Faith, Hunting & Courage After Tragedy | Chasing Giants Podcast Ep. 290

Published: 2025-09-14
Episode page
Duration: 99 min

In this episode

alfalfa

• Austin Raisor asked whether drilling alfalfa seed into 10-foot bare spots in his neglected alfalfa field would actually fill them back in. 68:55

announcement

• Terry announced that Christian music artist Emerson Day would host this week’s Sunday Night Prayer Time segment at the end of the episode. 88:30

buck-behavior

• An audience member asked whether improving a property’s habitat and food can make summer bucks stay through fall and return in following years. 72:52

captive-deer

• An audience member pointed out it took Don thirteen years between his first 200-inch buck and killing Smokey, undermining haters’ claims he used released captive deer. 77:32
• Al Foster asked Don to explain why releasing doe fawns, pregnant does, or bucks onto his relatively small property to change its genetics would be futile. 38:06

charity

• Terry said they plan to offer one of the most highly sought-after charity raffle prizes anyone has ever wanted, though details are still being finalized. 5:45
• Terry said they plan to announce the new fundraising prize at the Shipshewana event. 5:56
• Don noted the Shipshewana event isn’t until February, and they’re still finalizing the details of the prize plan. 6:01
• Don asked whether the foundation had raised close to $3,000,000 for these families. 4:42

charlie-kirk

• Don said he aspires to be ‘the Charlie Kirk of deer hunters,’ striving to be a spiritual leader who pleases God even amid hatred. 32:15

church-invitation

• Don invites any deer hunters in Central Illinois looking for a church home to visit Solid Rock, noting he’s already invited many hunters to attend. 7:46
• Don encouraged listeners not to feel intimidated about visiting Solid Rock Chapel, noting there’s no dress code and he wears jeans every week. 80:02
• Don urged men to go home and invite their wives to church on Sunday, saying it would change how their wives look at them. 81:05

death-penalty

• Mason Miller, 14, asked Don for his thoughts on the death penalty in general, noting many people including Trump had called for it after Charlie Kirk’s killing. 47:45

deer-slam

• Mason Miller asked whether Don had ever completed the North American Deer Slam. 53:52

faith

• Terry reflected that while nature’s cycles are extremely complex, God made the process of salvation simple by comparison. 18:49
• Don shared that his grandfather planted the roots of Christianity in his heart as a child, and though it took decades, that faith eventually grew. 59:03
• Terry noted that their friend Ben Rising publicly read scripture on his platform twice this week, calling for more visible faith in the hunting industry. 33:12
• Don shared that his longtime mentor Al recently got baptized, news that moved him so deeply he couldn’t stop thinking about it for days. 64:02
• Neil Four, a teacher, asked what he should tell young men and women scared to be Christians, especially on college campuses, after recent events. 56:15

family-history

• Terry recounted that after the war his grandfather was drafted by the Pirates as a major-league pitcher, then became a farmer and worked in law enforcement. 10:07

food-plots

• Don recommends that owners of small, shaded properties plant soft mast trees like apple, pear, persimmon, or chestnut to provide a unique food source, instead of relying on clover plots. 85:56
• Austin asked whether, with access to city water, Don would irrigate at least part of his food plots during dry falls, or just let them go. 70:48
• An audience member with a small, wooded property asked how to judge whether a spot gets enough sunlight to be worth planting in clover. 82:38

harvest

• Terry observed that farmers were already picking corn and beans in Central Illinois well ahead of the normal schedule. 13:05
• Don observed many farmers cutting soybeans early this year because dry conditions make the pods brittle and prone to shattering, causing yield loss. 13:42
• Don noted that due to a wet spring in southern Illinois, this year’s harvest would start in the north and move south, reversing the typical pattern. 14:50

haters

• Terry asserted that criticism against Don only began right after a business deal fell through, not due to any actual wrongdoing. 77:59

