Rub height and diameter question

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cdeam
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Rub height and diameter question

Unread postby cdeam » Sat Oct 07, 2017 1:13 am

Big deer rub little trees and sometimes small deer rub bigger trees. But it's the height of the rub that tells us the true size of the deer, right?

So last night i went into a 25 acre woodlot and set up on some hot sign. The rubs were on saplings 1 inch or so. Most were low. Shin to knee high. But a couple were chest high. Im 6'3".

The only deer i saw was a basket 6. I watched him rub a couple trees and he was rubbing low on small saplings.

My question is could he have bent those enough to rub that high making it look like a bigger buck rubbed them? Or is it more likely a big buck made those rubs?


AJB
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Re: Rub height and diameter question

Unread postby AJB » Sat Oct 07, 2017 2:58 am

Yes he probably could have. Rubs most of the time are tough to tell how big the buck is. But I can guarantee you if you have a large diameter tree torn up with a chest high rub...a big buck made it!
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Re: Rub height and diameter question

Unread postby dan » Sat Oct 07, 2017 4:05 am

It would be hard to bend a tree an inch or more in diameter enough to rub it high. And if he did, it would likely have marks where he started before pulling it lower.
cdeam
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Re: Rub height and diameter question

Unread postby cdeam » Sat Oct 07, 2017 4:15 am

This tree was rubbed clean from shin to chest high. As i watched the basket 6 make a new rub his head was cocked so the sapling was in contact with both sides of his rack. But he just rubbed that lower area he could reach. To get that high he would have had to step forward at least a couple times while bending the sapling and keeping it in his tines. I don't really see that happening but I ain't sure. I'm trying to figure out if there's a bigger buck in there.
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tgreeno
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Re: Rub height and diameter question

Unread postby tgreeno » Sat Oct 07, 2017 12:07 pm

Finding any big tracks in there? That would be my indication on buck sizes, if you're not sure.
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Jonny
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Re: Rub height and diameter question

Unread postby Jonny » Sat Oct 07, 2017 12:41 pm

tgreeno wrote:Finding any big tracks in there? That would be my indication on buck sizes, if you're not sure.


Yep. Tracks are a dead give away. I've seen some very nice racked 2.5 yo (have one on the wall 10' from me at the moment), and some 5.5 yo spikes. Tracks show age, rubs tend to show rack size. I've also seen better fee bucks making small rubs, and small bucks mangling every tree in sight. Again, I see rubs as a rub. Tracks show more to me
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cdeam
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Re: Rub height and diameter question

Unread postby cdeam » Sat Oct 07, 2017 12:48 pm

Didn't see any tracks. Pretty thick in there and I try to avoid deer trails during season. Crops are still in the surrounding fields. I probably should have looked for them at the rubs
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tgreeno
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Re: Rub height and diameter question

Unread postby tgreeno » Sat Oct 07, 2017 1:05 pm

cdeam wrote:Didn't see any tracks. Pretty thick in there and I try to avoid deer trails during season. Crops are still in the surrounding fields. I probably should have looked for them at the rubs


Yes...next time do that. You need to be very observant, and find any clues the bucks leave you in fields & trails. All you needed is a couple big tracks by that rub, then you know it wasn't the 6 pointer.
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