Chasing Giants LIVE at the Midwest Sportsmen’s Classic | Shipshewana, IN | Presented by FAE

Published: 2026-02-22
Episode page
Duration: 77 min

In this episode

artificial-intelligence

• Steven also asks what Don and Terry think about AI technology. 8:57

baiting

• Elmer Herzler asks why someone dumping corn and mashed potatoes near his posted signs might be doing it and what to do about it. 53:39

bedding-cover

• Don advises land managers not to fixate only on south-facing slopes, since deer also need north-facing bedding cover to stay cool. 36:06
• The same audience member asks if a shallower north-facing bank with less water and sunshine would still work as well. 34:27

bowhunting

• Damon Marley asks why Don switched from a recurve to a compound bow instead of staying with instinctive shooting. 13:00

buck-management

• Don explains he aims to remove about 75% of three-year-old bucks in each age class, since fewer competitors makes the best bucks more likely to stay and grow. 30:28
• Terry jokes that he doesn’t want a buck fawn on the property that looks like Danny DeVito, preferring bigger genetics. 32:51 (light moment)
• Duane Miller asks how culling the worst bucks on his own property benefits him rather than just his neighbors, given bucks disperse. 29:29

charity

• Don tells the crowd to visit Bobby Worthington’s booth, where raffle proceeds benefit a memorial Bobby dedicated to his late son, Clay. 56:17

drones

• Christopher Palmer also asks Don’s thoughts on drones for recovering deer given Indiana’s first drone-poaching case. 16:40

food-plots

• Terry recommends using Dixie Dozen instead of Deadly Dozen in old tobacco fields because leftover nitrogen keeps nitrate levels too high for deer to eat it for years. 9:58
• Steven asks whether rotating Deadly Dozen and Clover half-and-half every three years is a good food plot plan. 8:45
• An audience member asks how many consecutive years Deadly Dozen can be planted, guessing three years max. 10:10
• An audience member asks what food source works best in a shallow grassy wash that holds more water than a normal field. 33:37

habitat-management

• Kevin Holm asks whether to start habitat work with bedding pockets and cover or with food plots first after an 80% timber reset. 36:59

hunting-technology

• Don states that the older he gets, the more anti-technology he becomes regarding modern hunting gadgets like drones. 23:38

mentorship

• Don recounts that after a mentor began teaching him to play the wind, the number of bucks he saw from his tree stand literally tripled the next season. 18:10

nutricrave-corn

• Terry asks how giving deer more calorie-dense, higher-fat and protein food impacts them if they eat the same volume. 27:53

persimmons

• An audience member describes grafting female buds onto male persimmon trees and asks if Don has done or seen that before. 15:16

recurve

• Don says he has a personal goal of one day shooting a giant buck with a recurve bow. 13:32

scent-control

• Don says he now uses absolutely no scent-control products, keeping his hunting clothes unwashed in a pile in his garage. 18:34
• Don recalls deciding his scent-control pee bottle must stink after years of use, so he threw it away and started peeing straight out of the tree stand. 19:12

soybeans

• Matt Dawson asks whether planting two to three acres of Gen-two soybeans on his travel-corridor property is worth doing. 10:58

sponsorship-announcement

• Terry relays that a new sponsor offered to give away high-dollar prizes at Shipshewana to help Chasing Giants raise money for Lester’s Feet. 1:11

turning-point-buck

• Wayne Fry asks whether the turning point buck will be Don’s target for next year or if another buck is on the list. 54:49

venison

• Dwylan asks whether a deer’s diet, like acorns versus crops, affects how the venison tastes. 23:54

volunteer-corn

• Wayne Gays asks how to prep fields for beans after corn stubble and whether volunteer corn will be a problem. 39:39

winter-food

• Drew Peterson asks what the best winter deer food is when snow covers the ground. 26:07

woodsmanship

• Christopher Palmer asks Don to explain woodsmanship and how much hunters should rely on scent-control gadgets versus playing the wind. 16:23

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (sighting) 19:36
• unnamed buck (sighting) 35:38
• Turning Point (trail-camera) 55:36
• Trump (harvest) 56:56

Listener questions

Question: Steven asks whether rotating Deadly Dozen and Clover half-and-half every three years is a good food plot plan. 8:45 — asked by Steven

• Answer: Don says Steven’s rotation plan sounds perfect, alternating Deadly Dozen or harvest salad with clover. 9:34

Question: Steven also asks what Don and Terry think about AI technology. 8:57 — asked by Steven

• Answer: Don jokes that AI needs to be outlawed. 9:04

Question: An audience member asks how many consecutive years Deadly Dozen can be planted, guessing three years max. 10:10

