Bike man

My ears were burning. I see my friend Grizzl has been talking about me. I am not sure who the Quanticokid is. I am not sure if I deserve my reputation. I know that I am very good, but there are about 20 other hunters on Quantico who are also very good. I have not shot a Quantico buck in about 7 years. In the last 10 years I have passed up about 6 bucks that would score about 120 inches. I do not need any more 120” racks cluttering up the basement. I don’t need to kill. When you shoot one the hunt is over. I would rather be hunting than be butchering. Really I want the bucks to grow up. I want 130” or better, but I will settle on a 125” I guess I am bragging a little but my last two years have been good. Like some of my most successful years. Like I saw 4 shooter this year in a gun area and the 10 point 130 inch was at 20 yards. I guess I can not call one of them a shooter because ½ of his rack was broke off. He would have been a nice 10 point and I had him at 5 yards. I saw over 50 bucks this past year and on one day I saw seven different eight pointers. Two years ago I saw 53 bucks. And most of these bucks were less than 20 yards away. I do not need to kill to have a successful hunt.

About Steve: he is a fast learner and he has been coached by Earl and a little bit by me. But I take no credit. Steve has his stuff together.

QuanticoKidd

Hey,

I'm Matt i'm a younger hunter on quantico been hunting there for about 10 years I'm 23 I have been the one chit chatting with Grizzl on just how to see or hunt those big quantico bucks I just this passed year go up enuff patients to pass smaller bucks I want to kill atleast 125" + and I'm determined to hunt harder and smarter to get the job done I got alot a useful knowledge from Grizzl he is a nice guy I hunt on Quantico alot during Late Oct and all or November.

The only time I usually see good bucks on Quantico is during first week on Nov and opening day of Gun Season I would like to learn how to get on a big pressured buck during the early season like first few weeks on Oct or Late Season such as Dec I have hunted there 10 years and I usually see alot of deer but I can't seem to get on the big deer early or late in the season once they are pressured I figured they climbed in a whole and just waited it out until season end.

I hear alot about you from not only Grizzl but also a CVP named Greg drives a red toyota pickup I have got to know him a bit and he is also a veteran quantico hunter i do not no Steve only have seen him on the Trophy Wall with really big bucks for the base standards.

I just was curious I don't need your secret spots or anything like that becuase I like the challenge but how to you approach the woods during the Non Rut Hunting days to get on Mature Bucks in the pressured high hunted gun areas or bow areas any tips would be great as I have hunted here 10 years but still feel like I need tips from the veteran hunters on Quantico.

Grizzl

HA! Glad to see you on the site! Send him the link to your article in Virginia Fish and Game..that would help

Bike man

I am not sure how best to answer your question. The big bucks need refuge. This can be non-hunting zones, clear-cut’s, thickets, holly, mountain laurel, Swamp land, areas closed a lot, deep woods or any where hunters do not go. These need to be large areas where the bucks can survive during the time of the year that they are nocturnal. Where no one kicks them out of their beds. You can get burnt hunting rubs and scrapes. For rubs you want quaintly. A big rub (10 inch in diameter) tells you that a big buck is in the area, but it does not tell you where he is hanging out. A trophy buck will rub trees smaller than a pencil so a small rub tells you nothing about the size of the buck. I watched a trophy rub this tiny pencil thin bush for 5 minutes. His head turned sideways would go all the way to the ground. The total numbers of rub make a statement of hang time. I count rubs ( not literally) and even count tiny scratches that are less than ¼ of a inch long. If you see 50 of these rubs then you may have a buck hangout where many bucks come through. I like seeing what I call aggression rubs where a tree is all twisted around. Some rubs are made at night in open areas. You want to hunt where you would hunt even if you did not see rubs. Scrapes can also be it the open where bucks only go at night. The best scrapes will have many scrapes and many rubs and good food and dropping and several good crossing trails. More often it is just a few scrapes in the open. You need to evaluate the whole picture and just not a few scrapes or rubs. As a general rule the bucks can not travel without leaving a least a tiny rub every 50 yards or so. But this rule is not completely valid as bucks do not rub or scrape in some of the places that they go. Scent control is very important. I may play this up too much, but I have a 3 visit rule. Some times I make 5 visits. This includes scouting. Like when I gun hunted the first visit I would see 10 deer. The second trip I would see 3 deer and the 3rd visit I might see a deer if I were lucky. This happens even if the deer never saw you or smelled you. The deer come through at knight and smell where you have been in the day time so they go some where else to hang out. Do your scouting just before rain if you can and do not scout on Saturdays when the woods are full of hunters. Food (white oaks) is the best to hunt, but I prefer trails/ travel routes where the deer come in quick and leave quick. This leaves less time for you to get busted. I plot out where I think the bucks are and then locate the does there. I then back off of the does and then keep tabs on what other hunters are seeing. When the 6 and 8 pointer start showing up then I set up on the does. In the first 3 days of when the bucks start cruising the woods they are likely to be with does near their home territory. After that they could be any where. Before the rut, hunt the buck sign and locate does near by and as the action picks up hunt over the does. I remember some years where I saw over 40 bucks and many were 8 pointers , but not a single trophy. I was in the wrong hunting area. All of the areas have big bucks, but if you are not near where the big boys hang out then you are out of luck.