humor

• Terry joked that Don plans to hunt his target buck from a tree saddle in shorts and a tank top, with his pale legs showing behind the tree trunk. 34:41 (light moment)
• An audience member jokingly asked what animal Jesus would target if he were a deer hunter, and what he’d use to hunt it. 86:57

hunting-season

• Terry reported that Kentucky’s archery season had opened, along with a couple other states, while the region suffered severe dry weather. 12:48

land-management

• Duane Hopkins jokingly asked whether, as land consultants, Don and Terry foresee recommending a string of security lights through the timber to improve antler development. 55:14

lesters-feet-foundation

• Terry recounted that Solid Rock Chapel used its legal connections to host a raffle for a Chevrolet truck donated by Victory Chevrolet and Midwest Land Group, since he and Don couldn’t legally run a raffle themselves. 3:08
• Terry explained the foundation originally started to help families with sick kids by covering their bills. 3:36
• Terry said the foundation also runs the Andrea Hamilton fund, named after Don’s daughter, helping families navigate breast cancer treatment when the mom must take off work. 4:05
• Terry explained the foundation offers only short-term help, covering a gap in bills while a parent takes off work to care for a sick child or a mother with breast cancer. 6:52
• Don explained the foundation doesn’t mail checks directly to families; instead families submit a bill and the foundation pays it, ensuring oversight of the funds. 8:13
• Terry shared that the foundation is named after his grandfather Lester Schickland, his childhood hero who served as a gunner on an amphibious assault boat in the Pacific during World War II. 9:56
• Terry named the charity ‘Lester’s Feet’ as a deliberately obscure reference to his grandfather’s size-fifteen shoes, prompting people to ask about the story. 10:42
• Terry recounted that despite an attorney’s warning of a two-year wait, their nonprofit application was approved in about two and a half weeks during peak COVID, calling it a ‘total God thing.’ 11:44

mentorship

• Austin Raisor shared that Don and Terry have poured into his life and family without expecting anything in return. 64:40

podcast-stats

• Don stated the podcast has roughly 30,000 to 40,000 listeners per week across various platforms. 35:05

real-world-seed

• Terry introduced Duane Hopkins as the COO of Green Prairie Seed Company, crediting his years of work for the quality behind Real World’s seed products. 54:15

whitetail-biology

• Don explained that soybean maturity is dictated by daylight, and the unusually green patches Terry noticed were caused by nearby security lights affecting the plants’ light exposure. 16:20
• Don explained that antler growth in deer, like soybean maturity, is triggered by daylight length, with increasing spring daylight starting a buck’s antler growth cycle. 17:02
• Don said a deer’s pineal gland measures daylight hours and triggers multiple things, including when does come into heat. 17:36

Deer activity

• Charlie (hunt) 20:19
• Smokey (history) 20:30
• Mel (history) 20:32
• Trump (history) 20:34
• Zacchaeus (harvest) 23:47
• King David (harvest) 23:53

Listener questions

Question: Al Foster asked Don to explain why releasing doe fawns, pregnant does, or bucks onto his relatively small property to change its genetics would be futile. 38:06 — asked by Al Foster

• Answer: Don explained resident maternal doe groups are territorial and would drive off any newly introduced doe fawn, making it biologically implausible for released deer to establish and change a property’s genetics. 41:38
• Answer: Don added that he sold his captive deer back in 2017, over eight years ago, so past captive deer could not still be affecting his farm’s genetics today. 44:34

Question: Mason Miller, 14, asked Don for his thoughts on the death penalty in general, noting many people including Trump had called for it after Charlie Kirk’s killing. 47:45 — asked by Mason Miller

• Answer: Don said he believes Charlie Kirk’s killer deserves the death penalty, but hopes the man receives Jesus Christ before it’s carried out. 49:36
• Answer: Terry cautioned that support for capital punishment should reflect the severity of the crime itself, not emotional reaction to the victim being a celebrity like Charlie Kirk, since that would be vindictiveness. 51:21

