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

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

Terry and Don covered food plots, cameras, and deer management. Terry finished spraying his Illinois plots after dew came in, while Don argued against staggering brassica and cereal grain planting dates and recommended adding soybeans for their early two-leaf attraction. Cell camera trouble came up, with Terry noting only about 90% of pictures reached his phone across his cameras and firmware updates cutting transmission time sharply, while Don voiced disappointment with his new units and said he’d hold off buying more. Don explained his path-clearing trick for stubborn mature bucks, which Terry planned to try. Don also recounted quitting the captive deer business after a buck he’d raised and released was shot within minutes, and described managing his farm by letting trophy-potential bucks mature while culling others. Listener questions addressed switchgrass and foxtail control, scent control methods, and whether Don’s wild herd had been supplemented, which he denied.

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