I've never seen a rub like this before

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ghoasthunter
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Re: I've never seen a rub like this before

Unread postby ghoasthunter » Wed Mar 28, 2018 9:51 am

Ognennyy wrote:I went out today looking for sheds, but quickly realized I'd likely find none. There was no recent deer sign in the fields where I was looking. I gave up and went into scout mode. After 20-30 minutes I found these rubs

Image
Image

The first was at about chest height. The second was hard to judge due to the small stream visible at the bottom, and that I'm not sure exactly where the deer would have been standing when making the rub. The top of the rub is at the height of my neck if I stand where I imagine the deer had to be standing, but at chest level if I stand directly up against the tree. The rubbed section spans 3 feet up and down, and around the girth of the tree. There are deep gouges where the tines dug all the way into the woody layer itself. The tree is the size of my thigh. This was some seriously aggressive rubbing.

I've never seen anything like this before. I live and hunt in Eastern New York and the deer here don't get that large.

I found the rubs on the edges of a series of three small fields adjacent to a well-traveled road. Both are located on the Western edges of the fields on 10-15 year old Black Birch / Water Birch (a common rub species where I hunt). The first I found on the Western edge of the middle field, and the second on the Western edge of the third (Eastern-most of the three fields) field.

I thought about why and when a buck made these rubs. This isn't a small deer so I'm assuming he's mature. There is probably less than a 1% chance this is sign of daytime movement. The rubs are located within 120 yards of a well-used road. So the buck comes here at night.

A buck scent checking the fields to his West during nights with a western wind? The timber stands separating these fields are chalk full of oaks, thorns, and generally nasty stuff. I jumped deer out of there twice last fall. And I noticed a lot of droppings in the timber stands while scouting today. Point; there are does there.

West wind is common here in the fall. East wind almost never happens. Since the timberline edges of the fields the rubs were made on run North-South, a North or South wind don't seem to give him much of an advantage here. With a West wind He can smell hot does in the fields to his West, and see everything out in the field to his East. Maybe he checks the second field (where the first rub is) first. If he doesn't smell anything but sees deer to his East, he can go check them out. If he doesn't smell or see anything on his first pass, he shifts over one field edge to check the furthest East field.

What do you guys think?

if your in NY that's a snow shoe rabbit


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Ognennyy
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Re: I've never seen a rub like this before

Unread postby Ognennyy » Wed Mar 28, 2018 10:01 am

Rodents or rabbits chewing makes sense. I had considered that but didn't see how they could all the way up there, and hadn't thought about the snow pack. We did get a lot of snow this year so it makes perfect sense. Thanks all for looking.
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Re: I've never seen a rub like this before

Unread postby strutnrut716 » Wed Mar 28, 2018 10:53 am

ghoasthunter wrote:
strutnrut716 wrote:Image

Here is one I found yesterday. From a distance I thought "wow", what a rub ! The middle of it though is about at my chin so I was a little suspect. As I got closer I could see.. I think its Emerald Ash Borer. If you look close you can see where those little green beetles chewed and chewed that poor tree !

Ironically, there is a buck bed right under this tree. Maybe he started it ....

bugs favor damaged trees so it could have been a rub that was taken over. its a bent tree chewed at the perfect height next to a bed on a good sign post style tree. is it a tree they prefer to rub in your area?


That would make sense....but no, they mostly hit maples and poplars (aspen).
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Re: I've never seen a rub like this before

Unread postby ghoasthunter » Wed Mar 28, 2018 11:20 am

strutnrut716 wrote:
ghoasthunter wrote:
strutnrut716 wrote:Image

Here is one I found yesterday. From a distance I thought "wow", what a rub ! The middle of it though is about at my chin so I was a little suspect. As I got closer I could see.. I think its Emerald Ash Borer. If you look close you can see where those little green beetles chewed and chewed that poor tree !

Ironically, there is a buck bed right under this tree. Maybe he started it ....

bugs favor damaged trees so it could have been a rub that was taken over. its a bent tree chewed at the perfect height next to a bed on a good sign post style tree. is it a tree they prefer to rub in your area?


That would make sense....but no, they mostly hit maples and poplars (aspen).
ash is soft bark so you never know only the tree does
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Re: I've never seen a rub like this before

Unread postby Divergent » Sat Mar 31, 2018 7:24 pm

I’ve seen something like this before, but it was me marking a trail lol. I didn’t have any markers on me at the time.
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Re: I've never seen a rub like this before

Unread postby Ognennyy » Sun Apr 01, 2018 3:50 am

strutnrut716 wrote:
ghoasthunter wrote:
strutnrut716 wrote:Image

Here is one I found yesterday. From a distance I thought "wow", what a rub ! The middle of it though is about at my chin so I was a little suspect. As I got closer I could see.. I think its Emerald Ash Borer. If you look close you can see where those little green beetles chewed and chewed that poor tree !

Ironically, there is a buck bed right under this tree. Maybe he started it ....

bugs favor damaged trees so it could have been a rub that was taken over. its a bent tree chewed at the perfect height next to a bed on a good sign post style tree. is it a tree they prefer to rub in your area?


That would make sense....but no, they mostly hit maples and poplars (aspen).


I'm sure it's different all across the state, given the several varied landscapes we have in New York. All of the areas I hunt were not left with much calcium when the glaciers formed the area long ago. The landscape is characterized by lack of calcium, low PH (acidic soil), fern bogs, many conifers, large quantities of beech trees and few oak trees, swamps, and bogs. There are lots of goose-foot maples and black birch / water birch, whatever you prefer to call them. Every rub I have ever found with only one exception (saw one on a tamarack once) has been made on a goose-foot maple or black birch. Those pictures I posted were of two black birch.
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Re: I've never seen a rub like this before

Unread postby Ognennyy » Sun Apr 01, 2018 3:51 am

Ognennyy wrote:
strutnrut716 wrote:
ghoasthunter wrote:
strutnrut716 wrote:Image

Here is one I found yesterday. From a distance I thought "wow", what a rub ! The middle of it though is about at my chin so I was a little suspect. As I got closer I could see.. I think its Emerald Ash Borer. If you look close you can see where those little green beetles chewed and chewed that poor tree !

Ironically, there is a buck bed right under this tree. Maybe he started it ....

bugs favor damaged trees so it could have been a rub that was taken over. its a bent tree chewed at the perfect height next to a bed on a good sign post style tree. is it a tree they prefer to rub in your area?


That would make sense....but no, they mostly hit maples and poplars (aspen).


I'm sure it's different all across the state, given the several varied landscapes we have in New York. All of the areas I hunt were not left with much calcium when the glaciers formed the area long ago. The landscape is characterized by lack of calcium, low PH (acidic soil), fern bogs, many conifers, large quantities of beech trees and few oak trees, swamps, and bogs. There are lots of goose-foot maples and black birch / water birch, whatever you prefer to call them. Every rub I have ever found with only one exception (saw one on a tamarack once) has been made on a goose-foot maple or black birch. Those pictures I posted were of two black birch.



Sorry I just realized that question wasn't about the trees I posted pictures of.


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