Late Season Starts NOW — Cold Fronts, Bucks on Food, and Thanksgiving Reflections | Episode #301

Published: 2025-11-30
Episode page
Duration: 75 min

In this episode

big-timber

• Listener Brandon asked whether big-timber hunters are always at a disadvantage compared to ag-country hunters, and whether to change his food plot strategy. 46:38

buck-activity

• Don observed that shooting fewer does this year led to more scrapes, more rubs, and more bucks moving on his cameras in daylight. 16:58

buck-dispersal

• Don theorized that new bucks appearing on his farm in late season are ones that lived there as button bucks with their mothers before dispersing. 26:03

buck-physiology

• Terry asked whether a mature buck tries to recover lost weight after the rut or stays aggressive if a late-season doe comes into heat. 19:08

buck-range

• Terry asked whether a mature buck’s home range shrinks during late season as his metabolism slows down. 21:36

buck-research

• Listener Brian Byers asked what topics about mature buck behavior still need more scientific research. 37:45

business-growth

• Terry noted that between Chasing Giants and their other businesses, he and Don collectively employ close to 40 people. 1:50

chasing-assurance

• Don said the Chasing Assurance podcast, which Terry does with his dad, reflects their effort to use their platform for more than just deer hunting. 5:51
• Terry announced Chasing Assurance session two had just released and was likely expanding to four total sessions covering divorce, remarriage, and salvation questions. 57:33

deer-hunters

• Don described Lee Mitchell as one of the best deer hunters he knows, who has taken giants including a 200-inch buck. 8:05

deer-management

• Listener Randall Barr asked what recommendations Don would make for managing for mature bucks, including possible crossbow season date limits. 42:09

deer-nutrition

• Terry asked what nutrients the deer herd needs in late season — fat, protein, starches, or carbs — beyond just shelled or ear corn. 27:07

doe-harvest

• Don shot eight does and four bucks last year on his roughly 100-acre farm, more does than he’d ever taken there before. 14:32
• Don advised hunters to fine-tune their own doe harvest decisions rather than rely solely on state DNR regulations, since local herd situations vary. 16:27

doe-population

• A neighbor to Don’s east reported seeing no does this year, suggesting doe numbers were down across his neighborhood. 16:10

doe-sightings

• Guest hunter Wes Delks told Don he’d only seen three antlerless deer across six hunts over four days on Don’s farm this season. 15:09

episode-announcement

• Terry announced the show would return next week with episode 302, continuing the late-season discussion into December. 58:10

family-health

• Terry’s then-two-year-old daughter suddenly couldn’t walk and was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) by a rheumatologist. 63:44
• Instead of the recommended chemo pill, Terry’s family prayed and sought care at Covenant Health, a holistic medicine clinic in Florence, Kentucky. 67:14
• Two and a half years later, Terry’s daughter’s arthritis is completely gone and she is fully healed. 67:51

habitat-improvement

• Terry argued the real value of habitat improvement is teaching this year’s fawns where the safest, best food is so they return years later. 24:25

herd-management

• Terry asked what happens if hunters cull too many does — does it reduce the attraction factor that draws bucks during the rut? 17:39

hunting-schedule

• Terry planned to take a couple weeks off from hunting for his annual rut trip with his wife before returning later in late season. 6:30

king-david-hunt

• Terry felt anxious about releasing the King David Hunt because being vulnerable and telling the true story risks backlash from the hunting industry. 1:24
• The King David Hunt was finally released on the Chasing Giants YouTube channel on Thanksgiving Day, after being delayed roughly a year. 4:30
• Don recommended viewers watch the King David Hunt with family and leave feedback in the YouTube comments, noting the hosts read every comment. 5:09

late-season

• Don noted this year’s abrupt shift from the rut straight into brutally cold late-season weather was unlike any transition he’d seen before. 10:53
• Don recalled that about fifteen years ago he killed five individually targeted bucks in a row, all after Christmas during the late season. 11:41
• Don recommended hunting after severe cold fronts, especially ones with snow, since bucks then get up and move before dark or daylight. 12:00
• Terry asked Don to describe the most brutal cold, windy late-season hunting conditions he’s ever experienced. 31:38

nutricrave

• Don said a deer eating NutriCrave corn instead of standard ag corn gets more than double the calories from the same half-pound serving. 28:45
• An anonymous Pennsylvania listener asked whether NutriCrave corn’s high oil content is safe as cattle feed, and how its yield compares to standard ag corn. 50:08

prayer-chain

• Terry learned people as far away as a church in Albuquerque, New Mexico were praying for his daughter during her illness. 70:06

