Episode #88 - Hunting MATURE Bucks on October Mornings?

Published: 2021-10-25
Episode page
Duration: 67 min

In this episode

baiting

• Terry criticizes self-proclaimed ‘purist’ non-baiters who mow down standing corn with a bush hog to create a feeding pile, calling it hypocritical. 62:28

box-blinds

• Jake Justice from Niceville, Florida asks whether mature bucks get accustomed to box blinds sitting openly visible rather than tucked into cover. 63:01

captive-deer

• From observing his captive deer herd for about 25 years, Don learned fawns were born at the same time every spring, showing consistent breeding timing. 11:23

cwd

• Terry reports Kentucky recently banned mineral and feed in two counties along the Tennessee border with mandatory CWD check-ins. 56:52
• Don says he has compared CWD to COVID, viewing both as ‘political diseases’ whose public perception has been shaped by politics. 58:48
• Terry predicts Kentucky’s baiting laws will change statewide next year following the CWD outbreak in the state’s southwest. 62:02

food-plots

• Jake asks what to plant on rolling cattle-farm terrain with few row crops, since his corn and beans keep getting wiped out by deer. 63:01

giant-buck

• Don reports one of his consulting clients killed a 200-inch class buck, the second 200-inch buck taken by his clients this October. 17:31

hunting-strategy

• Terry recommends minimizing intrusion and hunting pressure when targeting mature, trophy-class bucks. 53:23

iowa-hunt

• Don saw four 1.5-year-old bucks and several does chasing and sparring in a cut soybean field during his last Iowa hunt, seeing no mature bucks over three hunts. 4:17

iowa-scouting

• Don mentions he just returned home from a scouting trip to Iowa. 1:10

lesters-feet

• Terry asks listeners for help locating the Amish family in Virginia whose parents were killed in a buggy accident, leaving eight children, so the foundation can help. 21:41
• Terry recounts that Don’s daughter Andrea connected him with a family whose seven-year-old daughter lost part of her hand and was denied prosthetic coverage as ‘cosmetic.’ 24:31
• Terry describes calling the mother to say the foundation would pay to order and cover the cost of the prosthetic for her daughter. 25:05
• Terry says Lester’s Feet has helped families by covering things like car tires, a mortgage payment, and travel expenses for treatment. 25:29
• Don reports that this year’s Lester’s Feet raffle raised about $150,000. 31:53
• Don plans for next year’s Lester’s Feet fundraising to exceed $150,000, with a grand prize bigger than a hunt on his farm. 32:12
• Don recounts that Lester’s Feet raffle winner Brent Ramsey killed his buck on Don’s farm during an October morning hunt. 46:37
• Terry explains Don wanted to offer a free consultation prize last year, but the raffle timing fell after his peak consulting season, so it didn’t happen. 65:21
• Jake asks whether Don has considered offering a free property consultation as a prize option for next year’s Lester’s Feet raffle. 63:01

merchandise

• Don announces the podcast is currently out of stock on several t-shirt sizes, including large and medium, with more on order. 41:23

october-mornings

• Bo Hammock asks about hunting October mornings in early season, noting good success sitting tight to bedding in the transition area between bedding and food. 42:31

personal-goal

• Terry sets a personal goal to kill his net Boone and Crockett buck and to have raised and distributed over $1 million for Lester’s Feet by age 50. 33:37

podcast-growth

• Terry states the Chasing Giants podcast is consistently in the top 25 wilderness podcasts by downloads on iTunes. 34:32

prayer

• Don asks listeners to keep the Amish family in their prayers. 23:19

raffle

• Don is raffling off a new Mathews bow plus a two-day late-season hunt on his farm to benefit the Moultrie County Beacon. 29:07
• Raffle tickets for the bow and hunt giveaway cost $20 each or six for $100, payable by check mailed to Solid Rock Chapel, Sullivan, Illinois. 29:29
• Don announces the raffle drawing for the bow and hunt giveaway will be held on November 28. 40:06

rut-report

• Don announces this year’s daily rut report will include a daily prize giveaway. 18:45
• Terry notes the rut report segment draws tens of thousands of viewers. 20:37

