Chasing Giants Ep. 291 | Don’s Public Land Quest & the “Turning Point” Buck Story

Published: 2025-09-21
Episode page
Duration: 76 min

In this episode

bow-review

• Don says this new bow is the hardest-shooting bow he’s ever shot, burying arrows deep into the target. 4:41

charlie-kirk

• Don relays that numerous commenters under Charlie Kirk tribute videos, including a self-described atheist, said they went to church for the first time in years. 19:06
• Don calls Bobby Worthington’s Charlie Kirk tribute song the best he’s heard and urges him to get it to Turning Point USA to be made into a video. 18:38

chick-fil-a

• Don claims Chick-fil-A makes more money in six days than any other fast food restaurant around them makes in seven. 25:21

church

• Don says he and his family attended church in Indiana with their daughters instead of their home church on Sunday. 0:14

church-attendance

• Terry says he and Don both commit to attending church even while traveling during hunting season. 55:36

consumer-power

• Terry argues that ABC canceling Jimmy Kimmel shows the conservative side controls outcomes now because they stand up and refuse to support companies. 23:55

faith

• Terry states that the Holy Spirit works as it will regardless of how skilled they are at what they do. 0:42
• Tyler Walter asks whether he and his wife can still be good Christians without attending church regularly given their travel schedule. 51:09

fruit-trees

• Don says a crabapple tree he grew from seed still grows barely an inch a year even after roughly ten years on his farm. 42:59
• Richard Smith asks whether burying whole pears to grow pear trees is viable, or if he should start seeds in pots or just buy started trees. 41:43

gear

• Don brought his full setup—trail cameras, cable locks, tree stands, and his new Mathews bow—prepared to hunt if the sign looks promising. 3:32

illinois

• Terry also plans to travel into Southern Illinois to evaluate another property he might partner on for next year. 5:48
• Don got permission on an Illinois property where the landowner gave him a hidden key to a machine shed to hide his truck. 32:17

iowa

• Terry notes both he and Don are one year from drawing another Iowa tag and could both end up hunting Iowa in 2026. 7:04

kentucky

• Terry plans to travel to Western Kentucky to scout a property he could lease for three years and possibly hunt there. 5:05

land-management

• Terry states there’s a cost to every intrusion on a property, like a snowmobile trail, and it will hurt the deer hunting. 59:49

live-events

• Terry notes that many live-event attendees at the men’s retreat were not deer hunters, yet still wanted to hear the podcast. 0:00

mathews

• Terry reveals Don has early access to next year’s Mathews bow, which won’t officially release to the public until November. 4:16

mature-bucks

• Terry says mature bucks are getting harder and harder to come by. 6:29

mens-retreat

• Don reflects that their men’s retreat talk gave listeners plenty to think about, though he isn’t sure anyone was led to Christ. 0:31

minerals

• Don argues home-brew mineral mixes are inferior, asking why every cattle farmer wouldn’t use them if they were really the best approach. 46:53

ministry

• Don relays a line from Terry’s speech, echoed by their pastor’s sermon, that we can’t all be ministers, but we can all have a ministry. 19:44
• Don plans to prioritize speaking at church events and sharing his faith more while he still has years left in the public eye. 61:31

politics

• Don predicts Democrats will lose a lot of seats in the upcoming midterm elections. 21:34
• Don cites a statistic that the young male, college-age vote swung 44% toward conservatives between 2020 and 2024. 22:58
• Don states it is, in his opinion, impossible to be both a Democrat and a Christian. 22:15

privacy

• Don describes trying to avoid being recognized while buying his hunting license and eating out during his scouting trip. 30:00
• Terry decides not to put a Chasing Giants decal or wrap on his new hunting trailer to keep his hunting locations private. 31:35

property-consulting

• Devin Blindsworth from Maryland asks if Don could design a better plan for his 200-300 acre farm than consultant Tony LaPratt did for a neighbor. 35:54

public-land

• Don is out of state trying to locate a public land giant buck, though he doesn’t yet know if he’s found one. 1:20
• Terry notes Don has long had a stated goal of killing a public land giant and is now venturing outside his usual areas to pursue it. 3:00

scripture

• Don cites scripture that Christians should not forsake gathering together with other believers. 55:15

sermon

• Don listened to his pastor’s sermon, which referenced things Terry said in his men’s retreat speech about chasing giants. 0:19

small-properties

• Nolan Franken asks whether a small property under 20 acres should have good deer habitat nearby, or be more isolated, versus larger acreage. 48:04

