Episode #37 - Understanding the Rut, Aerial Photos of Property, Bad Shot Angles and Broadheads Types

Published: 2020-11-16
Episode page
Duration: 69 min

In this episode

aerial-photos

Don states that aerial photos are very limiting in what they can actually reveal about a property. 24:52
Don says that at least 80% of the time, the plan he formed from an aerial photo is completely wrong once he actually walks the property. 25:46

bowhunting-philosophy

Don cites a Barry Wentzell meme stating that hunting is a game of how close, not how far. 30:43

broadheads

Don states on the air that he thinks mechanical broadheads should be outlawed, though he doesn’t feel it’s his place to police other hunters’ equipment. 54:08
Calvin Hurley asks Don why he prefers fixed-blade broadheads over mechanical ones. 48:54

buck-density

Dylan Nicely asks how Don’s property holds so many mature bucks each fall when bucks on his own land don’t tolerate each other. 57:08

buck-dominance

Don compares buck dominance hierarchies to a schoolyard pecking order, where subordinate bucks learn which ones are tough and avoid challenging them. 58:08

consulting-ethics

Don refuses to charge landowners to mark up aerial photos, saying he can’t in good conscience take their money for it. 25:57

consulting-prices

Don plans to raise his consulting prices, possibly as soon as December, since demand has outpaced his availability. 35:59

consulting-scheduling

Terry recommends listeners book Don’s consulting services early so he can batch multiple jobs per trip and keep prices low. 36:36

deer-recovery

Don explains that after his big buck harvest, grandsons helped with recovery while he had COVID and no energy. 34:26

fawns

Terry asks whether fawns feeding alone indicates bucks have pushed the does into lockdown. 6:10
Terry asks whether a fawn and its doe reunite once the doe is no longer pinned down by a buck. 6:46

food-plots

Terry recommends planting a diverse food source as an insurance policy that increases the odds of attracting and holding deer no matter what happens. 13:53

giveaway

Don announces a giveaway of one free master-class attendance per class, with a winner announced each podcast episode starting around Thanksgiving. 41:07

habitat-work

Garrett McBride asks whether he should stop hunting his 20-acre home farm to start habitat/screening work, and whether that would hurt this or next year’s hunting. 45:46

harvest-numbers

Terry guesses that actual opening-weekend deer harvest numbers in Kentucky were probably down due to the warm, windy lockdown-period weather. 13:41

late-season

Don says new, unfamiliar bucks rarely appear during the rut because he already has trail-camera photos of every deer, but new bucks show up in late season when food gets scarce. 13:08
Terry predicts the best hunting of the season is still ahead. 14:41

listener-banter

Kevin Thayer jokingly posted that he was selling ‘Terry Peer special edition’ wire-tie camera mounts. 44:47 (light moment)
Don jokes that at least Kevin Thayer isn’t selling ‘Terry Peer love swings.’ 45:00 (light moment)

live-podcast-event

Terry announces that he and Don will co-host Chasing Giants podcast live from Shipshewana, Indiana in February at the Midwest Sportsman’s Classic. 38:12

local-harvest

Terry notes that only two or three giant bucks have been killed in his local area so far that he has seen. 14:28

lockdown-phase

Don says a mature buck stays with a receptive doe roughly 24 to 36 hours before moving on to find his next one. 4:14
Don estimates the majority of mature does will come into heat within the first two weeks after November 8-9, putting the lockdown tail-off around November 23. 9:50

lockdown-timing

Terry asks whether seeing does with fawns is a better sign lockdown is ending than a single trail-camera photo of a mature buck. 7:45
Terry asks how much longer the lockdown phase will last and when bucks will resume more visible daytime movement. 9:26

master-class

Don offers a group discount of half price for master-course attendees if the session is scheduled on a weekday. 39:32
Don says master-class attendees will see new project features never shown before, made possible by extra time COVID shutdowns gave him this year. 40:31

master-class-schedule

Don announces the master course will run the three Saturdays after the Iowa Deer Classic in March, which he’ll also speak at. 38:45

mel-controversy

Terry urges critics not to fixate on Mel’s exact age from a single photo, since the fuller documented history behind the deer tells a bigger story. 63:14

mel-story

Terry recounts holding Mel’s 220-inch rack and his son saying he wouldn’t shoot such a deer there since he wouldn’t be allowed to on that property. 66:12

mel-video

Don announces the Mel video, produced by Steve Shields, is targeted to release on Thanksgiving Day. 62:14

podcast-ethics

Terry says he and Don refuse to endorse gimmick products from sponsors they aren’t sure of, despite being approached for such sponsorships. 35:13

rut-phases

Don explains the early-November seeking/chasing phase, when bucks work scrapes and cruise on their feet looking for does that are not yet in heat. 3:02
Terry asks Don to summarize how the rut has progressessed from peak rut and warm temperatures into the current lockdown phase. 2:09

rut-timing

Don reports a great October with cooler-than-normal temperatures, followed by a heat spell in early November before deer moved into the lockdown phase. 1:28
Don states that record books show more Boone and Crockett bucks are killed on November 7 than any other day. 8:11
Don says November 9 is consistently the date each year when mature bucks start hooking up with does. 8:32

shot-placement

Don says several different hunters told him in one day that they shot deer straight down from a treestand into the back and lost every one of them. 29:38
Don says he hasn’t lost a deer in over twenty, probably twenty-five, years. 30:01
Don recommends keeping bow shots close, capping his own range at 30 yards max and typically setting up for 15-20 yard shots. 30:08
Terry explains that a straight-down bow shot risks hitting the spine even when aiming for the heart, making shot-angle discipline critical. 31:40

