Episode #73 - How much bigger will bucks get? Don’s best and worst of the week!

Published: 2021-07-12
Episode page
Duration: 64 min

In this episode

antler-growth

Don said the way to tell if a velvet buck’s antlers are done growing is to look at how rounded the tips of the tines are versus pointed. 9:27
Don said some bucks are essentially done growing their antlers within another week or two by mid-July. 8:58
Don said he never saw a correlation between when a buck shed its antlers and how big its antlers turned out to be. 11:51
Don explained an antler grows slightly bigger than its final size, then noticeably shrinks in late August once blood flow stops and it solidifies. 12:34
Don said nontypical points like drop tines come out at the same time as the main beam is growing, not afterward. 15:06

business

Don recounted deciding not to work with a prospective marketing partner after finding online videos of the young man using vulgar language and drinking beer. 21:27

captive-deer

Don said he watched about 200 different bucks grow their racks during the roughly 25 years he owned captive deer. 11:41

deer-hunting

Brandon asked what the most memorable moment has been over Don’s hunting and consulting career. 50:06

faith

A friend of Terry’s from Sunday school said people need to quit using God like a spare tire that nobody thinks about until they need it. 28:00
Don saw a Facebook post joking that you shouldn’t use God as your spare tire but as your steering wheel. 28:38 (light moment)
Don said Christians shouldn’t look to other Christians as an example of how to live but should look to Christ, since everyone is a sinner with faults. 26:56
Don said he considers his own company to be a blessed company. 51:40
Don said he thinks Mathews is so successful because they’re a blessed company. 51:54
Don cited Chick-fil-A as an example of a blessed company, noting its long lunch lines despite being closed on Sundays. 52:05

food-plots

Terry said his food plots in Kentucky are the best they’ve ever been this year. 57:16
Terry joked that Todd Covey, Patrick Simpson, and Don Higgins deserve all the credit for his good food plots since his back surgery kept him from planting them. 57:59 (light moment)
Victor asked whether Don would drill the Deadly Dozen blend together or broadcast the plot topper and drill the harvest salad separately. 45:47

giant-buck

Don said he really does not expect to have a giant buck on his own home farm this year. 44:42

human-intrusion

Don believes human intrusion, even from just one other hunter, ruins a property’s potential to hold a big buck. 3:42

language

Don said one really easy way to clean up your perception with others is to clean up your language. 23:11

lesters-feet

Don said he had a hard time finding anything better this week than the roughly $140,000 raised for families of sick children through the Lester’s Feet Foundation. 31:07
Don encouraged everyone to follow the Lester’s Feet Foundation on Facebook for full transparency about where the donated money is going. 32:41

outro-song

Terry announced they tried to reach out to Aaron for permission to use his song on the podcast but got no response. 58:40
Terry announced the outro song is published and copyrighted by Big Machine Label Group LLC, and that Aaron Lewis will be out on tour this year. 58:50

patriotism

Don said he’s offended by people burning the flag and by professional athletes taking a knee during the national anthem. 23:36

perspective

Don said the older he gets, the more important people become and the less important the deer become, though he still cherishes those memories. 55:50

poaching

Don reported that two guys from Tennessee were arrested for poaching deer and turkeys in Terry’s home state of Kentucky. 33:22

real-world-wildlife-products

Don said he founded Real World Wildlife Products, which has become extremely successful. 51:05
Don said his company has grown every single year for thirteen years, including 60% growth last year. 51:22

scouting

Don said that just this past week he got permission on two new properties, both within less than an hour of his house, that he had never hunted before. 2:02
Don said that on a typical evening he’s currently seeing about 10 or so bucks in the bean fields while driving around. 2:30
A landowner told Don that everyone wants to hunt the property along the river, but the biggest bucks are actually on his other, smaller piece. 4:35
Don said he would rather hunt a property where he knows for a fact a shooter buck lives than one with just a good production history. 43:15
Don plans to visit two more landowners to try to get permission and put out a few more trail cameras. 56:48
Ryan asked how to scout diligently in Iowa when bucks are likely to shift their range and move into new areas by hunting season. 39:14

testimony

Don shared that twenty-five years ago he had the filthiest mouth of anyone and was a world-class cusser before he changed after finding faith. 18:59

trail-camera

Don said he added 18 new Reconyx this year on top of the ones he already had. 44:29

velvet-bucks

Terry said their friend Tony Zeich took and posted a picture of a velvet buck, which Terry then shared on the Real World site. 1:30
Don said he’s currently seeing a lot of bucks in the 140-150 class but hasn’t seen a giant yet this year. 2:37

Deer activity

unnamed buck (trail-camera) 1:32
unnamed buck (sighting) 6:02
unnamed buck (sighting) 6:28
unnamed buck (harvest) 53:58
Joey Buck (harvest) 54:36

Listener questions

Question: Ryan asked how to scout diligently in Iowa when bucks are likely to shift their range and move into new areas by hunting season. 39:14 — asked by Ryan Elenbaas

Answer: Don explained that even if a target buck shifts his fall range, it doesn’t mean there’s zero chance of killing him, since bucks often return to their summer range early and late in the rut. 40:43

Question: Victor asked whether Don would drill the Deadly Dozen blend together or broadcast the plot topper and drill the harvest salad separately. 45:47 — asked by Victor Whitetail

Answer: Don said he plans to broadcast the plot topper seed with the extreme blower, then drill over it with the Genesis to plant the harvest salad separately. 46:42
Answer: Terry warned that if the bulb-plant seeds get planted too close together, they won’t produce and will choke themselves out. 49:41

Question: Brandon asked what the most memorable moment has been over Don’s hunting and consulting career. 50:06 — asked by Brandon Wolf

Answer: Don said the greatest thing deer hunting ever did for him was the friends he made through it, something he’s appreciated more as he’s gotten older. 50:36

Don and Terry covered current velvet-buck observations and antler biology, plus scouting and property strategy. Don said he was seeing around 10 bucks a night in bean fields, many in the 140-150 class but no giant yet, and explained how to judge whether antler growth is finishing by tine-tip shape, noting antlers actually shrink slightly in late August. He drew on roughly 25 years watching captive deer to describe drop-tine timing and shed-size correlation. Don valued knowing a shooter buck lives on a property over just its production history, said human intrusion can ruin a spot, and added 18 new Reconyx cameras. Listener questions addressed scouting bucks that shift range in Iowa and how to plant the Deadly Dozen blend. Faith and clean language came up, alongside the Lester’s Feet Foundation raising about $140,000. Don called deer hunting’s friendships its greatest reward, and Terry recapped a poaching arrest and food-plot success.

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