Episode #71 - Trail Cam Deployment, Giant Bucks of Social Media Misused, Raffle Closing Soon!

Published: 2021-06-28
Episode page
Duration: 63 min

In this episode

age-structure

Terry argues a mature seven-year-old buck in Georgia or West Virginia is just as hard to kill as a 185-inch buck in Illinois. 54:37
Terry advises hunters chasing trophy bucks to prioritize a deer’s age structure over antler score, since chasing score first leads them astray. 53:38

bedding-areas

Andrew Jones asks whether mature bucks prefer an oak flat with Russian olive bushes or an overgrown cow pasture with old hedge trees for bedding. 57:13

deer-photo-scam

Don says he’ll leave the names out of the buck-photo story to protect the innocent and the guilty. 7:43

drought

Terry recalls Duane Hopkins of Kitchen Seed warning that continued drought could become fatal for row crop farmers. 33:44

family

Terry recounts that his mother was shocked by how many people sent messages praying for her on Instagram and Facebook during her surgery recovery. 1:29
Terry describes visiting his mother after open-heart surgery, where she told him she believes she still has more work to do in life. 2:27
Don reflects that he and Terry are both blessed to still have their parents and count that as a blessing. 2:48

flooding

Mike Howey, a longtime Real World customer in Vermillion County, Illinois, was seen floating in a boat over his flooded food plot. 31:44
Don’s farmer neighbor said crops have about thirty-six hours after flooding before they die, but usually survive if water recedes within that window. 32:55

food-plots

Don recalls hearing that the best thing about a spring food plot is you get a second chance if it fails. 35:12

fundraiser

Terry notes that Kevin Thayer drove all the way to Kentucky to support a fundraiser they held a couple years earlier. 59:59

hunting-journey

Don says he has had many seasons across his forty-three years hunting where he did not kill a single deer. 56:29

iowa

Don says he drew a tag for Iowa Zone 8, on the far eastern side of the state. 15:55
Don describes a multi-day Iowa trip with Wes Delks to gather trail cameras and scout new areas. 16:45
Don states this was his fifth trip to Iowa this year and he still has no target buck identified. 18:26
Don sent letters to four Iowa landowners this past week seeking hunting permission on their properties. 27:08
Don plans at least three more Iowa scouting trips before the October 1 season opener, totaling eight trips in search of a giant. 28:27
Justin Nice asks if Don would settle for a 130-140 inch four-year-old buck in Iowa just to fill his tag. 51:15

joey-buck

Don predicted to Justin exactly where he’d kill a giant buck, then shot the Joey Buck two days later in that spot. 50:55

july-4

Don’s yearly July 4th ritual is having his wife drop him off to hang trail cameras discreetly while others watch fireworks, then getting ice cream. 24:40

lesters-feet

The Lester’s Feet fundraiser raffle rolled over $100,000, all of which will go to help a family with a sick child. 3:42
Lester, the fundraiser’s namesake, was Terry’s maternal grandfather. 3:17
Don says he only promotes the fundraiser while Terry does the actual grunt work behind the scenes. 4:15
Terry announces ticket sales for the Lester’s Feet raffle stay open through June 30 at sconlinesales.com. 4:32
Don and Terry will hold a live video drawing for Lester’s Feet winners on Sunday night, July 4. 4:53
Terry explains buyers can purchase multiple raffle tickets and still win with remaining tickets even after one is drawn. 6:40
Terry announces the Lester’s Feet raffle will give away about 65 prizes, including hunts on Don’s and Terry’s farms, via a true ticket drawing. 60:31
Terry says the Lester’s Feet hunt marked the first time he ever shared trail camera photos of a buck before he himself had killed it. 14:02

listener-feedback

Don says listener feedback praises the show for calling it like it is, though sometimes they get too defensive, and he’ll keep doing so. 39:50

podcast-segment

Terry announces a new recurring segment where Don will highlight something good and something bad he sees in the outdoor industry. 38:59

prayer

Don asks listeners to keep the two little girls in their prayers. 62:21

quietkat

Don’s pant leg got caught and wrapped tightly around his QuietKat pedal, trapping him until a utility knife saved him. 21:05

