“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

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