Question: Mason Miller asked whether Don had ever completed the North American Deer Slam. 53:52 — asked by Mason Miller

• Answer: Don answered that he has not completed the North American Deer Slam. 53:55

Question: Duane Hopkins jokingly asked whether, as land consultants, Don and Terry foresee recommending a string of security lights through the timber to improve antler development. 55:14 — asked by Duane Hopkins

• Answer: Don joked that if he ever encountered such lighting, he’d know he’d found his first ‘liberal deer hunter.’ 55:29
• Answer: Terry joked you’d need both lights and a fence, since he likes lights off to sleep and couldn’t stand seeing a deer lying under lights all day. 55:40

Question: Neil Four, a teacher, asked what he should tell young men and women scared to be Christians, especially on college campuses, after recent events. 56:15 — asked by Neil Four

• Answer: Don said everyone must eventually choose a side between good and evil, since there is no middle ground in this spiritual battle. 57:11
• Answer: Terry added that the best advice is ‘strength in numbers,’ encouraging young Christians to surround themselves with like-minded, supportive people. 59:52

Question: Austin Raisor asked whether drilling alfalfa seed into 10-foot bare spots in his neglected alfalfa field would actually fill them back in. 68:55 — asked by Austin Raisor

• Answer: Duane Hopkins explained that since Austin’s stand is under a year old, the toxin blocking reseeding hasn’t built up yet, giving him a window through next spring to fix it. 69:47

Question: Austin asked whether, with access to city water, Don would irrigate at least part of his food plots during dry falls, or just let them go. 70:48 — asked by Austin Raisor

• Answer: Don said he’s never used irrigation, but if it’s within budget, putting city water on food plots is worthwhile, though a complete spring-and-fall plot program matters more. 71:05

Question: An audience member asked whether improving a property’s habitat and food can make summer bucks stay through fall and return in following years. 72:52

• Answer: Don said that after harvesting far more does last fall to reduce herd pressure, he’s seen a drastic increase in bucks staying on his property through summer. 74:16

Question: An audience member with a small, wooded property asked how to judge whether a spot gets enough sunlight to be worth planting in clover. 82:38

• Answer: Don advised that a plot needs at least half a day of direct sunlight for anything, including clover, to grow well. 83:46

Question: An audience member jokingly asked what animal Jesus would target if he were a deer hunter, and what he’d use to hunt it. 86:57

• Answer: Don joked that Jesus’s number one target would be Satan, hunted with the truth. 87:07

Question: Don asked whether the foundation had raised close to $3,000,000 for these families. 4:42

• Answer: Terry clarified the foundation has raised just over $2,000,000 since it started, not quite the $3,000,000 Don guessed. 4:47

Prayer Time

Scripture: Ephesians
Theme: armor of God / spiritual warfare
Emerson Day shared that it had been a heavy week and reflected on the armor of God from Ephesians, encouraging listeners that though we face real spiritual battles, Christ has already won the victory and we should stand firm using truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, and the sword of the Spirit while praying for one another. 93:55

Terry and Don discussed their Lester’s Feet foundation, named for Terry’s grandfather Lester Schickland, who served in the Pacific during World War II before being drafted by the Pirates and later working as a farmer and in law enforcement. Terry described the charity’s origins helping families with sick kids, its Andrea Hamilton fund for breast cancer families, and how nonprofit approval came in about two and a half weeks despite an attorney’s two-year warning. Don corrected Terry’s guess that they’d raised close to $3,000,000, clarifying it was just over $2,000,000. They covered a truck raffle donated by Victory Chevrolet and Midwest Land Group, a prize announcement planned for the Shipshewana event, and habitat advice tying soybean maturity and antler growth to daylight length. Listener questions addressed capital punishment after Charlie Kirk’s death, the North American Deer Slam, alfalfa reseeding, plot irrigation, and sunlight needs for clover. Emerson Day led a prayer on the armor of God.

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