Episode #5 - November is Here!

Published: 2019-11-03
Episode page
Duration: 53 min

In this episode

access-technique

• A friend of Terry’s uses a Fox Pro coyote call left on his entry trail to clear deer away before exiting a stand. 45:17
• Don calls the FOXPRO-call access trick a brilliant idea he wishes he’d thought of himself. 45:58

best-week

• Don predicts the coming week will be the best week of the year for killing a mature buck before does come into heat. 2:36

big-buck-serial-killers

• Don says successful big buck hunters pay extreme attention to detail, leaving nothing to chance with gear and setups. 12:55

buck-doe-ratio

• Are you concerned about maintaining a specific buck-to-doe ratio on your hunting properties? 34:00

faith

• Don says he has learned to leave outcomes outside his control in God’s hands rather than lose sleep over them. 21:52

family-hunting

• Terry plans to take his son hunting next weekend for Kentucky’s opening rifle season, hoping he tags his first buck. 51:57

haters

• Don says he turns criticism and hater comments into motivation fuel. 25:33

lone-wolf

• Terry credits Lone Wolf’s quiet, fast climbing system for letting him access a stand undetected. 10:00

mindset

• Don says that when life knocks you down you can either stay down or get up and come back harder. 24:00

october-hunting

• Don says October 2025 was the worst October he can remember for mature buck sightings, despite hunting 26 days and seeing deer nearly every outing. 1:22

public-land

• Since public land only allows a small pre-season window, do you leave your stands on state land year-round? 27:36

quality-equipment

• Don says cutting corners on hunting equipment like bows, stands, cameras, blinds, or bikes costs hunters their success. 8:53

reconyx

• Don recommends Reconyx as the best trail camera brand, saying no one who’s used them ranks another brand higher. 7:36

rut-activity

• Don reports buck activity picking up on November 1-2, with yearlings and two-year-olds chasing does. 2:02

rut-hunting

• Don plans to chase five bucks scoring over 170 inches this week, three on properties he’s never hunted before. 48:43

safety-harness

• Do you use a lifeline with your stands and leave it out all year despite rodents or UV decay? 33:08

small-property

• With 20 acres of timber and good food plots, what else can I do to keep bucks on my property? 37:05

stand-access

• How do you access a stand for an October morning hunt without blowing deer out on a property with only one way in? 40:34

stand-placement

• Don plans to hang a Lone Wolf Treestands this week near a newly discovered giant buck once the wind is right. 30:29

t-shirts

• Don announces the Chasing Giants T-shirts arrived and will be mailed to listeners whose questions were used on earlier episodes. 46:42
• Don announces Chasing Giants T-shirts are for sale at chasinggiants.com, suggesting them as a Christmas gift alongside his book. 47:06

tree-stands

• Do squirrels ever chew through your stand straps, and can straps left out for years choke the tree? 30:59

trophy-buck

• Don describes Patrick’s harvested buck as having 17 points and exceptional mass. 6:39

weather

• Don says the forecast of about 10 degrees below normal is ideal for strong buck movement this week. 50:27

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (sighting) 2:22
• unnamed buck (sighting) 2:44
• Curly (harvest) 6:27
• $2.14 (history) 21:32
• unnamed buck (sighting) 22:06
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 30:09

Listener questions

Question: Since public land only allows a small pre-season window, do you leave your stands on state land year-round? 27:36

• Answer: Don says no, stands must be removed after each public-land season, but you can prep the tree and bring the stand in on the first hunt. 27:40

Question: Do squirrels ever chew through your stand straps, and can straps left out for years choke the tree? 30:59

• Answer: Don replaces top straps with chains on stands left out multiple years, since he doesn’t trust straps alone long-term. 31:13

Question: Do you use a lifeline with your stands and leave it out all year despite rodents or UV decay? 33:08

• Answer: Don doesn’t use a lifeline at all, relying instead on a Lone Wolf safety harness. 33:17

Question: Are you concerned about maintaining a specific buck-to-doe ratio on your hunting properties? 34:00

• Answer: Don says no, since his properties are too small for him alone to affect the ratio without neighboring cooperation. 34:05
• Answer: After EHD devastated the herd, Don decided to rebuild it by not shooting or allowing any does on his property since 2011. 35:05

Question: With 20 acres of timber and good food plots, what else can I do to keep bucks on my property? 37:05 — asked by Peyton Messmore

• Answer: Don says reducing human intrusion, not just adding food plots, is what actually keeps deer using a small property in daylight. 37:39

Question: How do you access a stand for an October morning hunt without blowing deer out on a property with only one way in? 40:34 — asked by Rich Hixson

• Answer: Don says he never hunts mornings in October at all, regardless of camera activity. 40:52
• Answer: Don says a stand without good access isn’t really a good stand site, no matter the property’s size. 42:16
• Answer: Don advises accepting the access you’re dealt on a property, manipulating routes where possible, and living with the constraints. 42:27

Sponsors this episode

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

Don opened by calling October 2025 the worst he could remember for mature buck sightings despite hunting 26 days, then noted activity picking up November 1-2 with young bucks chasing does and predicted the coming week, aided by a forecast about 10 degrees below normal, would be the best of the year to kill a mature buck. He discussed Patrick’s 17-point, heavy-mass harvest of a buck named Curly, and planned to hang a Lone Wolf stand near a newly discovered giant buck. Terry described using a Lone Wolf climbing system for quiet access and relayed a friend’s trick of using a FOXPRO call to clear deer from an exit trail, which Don praised. Listener questions covered public-land stand rules, strap and lifeline maintenance, buck-to-doe ratio management, and small-property strategy, with Don emphasizing reduced human intrusion over more food plots and stressing attention to detail and quality gear as keys to consistent success.

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