Episode #54 - Garbage in the hunting industry, tracking an Iowa Giant Whitetail, and special interview with Karen Ward

Published: 2021-03-08
Episode page
Duration: 73 min

In this episode

deer-behavior

• Terry asks Don the theory behind driving loudly with the radio blaring when approaching a trail camera. 62:42
• Jeremy Miller of Markleville, Indiana asks if a bumped mature buck will return to the same area and how long that takes. 60:14
• Justin Free of Westville, Florida asks Don’s opinion on how deer layer themselves in cover near food sources. 65:05

encouragement

• Terry encourages listeners to find some way to make a difference in someone else’s life, inspired by the Ward family’s story. 23:38

faith

• Karen recalls a hospital shirt reading ‘even if not, he is still good,’ capturing her family’s faith through their daughters’ cancer battles. 13:20

hunt-giveaway

• Terry announces he and Don will give away hunts on both of their home farms, with sponsors contributing. 16:58

iowa-deer-classic

• Terry relays that a bunch of his buddies attended the Iowa Deer Classic and said it was a fantastic, buzzing show. 1:18
• Don describes the Iowa Deer Classic as fantastic, where he met many great people including old and new friends. 1:39
• Don reports that fans at the Iowa Deer Classic told him they’re tired of the marketing gimmicks the hunting industry is known for. 34:51

joke

• Terry jokingly tasks listener Kevin Thayer with making a meme of Don Higgins with ‘garbage’ written on it as a podcast teaser. 70:09 (light moment)

lesters-feet

• Terry recounts personally arranging to cover the Ward family’s home mortgage and farm payment for March. 15:00

listener-reward

• Don awards listener Justin a free Chasing Giants T-shirt for submitting the layering-deer-in-cover question. 71:15

live-podcast

• Don plans to record Friday evening’s Chasing Giants episode live with the Saturday master course group asking the questions. 45:32

master-classes

• Don’s private master course group from Ohio kicks off Thursday, with the regular Saturday master courses starting the same week. 44:54

new-partnership

• Terry announces the show has a new partnership they are extremely excited to reveal. 2:26

prayer-request

• Don urges every listener to take a moment to say a prayer for the Ward family and put them on their prayer list daily. 27:17

reputation

• Wes Delks reportedly said there aren’t 10 people on the planet who put as much effort into chasing big deer as Don does. 47:51

scouting

• Don’s mission the next day is to scout a brand-new Iowa property in pursuit of a giant buck. 2:18

trail-cameras

• Terry plans to record a special Chasing Giants episode Tuesday night reviewing six trail cameras, releasing it Wednesday. 36:04
• Terry states he currently has no confidence in any cellular trail camera technology on the market. 36:26

ward-family

• Terry relays that Karen’s husband Justin runs a cattle farm, is a deer hunter, and the couple has been listening to the podcast. 6:34
• Daniel Pifer announces his firm will adopt the Ward family for the month, covering their land payment and home mortgage. 20:22
• Daniel Pifer’s firm will sponsor the Ward family to attend a local camp for families of children battling cancer. 20:56

Deer activity

• Mel (harvest) 39:48
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 40:23
• unnamed buck (history) 48:06
• unnamed buck (hunt) 50:50

Listener questions

Question: Terry asks Don the theory behind driving loudly with the radio blaring when approaching a trail camera. 62:42

• Answer: Don explains that a mature buck hearing you approach has time to react calmly rather than being startled at close range. 62:55

Question: Jeremy Miller of Markleville, Indiana asks if a bumped mature buck will return to the same area and how long that takes. 60:14 — asked by Jeremy Miller

• Answer: Don answers it varies by buck: some never return after being bumped, while others come back the same day or the next. 61:03

Question: Justin Free of Westville, Florida asks Don’s opinion on how deer layer themselves in cover near food sources. 65:05 — asked by Justin Free

• Answer: Don dismisses the layering theory as garbage, arguing deer aren’t organized enough to bed in neat tiers by does, young bucks, then mature bucks. 66:32

Sponsors this episode

• WildlifeFarming.com
• BuyAFarm.com
• 360 Hunting Blinds
• Lone Wolf Treestands
• Vengeance Camo
• Vortex Optics
• QuietKat

The episode opened with Terry and Don recapping the Iowa Deer Classic, with Terry relaying that friends called it a fantastic, buzzing show and Don adding he met many great people there; Don also reported fans telling him they were tired of the hunting industry’s marketing gimmicks. Terry teased an upcoming new partnership. Much of the episode centered on the Ward family: Terry relayed that Karen and her husband Justin, a cattle farmer, had followed the podcast through their daughters’ cancer battles, and Terry described personally arranging to cover the family’s mortgage and farm payment for March, while Daniel Pifer’s firm pledged to do the same and sponsor a family camp. Terry and Don urged listeners to help others and pray for the family. Listener questions covered trail camera approach noise, whether bumped bucks return, and deer layering in cover, which Don dismissed as unsupported. Don’s next day involved scouting a new Iowa property.

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