real-estate

Terry asks Don why he questioned the true story behind a buck photo with the hunter’s face blurred out. 7:34

safety

Don advises hunters to watch their pant legs around electric bike pedals after his own close call. 21:37

tag-sandwich

Terry says he had three tags last year and only filled one, illustrating the acceptance of tag sandwiches. 56:24

trail-cameras

Terry reveals WiseEye is testing new trail camera firmware and features using his Real World Complete feed setup. 23:15
Chad Dial asks how to get summer velvet buck pictures with no soybean or green fields nearby, only corn and wheat. 40:32
Reese Ealy asks when Don puts trail cameras out and why. 44:40

trophy-bucks

Terry says the hardest thing about killing a booner is finding one. 54:12

trophy-standards

Don clarifies he isn’t looking down on hunters who shoot 130-140 inch bucks since he shot many himself before moving past that stage. 54:59

ward-family

Terry reports the two girls are doing really well, calling it an answered prayer. 62:14

weather

Don’s real estate client reported his Wisconsin property received 12 inches of rain in one night, washing out roads. 30:17

Deer activity

unnamed buck (harvest) 10:17
unnamed buck (trail-camera) 10:58
unnamed buck (sighting) 26:47
Smokey (harvest) 35:03
Joey Buck (harvest) 51:02

Listener questions

Question: Terry asks Don why he questioned the true story behind a buck photo with the hunter’s face blurred out. 7:34 — asked by Terry

Answer: Don explains a real estate client wanted him to evaluate a property, and another agent sent bogus-looking deer photos, including one with a blurred hunter’s face. 8:04
Answer: Don confirmed with the actual hunter, photographer, and taxidermist that the pictured buck was shot two hours away from the property in question, proving the photos were phony. 10:17

Question: Chad Dial asks how to get summer velvet buck pictures with no soybean or green fields nearby, only corn and wheat. 40:32 — asked by Chad Dial

Answer: Don recommends creating legal mineral sites on hunting properties since Ohio allows minerals even during hunting season. 41:29
Answer: Don says two good mineral licks on 100 acres will get pictures of nearly every buck in the area throughout the summer. 42:36

Question: Reese Ealy asks when Don puts trail cameras out and why. 44:40 — asked by Reese Ealy

Answer: Don waits until July 1 in Illinois before putting cameras out, unlike his early Iowa start where he lacks prior history. 45:25
Answer: Don wants any single trail-camera picture of a mature buck to show enough antler development to judge the deer’s potential. 46:35

Question: Justin Nice asks if Don would settle for a 130-140 inch four-year-old buck in Iowa just to fill his tag. 51:15

Answer: Don says he would absolutely not settle for a 130-140 inch buck since that size no longer excites him. 51:38
Answer: Don says if a lesser buck came along while a true 200-inch giant was known to be in the area, he’d pass on the lesser deer. 52:19

Question: Andrew Jones asks whether mature bucks prefer an oak flat with Russian olive bushes or an overgrown cow pasture with old hedge trees for bedding. 57:13 — asked by Andrew Jones

Answer: Don says both bedding types can be great, and it ultimately comes down to which has the least human intrusion. 57:39
Answer: Don states his personal favorite bedding cover for big bucks is an overgrown cow pasture with scattered big oak trees. 57:57

Don and Terry opened with family updates: Terry’s mother came through open-heart surgery, moved by the outpouring of prayers, and told Terry she felt she still had more to do; Don noted both men were blessed to still have their parents. They pushed the Lester’s Feet raffle, named for Terry’s maternal grandfather, with tickets open through June 30, about 65 prizes including hunts on their farms, and a July 4 live drawing. Don recapped his fifth Iowa scouting trip with Wes Delks, a scary pant-leg entanglement on his QuietKat pedal, letters sent to four landowners, and plans for three more trips before opener. Flooding threatened crops in Wisconsin and Illinois. Listener questions covered mineral sites for velvet photos, camera timing, settling for smaller bucks, and bedding preferences, with Don favoring overgrown pastures with oak trees. Don also detailed debunking a fake trophy-buck photo and recalled shooting the Joey Buck.

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