“200-Inch Nebraska Giant: Joe Chambers’ Incredible Buck Story | Chasing Giants Ep. 296”

Published: 2025-10-26
Episode page
Duration: 75 min

In this episode

announcement

• Terry announces new hunts released on the Chasing Giants TV YouTube channel and an upcoming rut report on their social media platforms. 66:09

antler-score

• Joe and Al scored the buck together, arriving at a gross score of 201 1/8 inches. 30:43

broadhead

• Drew Harmon also asks what fixed blade broadhead Don prefers to use. 53:00

business

• Joe owns Chambers Custom Pistols, building 1911 and wide-body 2011-style pistols for eighteen years, found at chamberscustom.com. 41:17

business-advice

• Jeremy Randolph asks Terry for business advice on breaking into the hunting industry. 58:08

consulting

• Don’s written plan predicted he was 90 percent certain Joe would not follow it, which Joe recalls as a subtle challenge. 15:34
• Don advises hunters not to tell a hired consultant their pre-existing plans, so the consultant can develop an unbiased strategy. 21:41
• Don recommends giving a hired consultant’s plan a real chance to work rather than abandoning it early. 23:29
• Terry asks Joe, on the Higgins Hot Seat, the most surprising or off-the-wall thing Don Higgins ever told him to do on two properties. 42:35

deer-activity

• Don says that once the rain stopped and the cold front arrived, deer activity became so intense it resembled the peak of the rut. 1:38

doe-management

• Terry admits he saw 32 does one night and 28 the next, suggesting hunters like himself have gotten too strict about doe management. 56:46
• Don says controlling the doe population is part of managing a property, so hunters should keep shooting does. 57:23

east-wind

• Don says east wind is his favorite wind to hunt during the rut. 8:00

evening-hunting

• Don recommends hunting evenings over mornings right now, since mature bucks are still moving mostly at night despite the cold front. 5:57

farm-history

• Joe recounts buying the farm in April 2023 when it had been high-graded and hunted heavily by the previous owner. 13:13

feed-program

• Joe reveals he fed 15,000 pounds of feed on the farm over the past year chasing the buck and doesn’t regret the cost. 47:09

guest-announcement

• Terry announces that guest Joe Chambers took advantage of the cold front and shot a giant buck scoring over 200 inches. 3:50

hunting-industry

• Jeremy Randolph asks Don what advice he would give his 20-year-old self about the hunting industry. 57:44

land-management

• Joe describes implementing Don’s plan by removing cattle and planting fruit trees, clover, and rye, after which Pancho continued using the property. 16:07

mineral-supplement

• Joe credits the Real World Wildlife Products Maximizer Pro Plus mineral and his home-grown Nutri-Crave Corn for helping the buck survive late winter. 18:03

motivation

• Drew Harmon asks what Don did to avoid discouragement during years without killing a big buck while keeping focus on his goals. 52:08

patience

• Joe describes the exorbitant patience required to avoid shooting the buck at three or four years old. 18:25
• Joe recalls being repeatedly told to trust the process and be patient while his clover plot looked terrible for over two years. 44:39

property-ceiling

• Don explains that every property has a ceiling on buck quality that no amount of management can exceed. 38:48

river-property

• Don says he dislikes river and creek properties for hunting because continuous cover lets bucks roam widely instead of staying home. 39:17

rut-report

• Don plans to begin posting a written rut report in the final days of October across his, Terry’s, and Real World’s social media accounts. 9:03

rut-timing

• Terry asks Don whether the rut is early or if the deer movement is simply due to the recent weather change. 4:44

thermals

• Eli Doyle asks whether wind direction matters as much as thermals, after hearing another podcast claim thermals matter more than wind. 48:56

weather

• Terry notes the weather pattern will shift to an east wind for three or four days starting Saturday after the pressure drops. 7:36

weather-forecast

• Don states the ten-day forecast shows temperatures staying below 60 degrees as a high through the end of October. 3:12

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (sighting) 1:50
• unnamed buck (harvest) 2:41
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 7:05
• Lefty (history) 14:27
• Poncho (sighting) 16:53
• Poncho (history) 17:36
• Poncho (harvest) 30:22
• unnamed buck (sighting) 36:33
• unnamed buck (trail-camera) 39:54

Listener questions

Question: Terry asks Don whether the rut is early or if the deer movement is simply due to the recent weather change. 4:44 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don explains the rut always falls at the same time since it is the breeding period, but pre-rut activity increases and can create heightened movement resembling the rut. 4:48

Question: Terry asks Joe, on the Higgins Hot Seat, the most surprising or off-the-wall thing Don Higgins ever told him to do on two properties. 42:35 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Joe recalls Don surprising him by insisting the river farm’s back acreage should become food plots rather than the switchgrass bedding cover Joe planned. 43:34

Question: Eli Doyle asks whether wind direction matters as much as thermals, after hearing another podcast claim thermals matter more than wind. 48:56 — asked by Eli Doyle

• Answer: Don explains thermals matter more in hilly or mountainous terrain than on flat farmland, so hunters should weigh both wind and thermals depending on terrain. 49:31

Question: Drew Harmon asks what Don did to avoid discouragement during years without killing a big buck while keeping focus on his goals. 52:08 — asked by Drew Harmon

• Answer: Don says failing to fill a tag never truly bothered him; he focused on becoming a better, more proficient hunter rather than trying to impress others. 54:26

Question: Drew Harmon also asks what fixed blade broadhead Don prefers to use. 53:00 — asked by Drew Harmon

• Answer: Don shares he currently shoots a Slick Trick Magnum fixed blade broadhead, a 125-grain head with about an inch-and-an-eighth cutting diameter. 53:15

Question: Jeremy Randolph asks Don what advice he would give his 20-year-old self about the hunting industry. 57:44 — asked by Jeremy Randolph

• Answer: Don says his biggest career regret is some of the people he partnered with, admitting he tends to see the good in everyone. 58:59
• Answer: Don identifies jealousy, more than ego or social media, as the biggest problem in the hunting industry, driving critics to attack others’ trophies. 61:55

Question: Jeremy Randolph asks Terry for business advice on breaking into the hunting industry. 58:08 — asked by Jeremy Randolph

• Answer: Terry advises entrants to avoid commoditizing existing products and instead create a new niche product, then decide whether to grow or sell it. 63:50

Prayer Time

Scripture: Galatians
Theme: identity in Christ
Daniel Pifer reflects on finding his identity in Christ rather than in hunting success, citing Galatians 2:20 to affirm believers’ worth comes from belonging to God, and prays for listeners chasing worth in the wrong places. 72:02

Guest Joe Chambers, owner of Chambers Custom Pistols, joined Terry and Don to discuss shooting a giant buck (Poncho) scoring 201 1/8 inches gross after a cold front. Don explained pre-rut activity had made movement resemble the rut’s peak, though he still recommended evening hunts since mature bucks were moving mostly at night, and noted an east wind was coming this weekend, which he called his favorite rut wind. Joe detailed years of patience implementing Don’s management plan on a previously high-graded farm bought in 2023, including removing cattle, planting food plots, using Real World Wildlife Products mineral, and feeding 15,000 pounds of feed, resisting shooting the buck at three or four years old. Don discussed consultant relationships, doe management, and property ceilings on buck quality. Listener questions covered thermals versus wind, broadhead choice, and industry advice. Daniel Pifer led a prayer on finding identity in Christ rather than hunting success.

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