rut-timing

• Don predicts more bucks will be killed in the next four to six weeks than during any other stretch of the season. 2:00
• Don asserts the rut happens at the same time every year, dismissing theories tying its timing to the moon. 10:56
• Bronson Strickland of the Mississippi State Deer Lab has also said the rut occurs at the same time every year. 11:01
• Don notes that although a warm November can suppress visible daytime rutting activity, the rut still happens on schedule. 11:50
• Don states the Boone and Crockett record book shows more mature bucks are killed on November 7 than on any other date. 13:13

scrapes

• Don compares a deer scrape to a neighborhood fire hydrant where bucks deposit scent to announce presence to other bucks and does. 7:33
• Don explains scrape activity happens every fall, intensifying right before the rut peaks and tapering off toward the rut’s end. 8:10

solid-rock-chapel

• Don’s church, Solid Rock Chapel, ministers to the Moultrie County Beacon, a community of eight homes for disabled adults. 26:37

supplemental-feeding

• Don believes supplemental feeding can lead to a healthier deer herd rather than being a disease risk. 58:19
• Tyler from Robinson, Illinois asks how widely deer attractant and mineral products are actually used in Illinois despite a ban on supplemental feeding. 54:12

trail-cameras

• Don believes deer become accustomed to trail cameras over time and some individual deer start avoiding them. 5:02
• Don has noticed he gets better and more pictures of mature bucks using a regular trail camera than a cellular camera. 5:51

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (sighting) 4:17
• unnamed buck (harvest) 17:31
• unnamed buck (harvest) 46:37

Listener questions

Question: Bo Hammock asks about hunting October mornings in early season, noting good success sitting tight to bedding in the transition area between bedding and food. 42:31 — asked by Bo Hammock

• Answer: Don explains mature bucks five and a half years or older are almost always bedded down before sunrise, making October mornings poor for encountering them. 44:54
• Answer: Don states about 90% of mature bucks killed in October are taken during evening hunts rather than mornings. 45:41
• Answer: Terry adds that with only one access route on his own property, hunting October mornings means he inevitably pushes deer out. 50:37

Question: Tyler from Robinson, Illinois asks how widely deer attractant and mineral products are actually used in Illinois despite a ban on supplemental feeding. 54:12 — asked by Tyler

• Answer: Don estimates attractant and mineral products are being used on at least 50% of properties in Illinois despite the ban. 55:05
• Answer: Don says he personally avoids using these products because he can’t risk a citation that would damage his credibility. 55:46
• Answer: Don’s stance is that Illinois should ban baiting during season but allow supplemental feeding in the off-season. 57:30

Question: Jake Justice from Niceville, Florida asks whether mature bucks get accustomed to box blinds sitting openly visible rather than tucked into cover. 63:01 — asked by Jake Justice

• Answer: Don doesn’t believe an openly visible box blind will spook mature bucks. 66:50

Question: Jake asks what to plant on rolling cattle-farm terrain with few row crops, since his corn and beans keep getting wiped out by deer. 63:01 — asked by Jake Justice

• Answer: Don recommends fall food plot options like Harvest Salad or Deadly Dozen instead of corn and beans, which get wiped out without large plots. 66:06

Question: Jake asks whether Don has considered offering a free property consultation as a prize option for next year’s Lester’s Feet raffle. 63:01 — asked by Jake Justice

• Answer: Don confirms he will offer a free property consultation as one of next year’s Lester’s Feet raffle prizes. 64:58

Don shared updates from a scouting trip to Iowa, where he saw young bucks and does chasing in a cut soybean field but no mature bucks over three hunts. He predicted the coming weeks would produce more killed bucks than any other stretch, explaining scrape behavior and arguing the rut’s timing is fixed each year regardless of the moon or warm weather, citing his own captive herd and Bronson Strickland’s agreement. He noted the Boone and Crockett record book shows November 7 as the top date for mature buck kills, and mentioned a client’s second 200-inch buck of October. Listener questions covered October morning hunting odds, widespread use of banned attractant products in Illinois, whether visible box blinds spook mature bucks, and food plot choices for cattle-farm terrain. Terry discussed Kentucky’s new mineral and feed ban tied to CWD, and both men promoted Lester’s Feet fundraising efforts, including a raffle and a request for prayer for an Amish family in Virginia.

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