Episode #92 - Don in Facebook Jail?

Published: 2021-11-22
Episode page
Duration: 64 min

In this episode

broadheads

Don explains his skepticism of expandable broadheads stems from too many deer getting hit in the shoulder and wounded rather than humanely killed. 20:28

church-invite

Don invites listeners near Sullivan, Illinois to visit his church, Solid Rock Chapel, offering to meet them at the door. 40:10

consulting

Don says he’s booked solid for consulting this year and started a standby list, with many clients now choosing Wes Delks instead. 6:23
Terry points listeners to the Higgins Outdoors website, saying most consulting questions are already answered there, including pricing and availability. 8:17
Terry directs consulting questions to Don’s email, noting that link is posted on his website. 10:16

cwd-regulations

Terry explains he had to cape and cap his deer in Illinois because state rules bar bringing bone marrow or brain matter across state lines into Kentucky. 38:26

deer-management

Don plans to shoot two more management bucks before season ends but no target bucks, letting young bucks mature while easing pressure on the herd. 60:56
Jeremy Melville asked whether Don lets family and friends shoot three-to-four-year-old eight pointers to give them opportunities, or to remove deer unlikely to score high later. 58:54

facebook

Terry jokes that of all things, he never expected Don’s Facebook jail stint to come from the particular picture Don shared. 64:07 (light moment)
Don jokes that he’s surprised he’s avoided Facebook jail this long and now has a target on his back. 64:17 (light moment)

fetal-programming

Eric Wolf asked whether he should remove all older does as soon as possible to ensure buck fawns get maximum nutritional benefit before birth. 54:45

firearm-season

Don notes Illinois firearm season opened on Friday. 2:15

giveaway

Don announces he will keep running a daily prize giveaway tied to his ‘rep report’ posts on social media. 10:51

goal-setting

Don explains that a real goal survives temptation; deviating for an obviously injured deer isn’t breaking your goal, but a true goal doesn’t waver. 23:17

harvest-decision

Terry felt immediate regret right after pulling the trigger, thinking he had wasted his out-of-state tag on the buck. 16:24
Terry admits he can’t honestly say he’d have shot the injured buck if it had instead been a top-scoring target buck. 21:41

hunting-ethics

Don distinguishes deer killers who don’t care what or how they kill from deer hunters who are conservationists with compassion for individual animals. 19:36

injured-deer

Terry noticed the buck could not put weight on its leg and was struggling badly right before he took the shot. 15:59
Terry discovered after the shot that the buck’s eye was swollen and pus-filled, confirming the animal had been badly infected. 17:21
Don shares that he has also had to burn a tag on a buck he didn’t want to shoot because it was injured. 19:25

iowa

Don plans to return to Iowa to hunt, still deciding between leaving right away or waiting until Saturday after helping move to his new house. 30:52
Don plans to get back to Iowa to hunt before his consulting travel schedule ramps up. 62:57

listener-community

Terry announces a listener collage project, asking fans to email harvest pictures to a dedicated address for a 2021 family picture. 3:49

listener-questions

Don asks listeners with hunting questions to submit them through the chasinggiants.com form instead of messaging him directly. 6:01

lockdown-phase

Tanner Coleman asked whether a mature buck still prioritizes cover and vantage points for bedding during peak rut, or beds more based on doe locations. 46:44

podcast-logistics

Don asks callers to state their actual question in a voicemail rather than just requesting a callback. 9:14

property-boundaries

Gary Hall asked what Don and Terry do when someone shoots a deer that runs onto their property—let them track it, or make them wait until dark. 49:02

raffle

Don is raffling a two-day late-season hunt on his farm plus a new Mathews bow through his church. 34:49
Raffle tickets can be mailed to Solid Rock Chapel, PO Box 172, Sullivan, Illinois, ZIP 61951. 35:15

rut

Don reports his Iowa hunt yielded almost no deer sightings and silent trail cameras, indicating mature bucks were locked down with hot does. 1:31
Terry notes rut hunting is unpredictable during lockdown—one spot may go dead while another has a good buck cruising for the next doe. 2:00
Don recommends still hunting mornings through Thanksgiving weekend but shifting focus to afternoons as rut-driven bucks now visit food sources in daylight. 30:18

seminar

Don announces a December 10 seminar at Bluegrass Feed and Seed in Guthrie, Kentucky. 32:09
Don announces a December 16 event at Collinville Country Store, a Real World dealer, in Clare, Michigan. 32:35