snowmobiles

• Joshua Holm asks whether a snowmobile trail crossing his sanctuary and food plot does more harm than good for his deer hunting. 57:11

social-media

• Don says he had to delete and block about 20 people for negative comments after posting about the buck’s new name. 27:44

sponsorship-policy

• Terry announces Don can’t publish a picture of his new bow if he harvests a buck with it on his first set, until November. 4:04

target-buck

• Don’s son-in-law Clint told him he liked the buck’s original name but worried people might take naming it after Charlie Kirk the wrong way. 11:58
• Don recalls that back in 2017 he named a target buck ‘Trump’ as a fan of the president. 12:12

testimonies

• Don says the most rewarding part of the podcast is hearing from listeners who say they became Christians because of him and Terry. 61:52

tony-lapratt

• Don says Tony LaPratt has always been a gentleman despite differing consulting approaches, and he’s never heard him curse. 40:45

work-ethic

• Terry relays a quote from Mike Morgan of Outdoors with the Morgans that you’ll never be criticized by someone doing more than you. 26:55

Deer activity

• Trump (history) 12:12
• Turning Point (hunt) 12:48
• Mel (history) 13:03
• Joey Buck (hunt) 34:04
• unnamed buck (harvest) 38:44

Listener questions

Question: Devin Blindsworth from Maryland asks if Don could design a better plan for his 200-300 acre farm than consultant Tony LaPratt did for a neighbor. 35:54 — asked by Devin Blindsworth

• Answer: Don says he and Tony LaPratt take very different approaches, without bashing Tony’s methods. 36:14
• Answer: Don says his team’s consulting methods are proven and produce more mature bucks than other consultants’ clients. 37:14
• Answer: Don says the foundational key is getting target bucks bedding on the property, above all else. 38:17

Question: Richard Smith asks whether burying whole pears to grow pear trees is viable, or if he should start seeds in pots or just buy started trees. 41:43 — asked by Richard Smith

• Answer: Don says it’s far better to buy and cage one quality pear tree than to plant seeds or whole pears, based on his own negative seed-growing experience. 43:23

Question: Nolan Franken asks whether a small property under 20 acres should have good deer habitat nearby, or be more isolated, versus larger acreage. 48:04 — asked by Nolan Franken

• Answer: Don says larger properties can be more isolated and still hunt well, but smaller properties need nearby deer habitat. 48:50
• Answer: Don says a fully isolated 20-acre property, miles from other cover, won’t hold many deer. 48:57

Question: Tyler Walter asks whether he and his wife can still be good Christians without attending church regularly given their travel schedule. 51:09 — asked by Tyler Walter

• Answer: Don says you can be a Christian without church, but it’s much easier to stay strong in faith when gathering with other believers. 51:15
• Answer: Terry argues the Bible calls believers to be disciples, and he doesn’t see how to excel at that without regular training with other Christians. 53:04

Question: Joshua Holm asks whether a snowmobile trail crossing his sanctuary and food plot does more harm than good for his deer hunting. 57:11 — asked by Joshua Holm

• Answer: Don says he would not allow a snowmobile through his sanctuary or food plot any more than he’d allow dogs on his property. 57:31

Prayer Time

Scripture: James
Theme: seeking God’s wisdom instead of anger after Charlie Kirk’s death
Ty Miller opens by reading James 1:5 as a prayer for wisdom, then reflects on Charlie Kirk’s death, urging listeners to resist hatred and anger, put on the armor of God from Ephesians, and closes praying for wisdom, meekness, and courage to spread the gospel in Charlie Kirk’s memory. 64:16

Sponsors this episode

• ASIO Gear
• Novix

Don returned from an out-of-state scouting trip for a public land giant buck, bringing his full setup including cameras, cable locks, tree stands, and a new early-access Mathews bow, though Terry announced any harvest on the first set couldn’t be pictured before November. Terry discussed upcoming trips to scout a potential Western Kentucky lease and a Southern Illinois partnership property, and noted he and Don were both a year from another Iowa tag draw. Much of the episode centered on faith: Don described attending church while traveling, relayed his pastor’s sermon echoing Terry’s men’s retreat talk, and both affirmed committing to church even during hunting season. They discussed renaming a target buck amid reaction to Charlie Kirk’s death, praised a tribute song, and shared political commentary. Ty Miller led a prayer for wisdom over anger following Kirk’s death. Listener questions covered consulting philosophy, pear tree planting, small-property habitat needs, church attendance while traveling, and snowmobile trail impacts on a sanctuary.

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