Bassinger pointed out that the Big Survey WMA is an excellent public land that may afford a dedicated hunter a quality buck. The remote 7,300-acre property in Wythe County offers bucks a place to grow and survive to an age where their headgear would be well worth a hike up into the mountains.

Bassinger has personal experience hunting the WMA and was one of the VDGIF staff members that worked on the property as it was surveyed and purchased.

"Some people may not want to walk or hike into the interior of the WMA, but this is where the dedicated hunter can find his or her buck," he said. "There are few access roads, so one does have to be willing to do some legwork. It has been my experience that the deer tend to bed high and feed low. Therefore, during hunting season, they generally travel up the mountain in the morning from their feeding areas and then return down the mountain at night. Hunters should keep this in mind as they set up a stand over travel corridors."

According to Bassinger, the terrain is thicker up high and it can be tough to hike in. However, the payoff should be worth the effort if one sticks with it. Bassinger noted that the boundary of Big Survey is approximately 27 miles long, and there are 277 privately held properties on the boundary of the WMA.

Hunters who have access to hunt the private lands bordering the WMA will find that the hunting is good there as well. The lesson here is: Don't be lazy. If you really want to harvest a quality buck, do knock on some doors before the season to ask about permission to hunt the private lands around the WMA.

The mast crop last season in this region did vary, but overall, it was not bad. Areas where the mast was good should see nice bucks this season. However, biologists are concerned about the upcoming mast crop, as some late spring freezes may have reduced the trees' ability to produce mast this fall. Whether or not a given piece of hunting ground has trees that produce this will be, in many cases, dependent on the altitude of that piece of land. Hunters should keep this in mind and scout their hunting spots before setting up a stand this fall. The bucks will definitely key in on the does, which will be looking for acorns to feed on.

NORTHERN MOUNTAIN
Although there were only two counties -- Clarke and Frederick -- from the region that made the top 20 list of counties with the highest number of bucks harvested per square mile, hunters in this region still killed 16,964 antlered bucks last year.

The region can be tough to hunt because of the ruggedness of the terrain, and much of the public land is not the best habitat to support large numbers of whitetail deer. However, as with any public land, hunters can find quality deer hunting if they are willing to hike well into the interior of the national forest. It is critical for bucks to have time to grow in order to have a good rack on them, and in the remote parts of the national forest, bucks get that time.

There are also sizeable private lands practicing some form of quality deer management. Hunters who gain access to these private lands are going to have the best chance to harvest a quality buck. Shenandoah has a quality buck rule in place. Hunters may take two bucks from the county, but one of the bucks must have at least 4 points on one side.

Nelson LaFon, Deer Project Coordinator, also noted that hunters might target small suburban wood lots with a bow or crossbow. Such areas don't see too much hunting pressure and bucks are able to grow to ripe old ages in some areas. This is an excellent idea that is often overlooked by hunters in all parts of the state.

Last year, the mast crop was very good in most parts of the Northern Mountain Region. Hunters should scout ahead of time this year, as some late spring freezes have threatened the upcoming mast crop. N

NORTHERN PIEDMONT
The Northern Piedmont contributed 19,167 antlered bucks to the harvest figures. Most of those came from Loudoun, Rappahannock (4.17) and Fauquier counties.