Episode #74 Don denied access to hunt and more velvet talk (how does weather affect growth?)

Published: 2021-07-19
Episode page
Duration: 65 min

In this episode

antler-growth

Don theorizes that a buck’s velvet antlers act like a radiator in summer heat, with increased blood flow both cooling the deer and delivering nutrients. 16:29

bowhunting-discipline

Don says that after becoming a more disciplined bowhunter, he has not lost a wounded buck in over twenty years, probably twenty-five. 40:29

bowhunting-ethics

Don states that no ethical bowhunter would take any of the three shot options offered in a social-media photo of a quartering-to buck. 37:10
Terry recalls that on his first bow-killed buck he released an arrow in near-total darkness, striking it facing directly away, a shot he still regrets. 39:53

broadheads

Don criticizes mechanical broadheads as cruel junk, arguing hunters use them to compensate for poor shooting skill. 37:54

business-history

Terry recounts that before retiring, businessman Merida renamed his company Sony after refusing to sell its naming rights to an American buyer. 9:02

charity-event

Eric Perry, with help from Rich Hixson, organized a charity event in Southeast Ohio, doing most of the work himself. 45:00

consultants

Andrew Westcott, outside the Midwest, asks how to find and select a qualified whitetail habitat consultant in his region. 54:56

current-events

Don states he believes a lightning strike that destroyed a George Floyd memorial mural was a deliberate sign from God rather than coincidence. 35:31

food-plot-chemicals

Drew Peterson asks whether food-plot herbicides and preemergents affect the venison and other game meat hunters eat. 50:10

food-plots

Don recommends planting fall food plots around September 1 for hunters along the Interstate 70 corridor, moving a week earlier per 100 miles north. 20:46
Terry theorizes that excess soil nitrogen in brassica food plots extends how long it takes the plants to become palatable to deer. 27:40

herbicide

Don reports the Intimidator herbicide worked fantastically on waterhemp, leaving no waterhemp plants in the plots he sprayed. 54:43

landowner-permission

Don shares that he was denied hunting permission by both landowners he approached this week, after having secured two new properties the week before. 31:51

lesters-feet

Terry reports that over 10,000 people watched the Facebook livestream of the Lester’s Feet drawing episode. 41:31
The charity event produced a donation check for both Eric Perry’s local volunteer fire department and Lester’s Feet. 45:23

magazine-cover

Terry announces that Don Higgins appears on the August 2021 North American Whitetail cover with his buck Mel. 1:30

personal-life

Don announces that his youngest daughter is getting married on Friday, with the rehearsal on Thursday. 64:42

soil-ph

Don advises that food plotters must correct soil pH before anything else, and that a soil test is the only way to know it. 24:15

Don Higgins turned down offers from three or four rival bow companies to stay loyal to Mathews, his sponsor of over twenty years. 6:11

trail-cameras

Don recommends not deploying trail cameras too early because a mature buck may spook at first sighting of the camera and never return. 32:42
Terry plans to rotate trail camera cards across all his properties, starting in Illinois and working back over the coming week. 64:17
Mark Paris asks how summer trail camera placement should differ from in-season placement, given his neighbors feed deer nearby while he does not. 47:16

writing-career

Don Higgins published his first North American Whitetail article in August 1996, launching his outdoor-industry writing career. 1:44
Don reveals he failed English in high school and had to retake it his senior year, despite later becoming a professional outdoor writer. 10:47

writing-philosophy

Don explains that writing honestly from the heart made readers notice his sincerity, a principle he carried into speaking and seminars. 3:55

Deer activity

Mel (history) 1:30
unnamed buck (trail-camera) 33:00
unnamed buck (harvest) 39:53

Listener questions

Question: Mark Paris asks how summer trail camera placement should differ from in-season placement, given his neighbors feed deer nearby while he does not. 47:16 — asked by Mark Paris

Answer: Don recommends placing summer cameras on mineral licks to inventory bucks without needing bait or corn. 47:57
Answer: Don moves his cameras from summer feeding areas to fall funnels and rut travel routes as the season nears. 48:31
Answer: Terry, who feeds year-round in Kentucky, keeps his cameras fixed on food sources and hanging scrapes all year without moving them. 49:54

Question: Drew Peterson asks whether food-plot herbicides and preemergents affect the venison and other game meat hunters eat. 50:10 — asked by Drew Peterson

Answer: Don argues food plots are a tiny fraction of a deer’s diet compared to natural browse and agricultural fields, making chemical impact negligible. 52:51
Answer: Don concludes worrying about food-plot chemicals affecting venison is essentially a moot point. 53:20

Question: Andrew Westcott, outside the Midwest, asks how to find and select a qualified whitetail habitat consultant in his region. 54:56 — asked by Andrew Justin Westcott

Answer: Don advises that anyone hiring a whitetail consultant must first define their own goals, since the right consultant depends on whether the aim is more deer or mature bucks. 56:53

Don Higgins, celebrating his buck Mel appearing on the August 2021 North American Whitetail cover, traced his writing career back to a 1996 first article and reflected on connecting with readers through sincerity, despite failing English in high school. He discussed staying loyal to Mathews over two decades despite rival bow offers, and criticized mechanical broadheads and poor shot selection as unethical. Food-plot advice covered correcting soil pH before anything else, planting timing along Interstate 70, and success using Intimidator herbicide on waterhemp. He cautioned against early trail-camera use spooking mature bucks, and answered listener questions from Mark Paris on summer camera placement, Drew Peterson on herbicide effects on venison, and Andrew Westcott on choosing a habitat consultant based on personal goals. Terry shared a story of regretting a dark, quartering-away shot on his first bow-killed buck, and both discussed a charity event benefiting Lester’s Feet and a local fire department organized by Eric Perry.

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