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Victory Basin Wildlife Management Area
Location: northeast Vermont
Size: 4,970 acres
ZIP: 05824

“You could easily have Victory Basin to yourself,” Buck says of this remote bog on the Moose River. But bring a friend: one of the most successful tactics here is a small-scale deer drive to get bucks up and moving. Tracking also works well, especially during the rifle and muzzleloading seasons, when snow is almost a sure bet. Age is the primary factor in buck size: Thanks to light hunting pressure, bucks routinely reach 4 and 5 years old. Old haul roads crisscross the remarkably flat area, and scrubby red spruce and balsam firs provide most of the cover, with some hardwood slopes on the periphery.

Scott Bestul
Scott Bestul

Trained as a high school English teacher and coach, Scott Bestul left that lucrative field to pursue another—as a full-time freelance writer in 1990. He sold his first story to Field & Stream a few years later and has been contributing to the brand ever since.

Public Lands & Waters