Terry reports Don was placed in Facebook jail for twenty-four hours but appealed and won, restoring his account. 11:06

t-shirts

Don announces t-shirts are back in stock and shipping, including to past episode question-askers who haven’t received theirs yet. 45:35

thanksgiving

Don recalls the late Roger telling him Thanksgiving weekend is prime time to kill the biggest bucks, since they’re most active on their feet then. 26:44
Don recalls a five-year stretch where the biggest buck he saw from a stand each season happened on Thanksgiving weekend. 26:58
Terry plans to spend Thanksgiving with both families and then get back into his wood shop to finish overdue projects. 61:56

trail-cameras

Don’s trail cameras show morning buck activity slacking off while evening activity around 3:30pm has picked up, signaling a shift out of lockdown. 28:16

whitetail-master-class

Don announces a $300 discount on Whitetail Master Classes for Real World Wildlife Products dealers, though the classes are filling up. 11:31

Deer activity

unnamed buck (sighting) 1:16
unnamed buck (harvest) 16:05
214 inch buck (history) 28:49
unnamed buck (harvest) 60:52

Listener questions

Question: Tanner Coleman asked whether a mature buck still prioritizes cover and vantage points for bedding during peak rut, or beds more based on doe locations. 46:44 — asked by Tanner Coleman

Answer: Don says a mature buck always wants security but during breeding season will compromise almost daily for a hot doe, which is why so many get killed in November. 47:04
Answer: Don recommends hunting out-of-the-way corridors like lone fence rows or tree lines during lockdown—you may see nothing for days, but when you do it’s often a giant. 48:25

Question: Gary Hall asked what Don and Terry do when someone shoots a deer that runs onto their property—let them track it, or make them wait until dark. 49:02 — asked by Gary Hall

Answer: Don says he tries to treat others the way he wants to be treated when deciding whether to let neighbors track a wounded deer onto his property. 49:37
Answer: Terry says he’s more willing to help if the shooter is transparent about where and how they hit the deer, since that transparency and a shared plan should be expected. 52:46

Question: Eric Wolf asked whether he should remove all older does as soon as possible to ensure buck fawns get maximum nutritional benefit before birth. 54:45

Answer: Don clarifies the research shows nutrition matters at conception, not generation count—managers should give does top nutrition ahead of breeding season so fawns reach full antler potential. 56:42

Question: Jeremy Melville asked whether Don lets family and friends shoot three-to-four-year-old eight pointers to give them opportunities, or to remove deer unlikely to score high later. 58:54 — asked by Jeremy Melville

Answer: Don confirms both reasons apply: three-to-four-year-old eight pointers rarely become top-scoring bucks, so removing them helps management while giving family and friends a rewarding hunt. 59:10

Terry described shooting a buck in Illinois after noticing it couldn’t put weight on its leg, then felt immediate regret over using his tag before discovering the deer’s eye was swollen and pus-filled, confirming infection. Don shared a similar experience burning a tag on an injured buck and used both stories to contrast deer killers from deer hunters with compassion, arguing a real goal survives temptation even when an injured deer causes a deviation. Terry admitted he wasn’t sure he’d have shot the buck if it had scored higher instead. Don also discussed rut timing, recalling advice that Thanksgiving weekend produces the biggest bucks, and noted his trail cameras showing a shift from morning to evening buck activity, prompting a recommendation to favor afternoon hunts near food sources. He planned more Iowa hunting and two more management-buck harvests. Listener questions covered mature buck bedding behavior, tracking wounded deer on neighboring land, doe nutrition timing, and removing young eight-pointers for herd management.

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