public-land

• Don said mature bucks are now scarce on Illinois public land, with overall deer numbers way down there as well. 44:30

scripture

• Terry cited James chapter one, which teaches that the testing of faith through trials produces patience. 68:57

shipshewana-show

• Terry recommended Shipshewana Show attendees book hotel reservations early since rooms at the limited nearby hotels fill up for the multi-day event. 7:17
• Terry reported that the speaker recovering from open-heart surgery was doing very well and expected to be back in shape for the February Shipshewana Show. 8:53

soil-health

• Don said nutrient-rich soil produces nutrient-rich plants, which in turn produce nutrient-rich food for deer, whether grain or greens. 29:32

thanksgiving

• Terry and his wife hosted Thanksgiving for their family for the first time this year. 59:34

Deer activity

• unnamed buck (harvest) 8:08
• Turning Point (management) 12:54
• unnamed buck (hunt) 35:54
• Turning Point (management) 39:18
• unnamed buck (history) 41:34

Listener questions

Question: Terry asked what happens if hunters cull too many does — does it reduce the attraction factor that draws bucks during the rut? 17:39

• Answer: Don said fewer does makes bucks more active but also pushes them to wander off the property searching for does elsewhere. 18:11

Question: Terry asked whether a mature buck tries to recover lost weight after the rut or stays aggressive if a late-season doe comes into heat. 19:08

• Answer: Don said bucks do not gain weight after the rut through winter; they enter survival mode until spring, as he saw with his captive deer. 19:40

Question: Terry asked whether a mature buck’s home range shrinks during late season as his metabolism slows down. 21:36

• Answer: Don said a buck’s range typically shrinks in late season, centered around nearby food quality and cover. 21:40
• Answer: Don added that a buck with security and food close by will stay put and not range far. 22:21

Question: Terry asked what nutrients the deer herd needs in late season — fat, protein, starches, or carbs — beyond just shelled or ear corn. 27:07

• Answer: Don said cold weather makes deer crave a food source high in fat. 27:57
• Answer: Don said soybeans beat corn for fat content every time in cold weather. 28:24

Question: Terry asked Don to describe the most brutal cold, windy late-season hunting conditions he’s ever experienced. 31:38

• Answer: Don recounted a blizzard hunt where he rattled in an eight-pointer and a ten-pointer but missed both shots because of thick brush. 35:54

Question: Listener Brian Byers asked what topics about mature buck behavior still need more scientific research. 37:45 — asked by Brian Byers

• Answer: Don said he’s still most puzzled by individual bucks’ home range and movement patterns, since bucks behave very differently from one another. 38:00

Question: Listener Randall Barr asked what recommendations Don would make for managing for mature bucks, including possible crossbow season date limits. 42:09 — asked by Randall Barr

• Answer: Don said the key is reducing pressure on younger bucks so more of them survive to older age classes. 42:28

Question: Listener Brandon asked whether big-timber hunters are always at a disadvantage compared to ag-country hunters, and whether to change his food plot strategy. 46:38 — asked by Brandon

• Answer: Don agreed big-timber hunters are at a disadvantage compared to hunters in farm country. 46:56
• Answer: Don recommended creating thick bedding cover so deer bed directly on the property, since killing big deer consistently means hunting where they bed. 47:54

Question: An anonymous Pennsylvania listener asked whether NutriCrave corn’s high oil content is safe as cattle feed, and how its yield compares to standard ag corn. 50:08

• Answer: Don said the claim that cattle can’t be fed more than 6-7% fat is false, based on his own feeding experience. 52:05
• Answer: Don said two ag farmers he knows both got yields over 300 bushels an acre growing NutriCrave corn. 54:11

The episode centered on late-season deer behavior and doe management, with Don explaining that shrinking buck home ranges track nearby food quality and cover, that bucks enter survival mode rather than regaining weight after the rut, and that cold weather pushes deer toward fat-rich food like soybeans. Don shared that shooting fewer does on his roughly 100-acre farm led to more scrapes, rubs, and daylight buck movement, while a guest hunter and a neighbor both reported very low doe sightings; Don advised hunters to fine-tune doe harvest locally rather than follow DNR numbers alone. Listener questions covered mature-buck research gaps, managing for older age classes, big-timber disadvantages, and NutriCrave corn’s fat content and yield. Don recounted a blizzard hunt where he rattled in and missed two bucks. Terry also described a lengthy prayer journey around his daughter’s juvenile arthritis diagnosis and eventual healing, and announced the delayed King David Hunt film’s Thanksgiving release.

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