Terry reminds listeners that Facebook and Instagram are the best places to follow Don’s rut report for the rest of the month. 66:42

Don notes his recent Facebook post drew around 100 positive comments and nearly a thousand likes with no negative comments. 67:13

thanksgiving-hunting

Roger told Don years ago that Thanksgiving weekend is the time to kill giant bucks because they know the rut is nearly over. 10:21
Don recounts that during five consecutive hunting seasons, the biggest buck he saw from a treestand each year appeared during Thanksgiving weekend. 10:51
Terry believes that if hunters have a good food source, Thanksgiving through late season could be extremely productive this year. 12:39
Don predicts Thanksgiving-weekend buck movement will hinge on temperature, since bucks won’t cruise much in daylight if it stays hot. 15:03

weather-impact

Don explains that unusually warm weather during the seeking phase suppressed daylight deer movement this year. 8:48

youtube-content

Terry recommends watching Don’s 32,000-view wind-strategy YouTube video, which combined with a hunter’s own aerial photo gives the same information as an aerial consultation. 26:55

Terry asks listeners to subscribe to the Chasing Giants with Higgins Outdoors YouTube channel and share the podcast episode. 68:07

Deer activity

unnamed buck (sighting) 3:32
unnamed buck (sighting) 3:43
unnamed buck (sighting) 16:10
unnamed buck (harvest) 18:17
Mel (harvest) 19:11
unnamed buck (harvest) 30:31
unnamed buck (hunt) 32:08
unnamed buck (harvest) 33:07
unnamed buck (harvest) 34:15
unnamed buck (sighting) 57:52
Mel (history) 61:22
Mel (harvest) 61:54
unnamed buck (hunt) 62:47
unnamed buck (hunt) 64:11
Mel (harvest) 65:46

Listener questions

Question: Terry asks Don to summarize how the rut has progressessed from peak rut and warm temperatures into the current lockdown phase. 2:09

Answer: Don explains that once does start coming into heat, mature bucks pair with them for the most part, which is called the lockdown phase since a hot doe usually keeps one or more mature bucks with her. 3:10

Question: Terry asks whether fawns feeding alone indicates bucks have pushed the does into lockdown. 6:10

Answer: Don confirms fawns feeding alone is a reliable sign the doe has been paired off with a buck. 6:21

Question: Terry asks whether a fawn and its doe reunite once the doe is no longer pinned down by a buck. 6:46

Answer: Don says the doe and fawns know each other and quickly reunite once she returns to her core area. 6:56

Question: Terry asks whether seeing does with fawns is a better sign lockdown is ending than a single trail-camera photo of a mature buck. 7:45

Answer: Don says he relies more on the calendar date than any single sighting, since the rut’s phases repeat at the same time every year. 7:57

Question: Terry asks how much longer the lockdown phase will last and when bucks will resume more visible daytime movement. 9:26

Answer: Don answers that most mature does breed within two weeks of November 8-9, so lockdown activity tapers off around November 23, with fewer does remaining after that. 9:50

Question: Garrett McBride asks whether he should stop hunting his 20-acre home farm to start habitat/screening work, and whether that would hurt this or next year’s hunting. 45:46 — asked by Garrett McBride

Answer: Don says if there’s a target buck on the property, keep hunting him and save the habitat work for after the season. 46:13
Answer: Don adds that without a target buck, Garrett should go ahead with the habitat work now and not worry about long-term negative effects. 46:58
Answer: Terry agrees, saying if there’s a buck worth shooting, Garrett should hunt and enjoy it. 47:51

Question: Calvin Hurley asks Don why he prefers fixed-blade broadheads over mechanical ones. 48:54

Answer: Don says mechanical heads are an opportunity for failure, while fixed blades have far less chance of failing. 49:02
Answer: Don adds that mechanical broadheads are simply an unnecessary chance for something to go wrong. 50:00
Answer: Terry agrees that a fixed-blade broadhead is better out of a compound bow, though he uses mechanicals on his crossbow. 51:14

Question: Dylan Nicely asks how Don’s property holds so many mature bucks each fall when bucks on his own land don’t tolerate each other. 57:08 — asked by Dylan Nicely

Answer: Don says a mature buck’s top priority is security from human intrusion, so the most secure property in the area draws in and holds many bucks, including mature ones. 57:21
Answer: Terry adds that cover, food, does, and disciplined low pressure will let a property hold far more bucks than expected. 59:47

Sponsors this episode

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

Don covered the rut’s shift from October’s cooler stretch into an early-November heat spell and the seeking phase, when bucks work scrapes and cruise for does before pairing off in lockdown, typically staying with a receptive doe 24-36 hours. He noted record books show November 7 as the top harvest date historically, and pegged November 9 as when lockdown reliably starts, with most does bred within two weeks and activity tapering by November 23. Warm weather this year suppressed daylight movement. Don and Terry discussed Thanksgiving weekend as historically strong for giant bucks, predicted good late-season food-plot hunting, and covered fixed-blade versus mechanical broadheads, shot placement to avoid lost deer, and why secure properties hold many mature bucks. Listener questions addressed habitat work timing on a 20-acre farm. They also announced upcoming live events, a master course, and the Mel harvest video release.

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