Episode 51 - Serving the Hunting Community instead of using the Hunting Industry

Published: 2021-02-15
Episode page
Duration: 57 min

In this episode

antler-score

• Don says the biggest buck on his farm was about 150 inches when he started managing it thirty years ago, and is now up to 170. 26:55

back-injury

• Terry reports being placed in traction for his back again this week. 2:56
• Terry had an MRI on his back Friday and is awaiting the results. 55:59

bedding

• Joel Morris asks whether one type of bedding is king above all else for holding mature whitetails on his diverse 125-acre property. 49:24

book-sales

• Don’s first book has sold out and is no longer listed on his website. 36:35
• Don heard someone found his sold-out first book being resold on Amazon for $96. 36:43

canada

• Don and Terry are offering to give one Canadian business the entire country as their exclusive Real World distributor. 20:38

captive-deer

• Don notes that all giant captive breeding bucks ultimately trace their genetics back to wild deer at some point. 26:04

charity

• Without knowing the Ward family, Don’s daughter Andrea independently sent $200 via Venmo to Terry’s daughter’s fundraiser for them. 10:52
• Terry plans to name his charitable plaque venture ‘Lester’s Feet’ after his grandfather Lester Schickland. 14:14
• Terry will charge for the plaques by donation, with every dollar going to families with sick kids. 14:28
• Don will post a link on his Higgins Outdoors Chasing Giants social media page showing how listeners can help the Ward family. 17:58
• Terry challenges listeners to find a way to help others this week, whether by supporting the Ward family or someone else in their community. 57:10

cnc-plaques

• Terry built his SD-card holder plaques from scrap oak on his CNC machine, engraving them with the Chasing Giants logo. 7:07

comparison

• Someone recently told Don that people compare him to Donald Trump, since both draw strong love-or-hate reactions. 24:13

consulting

• Don did a consulting gig for Chris Yates’s Chevy dealership out in Northwest Missouri. 4:50

doe-management

• Greg Neese asks whether shooting does early risks killing mature buck fawns, and which doe age class is best to harvest for buck herd health. 44:02

exodus-trail-cameras

• Chad Sylvester asked Terry to make plaques with the Exodus logo for Exodus Trail Cameras to sell. 12:58

hunting-consulting

• Don spent the day hiking the mountains of Southeastern Ohio with his buddy Elijah Cook from West Virginia, struggling to keep up. 55:13

illinois-politics

• Don jokes that Illinois is the state that produced Obama, calling that the state’s politics. 35:02 (light moment)
• Don jokes that Illinois sends all its governors to prison right after they leave office. 35:19 (light moment)

iowa-deer-classic

• Don plans to speak at the Iowa Deer Classic in a couple of weeks. 3:59

merchandise

• Don says Chasing Giants merchandise orders are now 100% caught up, so any ordered hats, shirts, or books are on the way. 36:09

peanuts

• Don states that peanuts in the shell are very good deer feed. 42:36

selective-harvest

• Terry notes most hunters would shoot the bigger 155-inch ten-pointer over a 132-inch eight-pointer, opposite of Don’s plan to let promising young bucks mature. 28:26

seminars

• Terry recalls their seminar corner at the Northeast Ohio show being packed to standing-room-only every single night. 3:17

social-media

• Terry quotes his friend Todd Hewing’s saying that no good deed goes unpunished. 4:42

social-media-backlash

• Don notes that even a truck deal he endorsed drew social media backlash as if he were forcing people into it. 5:13

social-media-etiquette

• Terry jokes that YouTube should be renamed ‘you should’ since so many unsolicited internet experts claim to know best how to spend your money. 5:43 (light moment)

supplemental-feeding

• Terry is testing feeding whole peanuts to deer this late season and says they are loving them. 41:38
• Dylan Smith asks whether feeding only corn from January to green-up harms the herd, and whether earlage, silage, or dried distillers grain would be better. 37:35

travel-plan

• Don plans to be away from home for about two weeks amid brutal Illinois cold. 53:43

tree-questions

• Don and Terry plan to cover tree, frost-seeding, and shed hunting listener questions in upcoming episodes. 23:16

ward-family

• The family Terry is fundraising for is the Ward family from Elizabethtown, Kentucky. 16:31

youtube

• Two new videos have been released on the Chasing Giants with Don Higgins YouTube channel. 22:04

Deer activity

• Joey (harvest) 22:18

Listener questions

Question: Dylan Smith asks whether feeding only corn from January to green-up harms the herd, and whether earlage, silage, or dried distillers grain would be better. 37:35 — asked by Dylan Smith

• Answer: Don explains that in a heavy row-crop area like Northwest Iowa, feeding corn will not hurt the deer at all. 38:25
• Answer: Don admits he isn’t sure how well deer would eat earlage, silage, or dried distillers grain, an ethanol byproduct. 38:36

Question: Greg Neese asks whether shooting does early risks killing mature buck fawns, and which doe age class is best to harvest for buck herd health. 44:02 — asked by Greg Neese

• Answer: Don says he personally prefers to shoot does late in the season to avoid pressuring his farm and tracking deer into the sanctuary early. 45:40
• Answer: Don personally targets does with twin buck fawns, which are usually the older mature does in the herd. 47:47

Question: Joel Morris asks whether one type of bedding is king above all else for holding mature whitetails on his diverse 125-acre property. 49:24 — asked by Joel Morris

• Answer: Don says the number one key to holding mature bucks is freedom from human intrusion, more important than the cover type. 50:05
• Answer: Don reiterates that freedom from human intrusion matters more than the specific kind of cover on a property. 51:22

Sponsors this episode

• BuyAFarm.com
• QuietKat
• Real World Wildlife Products
• Vortex Optics
• Mathews Archery

Terry and Don discussed a charity effort for the Ward family from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, with Terry making SD-card holder plaques from scrap oak on his CNC machine, sold by donation, with proceeds going to families with sick kids; he plans to call the venture Lester’s Feet after his grandfather Lester Schickland, and Chad Sylvester had asked him to make plaques with a logo for Exodus Trail Cameras. Don’s daughter Andrea had already sent $200 to the fundraiser without knowing the family. Don noted merchandise orders were fully caught up and that his first book had sold out. Listener questions covered late-season corn feeding, doe harvest strategy for buck herd health, and bedding, with Don stressing that freedom from human intrusion mattered more than cover type. Terry also mentioned an MRI on his back and challenged listeners to help someone in their community that week.

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