A Buck's Core Area - How Much Sign Is There

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A Buck's Core Area - How Much Sign Is There

Unread postby Swampbuck » Sat Aug 17, 2013 12:01 am

So if a buck stays in a very small safe haven, how much sign will there be? I've read that there probably wont be much as far as rubs, but i assume there may possibly be multiple beds and it seems there would be droppings everywhere and the browse within the area seems it would be torn up. It seems this area would hold alot of that type of sign being he is spending so much time there but i may be way off on this...


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Re: A Buck's Core Area - How Much Sign Is There

Unread postby phade » Sat Aug 17, 2013 12:26 am

Good topic...

I think rub and scrape signage depends on a large amount of factors...his disposition, competition, etc. all come into play. Heck, his core range may expand slightly as fall arrives. Chances are if other similarly aged bucks or bucks he feels he needs to be dominant over have core range borders that are close to his or even overlap, you'll have some rubbing and/or scraping. If he's got a space truly to his own, I think signposting will be less.

I do think you'd see some "well worn" sign indicating constant activity in the form of droppings, beds, tracks.
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Re: A Buck's Core Area - How Much Sign Is There

Unread postby fishlips » Sat Aug 17, 2013 12:58 am

From what I have observed, there are spots that just scream bedding area when you walk in to them. They have a lot of rubs, a couple of good sized beds, scrapes. And then there are some where you find a rub here or there, but then you bust something out of it and figure out that it's a buck bedding area. It seems to really depend on the deer. The one that I mentioned about having a few rubs here and there was in a cedar swamp and I had set up on it during gun season, not knowing exactly where the bed was. After the season was over, I dug in and found the bed 50 yards from my stand. Nothing special to it, other than it's in the middle of a blowdown and on slightly higher ground, but that deer didn't leave a ton of sign around that he was in there.
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Re: A Buck's Core Area - How Much Sign Is There

Unread postby PK_ » Sat Aug 17, 2013 1:40 am

I have found that the buck sign decrease as the hunting pressure increases, usually. Not sure if it is as simple as the fact that heavy hunting pressure means more bucks get killed each year leaving less competition. Or if the heavy human presence keeps bucks dialed into more of a 'survival mode'. Or a combination of both.

On heavy hunted areas I generally find 1 or two small rubs right at the edge of the bed/bedding area and then sometimes a very impressive rub right in the bed or several good rubs and torn up bushes within the security of the bedding area. I can sometimes piece together a 'broken' rub line leading to/from the bed/bedding area.

On areas with less pressure it is the same sign, just seems to be more of it.

One thing I like to find is a combination of new and old rubs together.
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Re: A Buck's Core Area - How Much Sign Is There

Unread postby headgear » Sat Aug 17, 2013 1:48 am

I also think a lot depends on the personality of the deer and also the age, those younger bucks will generally leave more sign and are easier to track down. I've yet to master the buck bedding areas that don't have a lot of sign but I do have a few spots I suspect are good bedding areas but the sign wasn't there. I will find out this fall when I hunt them.
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Re: A Buck's Core Area - How Much Sign Is There

Unread postby Swampbuck » Sat Aug 17, 2013 12:47 pm

So if you take the rubs and scrapes out the equation, is there plenty deer poop? and is the browse mowed down?
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Re: A Buck's Core Area - How Much Sign Is There

Unread postby Zap » Sat Aug 17, 2013 1:03 pm

Maybe.

Maybe not.
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Re: A Buck's Core Area - How Much Sign Is There

Unread postby MOBIGBUCKS » Sat Aug 17, 2013 3:28 pm

I have lots of buck beds that have hardly any sign but a worn bed. To figure out the caliber of this buck I have to backtrack several directions until I find a good track. In addition, I'll usually find maybe one tree within 50-75 yards of the bed that is rubbed; Possibly where the buck stages for a few minutes.

I have others that are torn up with rubs but lots of those are 3 1/2 year olds with 3 finger tracks. It just kinda depends on the area.
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Re: A Buck's Core Area - How Much Sign Is There

Unread postby BigHunt » Sun Aug 18, 2013 2:28 am

The older the buck the less sign they leave...
Usually the 2 and 3 year old leave the most sign

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Re: A Buck's Core Area - How Much Sign Is There

Unread postby Milk Weed Seed » Mon Aug 19, 2013 1:21 am

I agree with BH, the younger bucks leave the most sign in their beds. kinda like a teenager with raging hormones. As they get older they seem to settle down, perhaps they're more focused on survival and focus in on what's near or apoaching their bed?

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Re: A Buck's Core Area - How Much Sign Is There

Unread postby cbigbear » Mon Aug 19, 2013 2:06 am

Most of the post have been about rubs, but I think SB was asking about droppings & browse sign. If a deer spends a significant amount of time in his core area it seems the area would be covered in droppings & pretty browsed down. What are ya'll experience as far as browse & droppings go in a bucks core?

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Re: A Buck's Core Area - How Much Sign Is There

Unread postby whitetail007 » Mon Aug 19, 2013 3:08 am

the closer to the cener of his core area the less sign I see. they start leaving rubs and scrapes as the venture out away from home base at night.
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Re: A Buck's Core Area - How Much Sign Is There

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Mon Aug 19, 2013 3:58 am

A lot of things influence how much sign a buck will leave in its “core” area… herd dynamics have a lot to do with it. The deer population / buck to doe ratio / competition from other mature bucks (if it exists) / age of the buck / hunting pressure / distance from the buck’s bedding areas / proximity of doe bedding areas / a feeding area with doe activity… on and on.

In areas with extraordinary amounts of hunting pressure like I have here, mature bucks are very rare and have little competition from other mature bucks. When bucks here pass their third birthday they seemingly leave less and less sign, but it is still there to be viewed for those dedicated enough to look for it when scouting. Big bucks tend to leave big droppings with average pellet lengths in excess of ¾” in length, yet how many hunters look for them? I have been tipped off to many good buck beds by finding them.

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The older bucks don’t scrape like crazy around here, like when they were a two year old. But they “often” leave oversized tracks 24/7/365 EVERYWHERE THEY GO. Are hunters paying them any attention when looking for good bucks? When they do find a small scrape, does a four finger wide track in it mean anything to them? I look for tracks that exceed two and a half inches in width (a walking, not running track). This is about 3 and a half fingers in width on my hand.

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When a buck no longer rubs like crazy as he did when he was a two year old, are you able to find the very few, tall rubs he does make? Are hunters aware that in the absence of numerous visible rubs and scrapes that the older bucks continue to make “subtle” sign that you REALLY HAVE TO LOOK FOR? These are the “scratchings” of a mature buck near his bed. They do this a lot, have you ever found any?

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In the absence of a lot of sign, and in areas where getting a visual on a good buck is incredibly difficult, tracks are where its at. No matter where the buck is bedding or feeding, no matter what the stage of the rut or moon phase or whatever… that buck is putting down tracks. Track size is like any other buck sign- not 100 percent reliable, but overall it is very important to pay attention to.

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Re: A Buck's Core Area - How Much Sign Is There

Unread postby dan » Mon Aug 19, 2013 10:27 pm

In my opinion, the biggest factor to the amount of sign found in a bucks bedding area has to do with the age of the bucks using the area... There are often multiple bucks using on area. Its the mid aged bucks that are 2 or 3 years old that seem to lay the most sign, and in heavy pressure areas bucks seem to lay a lot less sign.

My highest scoring buck bed in the same spot very often and I know this cause I glassed him there, watched him from hunting stands come and go, and picked up his shed right in the bed over a period of two years... There was not a rub within 100 yards of his bed and one easy to miss scrape.


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