Episode #76 - Where are the big bucks? August is here! Final Prep

Published: 2021-08-02 Episode page Duration: 69 min

In this episode

captive-deer

Don recounted opening the trailer gate to release a buck he had raised and sold, then driving away from the preserve. 51:43
Sick over the buck being shot minutes after release, Don decided right then to get out of the captive deer business for good. 52:07
Tim Lowe from Fort Wayne, Indiana asked whether Don supplemented his wild herd with his former captive deer and how long he’s culled for these results. 42:11

cell-cameras

Across 11 cell cameras on four farms, Terry found only about 90% of the pictures on the SD cards actually reached his phone. 17:16
Don has been pretty disappointed with his new Reconyx cell cameras this summer. 18:11
Terry warns against stacking a standard SD camera and a cell camera on the same tree because their infrared flashes interfere with each other. 18:48
Terry noted that updating firmware on one cell camera cut its picture transmission time from about a minute forty seconds down to six seconds. 22:51
Don plans to hold off buying more cell cameras for a while until the technology improves. 23:36

covid

Don voiced frustration, wondering how long the American people will allow such stupidity around renewed COVID mandates to continue. 32:13

deer-behavior

Don explains that some mature bucks refuse open mowed paths and prefer brush against their sides, so a narrow herbicide-killed path works better. 26:40

deer-management

Don manages his isolated farm by letting bucks with real trophy potential live to maturity while culling ones that will never score well. 54:28

faith

Sydney McLaughlin said she doesn’t deserve anything but that by grace, through faith, Jesus has given her everything. 31:13

food-plots

Terry finished spraying both of his Illinois food plots on Wednesday morning after heavy dew came in. 8:10
Don disagrees with staggering brassica and cereal grain planting dates, preferring plants that mature at different times to widen the attraction window. 10:46
Don recommends adding soybeans to a fall blend because deer love the sprouting two-leaf stage soybeans, drawing them into the plot early. 13:28

herbicide-path

Terry is trying Don’s herbicide-path trick on his Illinois stand this season to pull deer farther from his stand while staying within bow range. 29:28

hunting-blinds

Terry plans to take his hay bale blind cover out and set it up on the alfalfa plot as a new stand option. 67:28

injury

Terry’s hedge trimmer broke loose and he punched the side of the sickle bar, cutting his knuckle badly enough to need stitches. 34:34

lesters-feet

Tinley’s cancer treatment reached a huge milestone this week, and she got to go school shopping for the first time. 38:26
A 13-year-old boy named John was diagnosed with cancer at age five and has relapsed six, seven, or eight times. 38:46
John’s grandmother lost her job because she wouldn’t leave his side at the hospital, so she risked losing her own home. 39:18
Terry called two Lester’s Feet board members, Anne and Austin, and they drove up on a Friday to meet the grandmother in person. 39:47
They were relieved to learn the grandmother qualifies for housing and food from the Ronald McDonald House. 39:55

lone-wolf

Terry and Don visited Lone Wolf this week and watched their new Alpha treestands being assembled. 2:30

olympics

An Olympic pole vaulter stopped mid-run, dropped his pole, and stood at attention when the national anthem began playing. 30:29
Sydney McLaughlin set the world record in the women’s hurdles. 30:44

personal-update

Don plans to take his grandson fishing this week, his first time fishing since his now-30-year-old daughter was about three. 66:20

planting-timing

Duane Hopkins has long advocated planting fall food plots by the weather rather than by the calendar. 15:21

scent-control

Jacob Sigler from Charleston, Illinois asked whether Don has any experience with dietary changes, like avoiding spicy food or meat, for scent control. 62:12

sponsorship

Terry recounted that a new sponsor did not expect them to refuse free product and instead insist on buying it themselves to test it fairly. 4:29

switchgrass

Delmer Bontrager from Ligonier, Indiana asked if Don walked back his claim that switchgrass can’t be too thick, and how to handle foxtail in new switchgrass. 58:54

trophy-bucks

Adam Crummer, a great hunter near Don, killed two giant bucks that, while not 200 inches, were well over Boone and Crockett. 48:11

Deer activity

Two Fourteen (harvest) 44:31
Smokey (harvest) 46:55
Trump (harvest) 47:01
unnamed buck (harvest) 48:11
unnamed buck (harvest) 52:00
unnamed buck (history) 54:43

Listener questions

Question: Tim Lowe from Fort Wayne, Indiana asked whether Don supplemented his wild herd with his former captive deer and how long he’s culled for these results. 42:11 — asked by Tim Lowe

Answer: Don flatly denied ever releasing captive deer on his farm, insisting the bucks he has shot there are 100% wild. 46:33
Answer: Don said he’s worked this uniquely isolated farm for about thirty years, letting quality bucks reach older age classes safely. 53:40

Question: Delmer Bontrager from Ligonier, Indiana asked if Don walked back his claim that switchgrass can’t be too thick, and how to handle foxtail in new switchgrass. 58:54 — asked by Delmer Bontrager

Answer: Don said he has never walked back his claim that he’s never seen switchgrass too thick for deer to use. 60:02
Answer: Don said quinclorac kills foxtail in switchgrass, but it only works while the foxtail is still young. 60:39
Answer: Since it’s too late to spray, Don recommended mowing the switchgrass, keeping the mower deck about 12 inches high. 61:17

Question: Jacob Sigler from Charleston, Illinois asked whether Don has any experience with dietary changes, like avoiding spicy food or meat, for scent control. 62:12 — asked by Jacob Sigler

Answer: Don said the best scent control measure he ever used was ScentShield’s chlorophyll tablets, which he no longer sells. 63:30
Answer: Don joked the chlorophyll tablets turn your stool green, but insisted they genuinely cut down body odor. 64:12

Unofficial fan project. AI-synthesized from public episodes; may contain errors. Report an issue with this page