positive for COVID and he knew he’d caught it too, then went home and napped two hours before checking on the roughly 200-inch deer. Terry called him the craziest man he’d seen for passing on it before. Listener questions covered trail camera placement relative to stands and choosing between two field corners by wind and access.

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