Tree diameter question...

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JoeRE
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Re: Tree diameter question...

Unread postby JoeRE » Wed Jan 10, 2018 12:00 am

Boogieman1 wrote:
JoeRE wrote:Yea look for beds then rubs. I do think rubs are important because they usually tell you travel routes. But I agree you gotta look at the bigger picture to decide if the spot is worth hunting i.e. daylight activity.

The best situation is when you find old rubs several past years and fresh rubs too. Sometimes the same trees but not always. Hal Blood calls those rubs that get every year signpost rubs I think, I have learned a couple old rubs on trees next to trees with new rubs means basically the same thing. Bucks are there every year for a reason and you should try to figure out what that reason was. Then you are looking at a perennial travel route but still have to decide if its daylight/night time activity by looking at the bigger picture.

I haven't ever spent anytime on rubs other then just giving it a shot when conditions aren't the best. But what about rubs that are on both sides of the tree. In my head I view them as travel in both directions there for doubling the odds. But then again I have never had any success on em eithier so doubling zero is still zero according to my 3rd grade math.


If a person sees a cluster of rubs or rub line its always worth asking why....but just to be clear, I'm not "hunting the rub" I'm hunting the travel route if its near bedding, rubs may or may not be around where I set up, they are an indicator of that direction of travel...many good setups don't have much for rubs or scrapes for that matter.


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Boogieman1
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Re: Tree diameter question...

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Wed Jan 10, 2018 1:21 am

JoeRE wrote:
Boogieman1 wrote:
JoeRE wrote:Yea look for beds then rubs. I do think rubs are important because they usually tell you travel routes. But I agree you gotta look at the bigger picture to decide if the spot is worth hunting i.e. daylight activity.

The best situation is when you find old rubs several past years and fresh rubs too. Sometimes the same trees but not always. Hal Blood calls those rubs that get every year signpost rubs I think, I have learned a couple old rubs on trees next to trees with new rubs means basically the same thing. Bucks are there every year for a reason and you should try to figure out what that reason was. Then you are looking at a perennial travel route but still have to decide if its daylight/night time activity by looking at the bigger picture.

I haven't ever spent anytime on rubs other then just giving it a shot when conditions aren't the best. But what about rubs that are on both sides of the tree. In my head I view them as travel in both directions there for doubling the odds. But then again I have never had any success on em eithier so doubling zero is still zero according to my 3rd grade math.


If a person sees a cluster of rubs or rub line its always worth asking why....but just to be clear, I'm not "hunting the rub" I'm hunting the travel route if its near bedding, rubs may or may not be around where I set up, they are an indicator of that direction of travel...many good setups don't have much for rubs or scrapes for that matter.

10/4 I must have skipped your first paragraph and miss interpreted :doh: good stuff
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Ragingun
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Re: Tree diameter question...

Unread postby Ragingun » Wed Jan 10, 2018 1:27 am

I agree with the majority here. I've found a couple beds this year that have made me question hunting them due to lack of rub sign however looking at the beds they're the best, most wore down beds I've ever found. Therefore I need to trust that fact way before I trust the lack of rub sign. In my experience as a whole the past few years, I've now found many more beds without rubs in or near them then the opposite. IMO it has a lot to do with lack of other buck competition since this year in my area has proven to have very low deer population in general(thank you liberal tag offerings from the DNR).
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JoeRE
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Re: Tree diameter question...

Unread postby JoeRE » Wed Jan 10, 2018 3:43 am

Its been said on other threads but I will mention again, many (probably most) of the biggest oldest bucks I have seen seem to leave very little rut sign (rubs and scrapes) around their beds. Sometimes virtually none. I personally think its just because the aggressive ones that tear up the timber attract more attention and get killed before they get old. That is because I hear stories of huge bucks tearing up the timber on managed land, where they can reach maturity in relative safety. Even here in Iowa I don't see that on unmanaged private or public. 2 and 3 year olds tear up bedrooms but not older bucks usually.

All that being said, when I see tall rubs it means a big buck was there and probably for a reason. Its usually worth asking why. I have seen some real nice bucks almost all of us would be happy with tear up their bedding area with sign. Its just an exception for the oldest deer to do that. When I see that though, its usually the last year that buck has to live, lots of sign in a buck's bed room tends to mean a more aggressive deer, and more aggressive deer seem to be more likely to get themselves killed. So when you see that, jump on it...its still all about the bedding though.
hambone
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Re: Tree diameter question...

Unread postby hambone » Wed Jan 10, 2018 4:54 am

There aren't a lot of big rubs in the area I hunt. I have watched mature deer rub a lot of small diameter trees, over the years. Especially clumps. When I find clumps of small trees that are shredded and broken, I suspect a mature deer of making them.


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