Biggest buck you have killed in areas with no big rubs.

[Tennhunter3]

What's the bucks you have taken while hunting spots with no rubs or small rubs.

I find it amazing some big bucks travel in areas and leave little or no sign behind.

I'm mainly focusing on bedding areas this year with rubs bigger then my Arm but I'm sure several of my spots I'm throwing out might be decent.

It's so hard cutting down 80 spots to 40 for the season.Scouting 2 days a week all year I bet I've covered 30000 acres.

[WV Bowhunter]

Not a rub around bigger than my wrist that I found in the area the year I shot this one. I did shoot him earlier in October so he may well have laid down some good rubs later in the fall if he would have lived.

[Boogieman1]

I caught afew cruising during the rut on ridges and funnels with no deer sign at all. These spots don't hold beds or anything however it is the only way to get from pointA to pointB. I'm always looking for new spots and why bedding is preferred, I won't turn down a piece of private cause it doesn't have any. Human absence will draw bucks like a magnet. Leaving a trail cam set all year and never entering the area, makes it easy to form a plan for the next season or realize this spot is a dud

[tgreeno]

If there isn't alot of buck competition then some mature bucks will not leave rubs. I remember Dan saying, some of his good bedding areas have no rubs in at all. Sometimes big tracks are your only clue that the big guy was there. And also really big beds.

If you have way too many spots to sit, I would take your best guess on your best spots. But I would try to check-in on some of those spots your not hunting during the season to see if the sign picks up. Maybe they'll look better than you think once the season start?

[Lockdown]

Just measured. His closest rub was exactly 501 yards from where I killed him. Mainly due to lack of rubbable trees near the bedding. He was bedded in dry cattails in wide open marsh/farm country.

[dan]

The question is kind of misleading... By that what I mean is that big bucks leave big rubs. I will certainly skip over a public property that has no big buck rubs. However, some of my biggest bucks have come from spots with no rubs or very few. I believe this is directly related to the number of bucks bedding there, and the level of competition for that bed.

Im sure many of you have heard the story of the large non-typical I watched bed in the same spot for 2 seasons, picked up his shed there, and then eventually crawled up to and shot in his bed. There was not a rub within 100 yards of that bed, yet I also once seen a 160ish 10 point b ed in that exact same bed, and once snuck up on a small buck I passed in that same bed. I think the trick was that the bed was in a low density area, the 160ish buck was a different time frame before the non-typical, and the scrub buck was well after the n/t was dead.

Here is a link to the story of the buck mentioned: viewtopic.php?f=159&t=1349&p=12306#p12306

[Tennhunter3]

If there isn't alot of buck competition then some mature bucks will not leave rubs. I remember Dan saying, some of his good bedding areas have no rubs in at all. Sometimes big tracks are your only clue that the big guy was there. And also really big beds.

If you have way too many spots to sit, I would take your best guess on your best spots. But I would try to check-in on some of those spots your not hunting during the season to see if the sign picks up. Maybe they'll look better than you think once the season start?

True they might be good during season.
I have been basing my sits on last years rubs and old large rubs near bedding. Because I feel like I have so many spots I have to eliminate some.

I hate to spend a lot of time in areas I'm not sure holds a mature buck when I have areas I know that do avalible.

[brancher147]

I have found there are a lot of variables...Deer/Buck density in the area, topography/very steep slopes, amount of proper trees to rub, hunting pressure, weather, food availability, the fact that every buck is different, the list goes on. I have had killed mature bucks right next to their rubs, and killed some in areas with no rubs. The area I hunted the most last year and saw the most bucks (and almost killed the big one) had no rubs or scrapes, just depends...

[hunter10]

Hunt a farm that has small rubs . Don't recall ever seeing massive ones but the trail cams always have a few big deer on it. Shot my bow buck this year and hadnt seen any good rubs until he was 10 ft from my tree and destroyed a tree before i shot him