I just started a face book group (Barry's bow hunting forum). You are welcome to join. I am not sure where it will go. So far it is only pictures. it is attached to my facebook page (Barry Henningsen)

Barry

QuanticoKidd

I will defiantly check on that and join. I found a spot last year where I sat for 5 times and saw 6+ deer everytime I sat at first I thought I was just lucky but I'm starting to think the deer are in this areas for a certain reason its funny becuase its a place where most hunters walk right past and its only about 100 yards wide and 300 yards long but it seems to hold alot of deer I saw 4 bucks and tons of does and every deer I saw crossed a trail into this training area and followed at very old road/path.

I put my cameras out on Quantico during the early season and Nov I have got some nice buck pictures but all of them are at night I'm well aware Quantico has some very big bucks I will be honest I feel I'm a good young hunter and have seen alot of good deer for the little time I have hunted but I see guys on Quantico that "almost" kill big bucks every year or atleast see mature deer regularly I'm just wondering what seperates them from just see maybe a doe to seeing 2+ mature bucks every hunting season I maybe see a big buck on Quantico about every 2-3 years and I would like to see them more often I use scent control as far as the buck sign goes I get a little confused becuase there are rubs everywhere sometimes and not really sure what to make of that becuase I'm well aware that i can't hunt every where at all times

I hunt mostly gun areas 7A, 14's, 13,10A, 7A/9D spit use to be my favorite but they closed the gate and you cannot drive back there anymore so I find it hard to hunt becuase I have to go so far back in there TA13 I love to hunt becuase alot of guys don't want to mess with that area but there are truly some huge bucks in there and yes you are right every area has big bucks but I want to become a hunter that gets on big deer every year and not have to eat a "Tag Sandwhich" plus I like my picture on trophy wall

QuanticoKidd

I forgot to say Grizzl has told me you are after a nice buck and you saw him a few times last season I defiantly hope to see you get him this year

Grizzl

I know cameras all all the rage..but I don't use them. I read the sign..droppings / hoof prints/ tree rubs..etc tell the story. Going in to setup a camera counts as a "visit" per Barry's note. Visit too often and put it next to the hang area..you change its pattern.

Like Barry...you minimize the # of visits..visit your prime spot only when activity in the "area" picks up. By Prime spot I mean the hot sign..its hard to time it exactly but get there too early and your scent leave will trash the area...UNLESS like Barry said, I use the rain to visit a site and check it out and the rain washes away by scent..so RAIN is used to explore your BEST spots.

I know people disagree..but get rid of the cameras..I don't think its worth it...

I pass on most shooters so seeing em on a camera disk is useless..you'll see it if you are out there on the 1st visit..then you lay a plan to get him at a second tree..

I will never forget telling Barry about a mahogany horned buck I saw off my tree...he was able to back track the trail from there and take him 300 yards UP TRAIL a couple days later...I was sitting down trail waiting for him to arrive

Anyway..you can move and still see the same animal by back tracking..depending on daylight at time of sighting..don't hunt the same tree often

And YES..I am careful about BIG DEER I see and what I tell Barry now...

But really, We've been hunting together for 45 years and I depend on him for scouting reports so I tell him what I see as payback for G2.

