Size of rub vs size of buck ?

[dreaming bucks]

I know Dan is busy right now with the Bear hunt, but I remember him saying once that, as far as rubs go, he goes more by how high up the tree the rub is, equals size of buck.... meaning the bigger buck leave the rub higher up and than smaller bucks..... anybody else find this out, or do you just go by how big around the tree is ? Anything else you can learn from rubs ????

It is the season !

[Zap]

Pretty sure higher means older.......

Other than that alot of trashed saplings means older buck core area to me....

[Stanley]

It is so hard to tell from just looking at a rub. I have never noticed much height difference. It could be a couple of inches. A buck bends down to rub so that brings him down to about the same height as any other buck. A taller rack might make a difference. I have seen 1.5 year old bucks work over cedar trees 4 inches in diameter. I have seen other bucks hit the same tree so it looks like it was really tore up by a big buck. I have seen big bucks work over small trees much more often than bigger trees.

[Indianahunter]

I know Dan is busy right now with the Bear hunt, but I remember him saying once that, as far as rubs go, he goes more by how high up the tree the rub is, equals size of buck.... meaning the bigger buck leave the rub higher up and than smaller bucks..... anybody else find this out, or do you just go by how big around the tree is ? Anything else you can learn from rubs ????

It is the season !

That is correct...higher is the best indicator of larger and more mature deer. When I find rubs as high as my chest (though I am a short guy) I know something big made them. However I personally don't get too fired up about rub lines or scrapes other than they are positive landmarks that a buck uses this area. The only rubs that I care about are those that are in or very near a bed. My experience has been multiple bucks will rub the same trees, I have seen it more times than I can tell you. I also believe the theory of community rubs which are typically on larger diameter trees as I have observed this many times as well.

[BigHunt]

in my experiance the higher the rub the biger the buck or as zap said older it dosent matter what the diamiter if the rub is its how high it is ...when im scouting in spring i look for nice tall rubs then i know im looking at a good size buck

i have seen nubby rubbin on 6 inch trees and up

[gjs4]

one i believe in- the first rubs of the year are the most dominant buck (typically a target animal)

there are exceptions but feel the bigger the rub the bigger the rack

[tim]

when i see some of these bigger rubs with deep gouges i figure these are big bucks with massive power. i also look for trees being rubbed with surrounding trees ,if these are inderctly getting rubbed it usually means a fairly wide buck. or what ever is behind the tree.

[Singing Bridge]

I find a reasonable number of tall rubs in the home zone of some decent bucks. I really like finding trees that have been shredded as well.

I am starting to hear reports trickling in of the big boys starting to rub, got a great report today from one of my most reliable sources. Anyone else finding fresh rubs?

[Schultzy]

I can't lie, I like seeing huge tree's beat to crap! Any tree to me that's got some good depth cut Into It from a buck has to have some weight to It. I'm talking a fresh rub. Height though to me Is the ultimate. Not just any buck can rub high. Another thing I love seeing Is If there's tree's to the side of the main rub that are hit too from the buck working the main tree. Then you can get an Idea of the width of a buck sometimes.

[Schultzy]

Anyone else finding fresh rubs?

Yes. Found some good ones a week ago today. The last 2 to 3 years this same small group of poplar tree's are getting hammered on. I wonder If this Is the same buck every year?

[BigHunt]

Anyone else finding fresh rubs?

Yes. Found some good ones a week ago today. The last 2 to 3 years this same small group of poplar tree's are getting hammered on. I wonder If this Is the same buck every year?

how high are they did they change in the years

[Edcyclopedia]

Never seen a Buck in the process of rubbing a tree, so to me, it's all up to your imagination to dream if he's big or not...

I have noted regularly and would think when I see a decent size sappling, say 1 1/2-2" in diameter, that requires great force to bend it towards an adjacent tree - that in fact a big powerful buck pushed it hard enough to gouge the back tree.

I have spent a time or two personaly trying to push the very same tree back enough to reinact the force required for tines to tickle that back tree. Maybe a little more scientific verses dreaming

[Schultzy]

Anyone else finding fresh rubs?

Yes. Found some good ones a week ago today. The last 2 to 3 years this same small group of poplar tree's are getting hammered on. I wonder If this Is the same buck every year?

how high are they did they change in the years

No Idea. I'll have to take a closer look when I go back out there to check my cams.

[BigHunt]

Never seen a Buck in the process of rubbing a tree, so to me, it's all up to your imagination to dream if he's big or not...

I have noted regularly and would think when I see a decent size sappling, say 1 1/2-2" in diameter, that requires great force to bend it towards an adjacent tree - that in fact a big powerful buck pushed it hard enough to gouge the back tree.

I have spent a time or two personaly trying to push the very same tree back enough to reinact the force required for tines to tickle that back tree. Maybe a little more scientific verses dreaming

well ed i dream is real because its not hard too say if you find rubs in a bed or near a bed and its about belly butten high or higherf then its safe to say its 3.5 old ...theres some small 3 year old and some big ones. its up to you to get close enough and get a shot at him or at least a glance then youll know when your on to it (trust in your scouting). another thing is if you can see any tracks that tells alot too. just use the finger trick ... if its a three finger track then its at least 2.5 to 3.5 if its a four finger track then you realy know its a good buck


and deer are alot stronger than you think... a cople years ago we did a drive some shot a doe and it wasnt dead when we walk up on so..........stupid me decided to jump on it ...yes i said jump on it a slit its throat...........



WELL THAT D@M THING KICKED MY A$$ i grab on and in a flash she was up and runing full boar with me on here back i lasted 2 seconds but when i slid under here she kicked me a few and thank good i had thick close on it felt like i got hit my tyson or something.... lets just say im never doing that agin ...the guys were laughing so hard it was bad

my point is deer are alot stronger than you think ...just a little basket rack buck will be able to do that as well all it needs is some antlers and b@lls and it will do damage... the deer that attacked me was wounded in the body and still had it in her to get me off and still ran off




not being mean just letting you know that rubs arnt what they seem ...sometimes ..and dreams are possible

[Brad]

I have been reading Greg Millers books and he puts a ton of work into finding rubs and is very successful hunting them. He said that any rub thats bigger than your wrist is usually a buck worth looking into. He says rubs are scent posts similar to a scrape, and how a deer will almost always rub his forehead on a rub and sometimes his face by his eye to leave scent behind for other deer. The other thing he goes in depth on is how you can get a good idea on where a deer is bedding and feeding by finding and following a rub line. He says with practice you can tell the buck that made the rub with reasonable certainty based on the size of the rub, height on the tree, damage to other trees, and direction of travel based on the side of the tree thats rubbed. He also says a lot of deer prefer to rub certain types of trees I.e pople, aspen, cedar, oak etc. and you can learn their rubbing habits. Another thing he said that was interesting is if you see a rub thats really rasped up, its most likely left by a buck with a lot of beading around his beams which could indicate a larger older animal. He shot a deer that he figured was a non typical because on his rubs there was deep gouging on the sides away from the direct rub. He eventually killed the buck on his rub line and it was an 18 point non typical with weird abnormal points on the side which was responsible for the special scaring on the trees. I think this is absolutely invaluable information and I will be putting it to good use this fall! Any body who hasn't read his books owes it to themselves to read them, there is so much I picked up that was just common sense that I just always over looked.