• Answer: Don says that’s pushing it and recommends rotating Deadly Dozen’s bulb plants like turnips and radish out every year. 10:16

Question: Matt Dawson asks whether planting two to three acres of Gen-two soybeans on his travel-corridor property is worth doing. 10:58 — asked by Matt Dawson

• Answer: Don says it’s worth trying if deer pressure is low enough to establish soybeans. 11:18

Question: Damon Marley asks why Don switched from a recurve to a compound bow instead of staying with instinctive shooting. 13:00

• Answer: Don explains he shoots a compound far more accurately than a recurve even inside 20 yards, which is why he switched. 13:21

Question: An audience member describes grafting female buds onto male persimmon trees and asks if Don has done or seen that before. 15:16

• Answer: Don says he’d have recommended grafting a female bud onto the established male root system so it grows quickly. 15:33

Question: Christopher Palmer asks Don to explain woodsmanship and how much hunters should rely on scent-control gadgets versus playing the wind. 16:23 — asked by Christopher Palmer

• Answer: Don says woodsmanship and scent control ultimately all boil down to playing the wind. 17:04

Question: Christopher Palmer also asks Don’s thoughts on drones for recovering deer given Indiana’s first drone-poaching case. 16:40 — asked by Christopher Palmer

• Answer: Don says a drone in the right hands is a great tool for recovering lost deer or taking herd surveys, but in the wrong hands drones can decimate a mature buck herd. 22:39

Question: Duane Miller asks how culling the worst bucks on his own property benefits him rather than just his neighbors, given bucks disperse. 29:29 — asked by Duane Miller

• Answer: Don says he isn’t too worried since most neighbors won’t follow the same management plan, so he isn’t just benefiting them. 29:43

Question: Dwylan asks whether a deer’s diet, like acorns versus crops, affects how the venison tastes. 23:54 — asked by Dwylan

• Answer: Don guesses acorn tannins could affect meat flavor somewhat, but admits he has zero real experience with it. 24:23

Question: Drew Peterson asks what the best winter deer food is when snow covers the ground. 26:07 — asked by Drew Peterson

• Answer: Don says corn, soybeans, and grain sorghum are hands-down the top three winter food sources. 26:29

Question: Terry asks how giving deer more calorie-dense, higher-fat and protein food impacts them if they eat the same volume. 27:53 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don explains NutriCrave corn has triple the fat and more than double the calories of typical ag corn, so deer get far more nutrition per pound eaten. 28:04

Question: Kevin Holm asks whether to start habitat work with bedding pockets and cover or with food plots first after an 80% timber reset. 36:59 — asked by Kevin Holm

• Answer: Don says to create paths through the cut-over area so deer exit right past the hunter’s stand, letting the landowner dictate deer movement. 38:08

Question: Wayne Gays asks how to prep fields for beans after corn stubble and whether volunteer corn will be a problem. 39:39 — asked by Wayne Gays

• Answer: Don says to let things green up in spring and spray, which is a good way to kill volunteer corn before planting beans. 40:28

Question: Elmer Herzler asks why someone dumping corn and mashed potatoes near his posted signs might be doing it and what to do about it. 53:39 — asked by Elmer Herzler

• Answer: Terry jokes he used to like mixing corn and mashed potatoes too. 53:51

Question: Wayne Fry asks whether the turning point buck will be Don’s target for next year or if another buck is on the list. 54:49 — asked by Wayne Fry

• Answer: Don says there’s a good chance that buck will be the one he targets. 54:57

Question: An audience member asks what food source works best in a shallow grassy wash that holds more water than a normal field. 33:37

• Answer: Don recalls supplying clover seed to mix with grass seed in a farm waterway, and the deer fed there once clover came up. 34:21

Question: The same audience member asks if a shallower north-facing bank with less water and sunshine would still work as well. 34:27

• Answer: Don says it depends on the site, noting land managers get overly fixated on south-facing slopes. 34:46

Sponsors this episode

• FAE
• Real World Wildlife Products
• Hawke Optics

Don covered woodsmanship and scent control, saying it all comes down to playing the wind — a lesson that, once a mentor taught him, tripled the bucks he saw from his stand the next season. He now skips scent-control products entirely, keeping hunting clothes unwashed. He discussed culling strategy, aiming to remove about 75% of three-year-old bucks per age class, and warned land managers not to fixate only on south-facing slopes since deer also bed on north-facing cover to stay cool. Listeners asked about food plots, with Don recommending rotating Deadly Dozen’s bulb plants yearly and approving a clover-rotation plan. He weighed in on drones, calling them valuable for recovering deer in the right hands but destructive to a mature buck herd in the wrong ones, and named NutriCrave corn as far more calorie-dense than typical ag corn. He also said there was a good chance the buck called Turning Point would be his target next season.

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