LASTLY, don't talk at the check station about seeing BIG DEER. People pickup on the talk and know the area good enough to follow-up. Watch what you say to who..(except us of course

Lebensj

Anyone willing to give a new bow hunter a couple of locations to start things off? I'm going to try the bow this year on Quantico and I've been wondering where would be a good area to scout around.

Bike man

Grizzl. I did not back track on your buck and or use your info to take your deer. I would never move in on you. I just had a good spot. You could say that I brought you into my hunting area because I did. I took you into my hunting area and told you to go up the creek about 300 yards or more. You did you home work and got on a buck. I had no idea your buck would pass by me.

About trail cameras: I don’t use them for many reason, like the expense and too many visits. But it does seem like they could be a good thing like you would not have to waist your time hunting a bad spot. The camera could do the hunting for you. I just don’t feel that I need them, but I have become a little more indecisive about cameras. When I get 5 hours of sleep every day and hunt every day for two months all day long, then I do not want to loose time running around checking out cameras.

I often stay in my tree all day long during the rut. I miss scouting mid day. The best scouting is in during the best part of the season. It’s hard to hunt and scout at the same time. Time in the tree is most important.

In the gun areas, if you are seeing a good buck every two years then you are doing good. They seldom let you see them more than once. I am not sure if I can tell you how to set up for deer. It is an art. I will tell you that most of the time, if I see a buck then he is going to come with in 15 yards of me. Not all of the time, but most of the time. It has to do with choosing the right trail and setting up for the distance that you want and using funnels so that the buck will be close when you see him.

You mentioned that you have a spot where you see lots of deer near where hunters walk. When I gun hunted I had a very good spot 250 yards from where about 8 cars would park. The hunters followed a dirt road deep into the woods and the deer were close to the cars where they were not disturbed by the hunters. The deer are where the hunters are not. Only problem is that there never was any nice buck there. You need to be far form where other hunters are. The bucks can only get big if they live where they are not exposed to hunters. That’s where the refuge comes in. Deep woods, no hunt zones or very large nasty thick woods. To get off on a slant. The south end of 14B has a well maintained grass field about 600 yards long. Excellent food. Right next to 9A the largest no hunt zone on the base. I hunted there with bow during the gun (doe season) to check out what was happening there. Hunters and shooting all around me. I call it a killing field. Every deer near by comes in and get shot off. There is no way that a buck can survive to get 5 years with in ½ mile of that field. I never returned. I am still learning. I have been hunting the base for 47 years. I have seen some big bucks near the road or parking areas, but that is not the norm. You feel the buck sign and feel where the hunters are and where the hunters are not. These bucks are going to travel a good distance and they need to be able to do so with out exposing them self’s to hunters. They need cover. I do not like to set up where I can see over 40 yards. The thicker the better. You mentioned gated roads. That’s where my bike comes in. I bike all the way back. You should understand that VIP hunting goes on in areas that are closed and behind gates. And the game wardens have hunted in 9A before. It may be very rare, but VIP’s have gone into 9A. I heard that 9D is going to be permanently closed. I hope not. I have some good trees deep in there.

QuanticoKidd

I understand totally I hunt a spot in 14A I like to hunt that area becuase it is open regularly and if you can hike deep and hunt where most hunters won't walk and I like that aspect. I use to hunt 7A/9D split all the time I killed my biggest buck in 7A on the creek but it looks like 7A and 9D are going to stay closed which stinks becuase there are some big bucks back there.

I just started hunting 13 about 2 years ago and I never use to see deer in that area but I was determined to get on deer as you no 13 is really thick and guys hunt it but not alot so I'm going to try it again this year I will get out and scout this year more and use my trail camera less being on foot is better I rather be in a tree about to shoot the big buck rather then looking at a picture of him. I like 11A and 12A but those are not open alot and 11A is a Monster area I find it hard to hunt those areas becuase there only open a few days.

I hunt Mainside PA's during the first week of Nov during the rut and it is normally I see alot of big bucks running around the gun areas just receive alot of hunting and people pressure I would like to try 6C this year where do you recommend as I told Grizzl most guys hunt the Cemetarty split and or Breckenridge Rd ?

Are you on a good deer do you think you might get him this year? I hope to see your picture on the wall