Anybody lose their velvet yet? Fresh rubs?

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Anybody lose their velvet yet? Fresh rubs?

Unread postby keepthefevercalls » Fri Aug 19, 2016 2:52 pm

Was out scouting today and found a small, but fresh rub. This is the first of the year and the earliest I have seen one. Has anyone else been seeing this? I'm in PA.
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Re: Anybody lose their velvet yet? Fresh rubs?

Unread postby Hawthorne » Fri Aug 19, 2016 2:55 pm

That's early! I usually don't see them till early September in southern michigan

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Re: Anybody lose their velvet yet? Fresh rubs?

Unread postby Mschmeiske » Fri Aug 19, 2016 3:01 pm

I was scouting the other day and walked up on a buck in some thick brush. It almost looked like he was rubbing but I thought it may be too early. This has me wondering though? I'm in New York.

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Re: Anybody lose their velvet yet? Fresh rubs?

Unread postby Nocturnal » Fri Aug 19, 2016 3:10 pm

Glassed a couple smaller bucks today in full velvet. They shed in Wi usually before September 5th from what I've seen. That's pretty neat to see being this early though.

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Re: Anybody lose their velvet yet? Fresh rubs?

Unread postby Dewey » Fri Aug 19, 2016 3:14 pm

A majority should be rubbing velvet off in a few weeks. Wouldn't doubt some of the early growth bucks are already getting close. I shined one rubbing velvet off on August 22nd a few years ago.

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Re: Anybody lose their velvet yet? Fresh rubs?

Unread postby tbunao » Fri Aug 19, 2016 4:10 pm

IMO, I think that rub is from last year. No shavings on the ground and the outline of the bark is pretty well dried up with a good amount of discolor. I would assume if it was fresh then it would be a little whiter and the edge of the bark have some greenish color to it. Best way I can describe what it would probably look like if it was fresh is to cut a branch off a similar type of tree and take a knife to it shaving it. Know what I mean?

Good find though

Here is a snip it from an antler study. Nature has its own way of breaking rules so it's definitely possible

"When the antlers are growing, they are full of nerves and blood vessels and are covered with a hairy skin covering tissue commonly called “velvet.” Antler growth is like building a skyscraper. What is first built is the structure or a frame or matrix. Think of pouring concrete; you must first build a form. That is what deer do. During the early summer, deer antlers are soft to the touch or spongy. Towards the middle of summer, as the form is being finished, the deer begins to “pour” the bone.

By late summer, as day length decreases, testosterone levels begin to increase, the form is filled, and the antler begins to harden. Finally the blood vessels within the antler itself are filled and lose their ability to nourish the velvet, and it dries up and falls off. The velvet is typically totally removed in a day, and some of it may be eaten by the buck. In Virginia, most deer are in hard antler by September 15th. Contrary to popular belief, deer do not rub their antlers on trees just to remove the velvet. In any given year, an individual buck may make hundreds of rubs, 99.9% of which are made after the velvet has already been removed."

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Re: Anybody lose their velvet yet? Fresh rubs?

Unread postby keepthefevercalls » Fri Aug 19, 2016 10:39 pm

That's a pretty cool study!

I am not sure. I am no expert. I have scouted this property about 5 times for a total of 15 miles or so and this is the only rub out of well over 100 that I have seen look this fresh.
However, I did look and there were no wood shavings, but I almost wondered if that was because really only bark was rubbed off. The bark looked pretty freshly frayed. There was another rub on an adjacent tree that was completely black. This rub was on a pine or hemlock, wonder if that attributes to coloration?
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Re: Anybody lose their velvet yet? Fresh rubs?

Unread postby keepthefevercalls » Fri Aug 19, 2016 11:06 pm

I was just talking to a friend and he thinks it could be from late season, say January. I saw bucks with antlers still in February this year. So I guess that makes sense.

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Re: Anybody lose their velvet yet? Fresh rubs?

Unread postby vermonthunter16 » Fri Aug 19, 2016 11:22 pm

All velvet all day here still.
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Re: Anybody lose their velvet yet? Fresh rubs?

Unread postby Josh_S » Sat Aug 20, 2016 12:25 am

A hard antlered buck crossed the road in front of me on my drive to work this morning. First I have seen. Looked like the typical 2.5 yr old Pennsylvania basket rack. I also noticed deer were feeding uncharacteristically late into the morning. I looked into the sky and saw a full moon overhead in daylight.
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Re: Anybody lose their velvet yet? Fresh rubs?

Unread postby Ack » Sat Aug 20, 2016 12:38 am

It looks old to me, but it could be fresh. On a sapling like that I would expect the bark to be more reddish color than that. A few years back I found a fresh rub on August 21....which is the earliest I've found. Stumbled upon it after jumping a bachelor group out of the area.

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Re: Anybody lose their velvet yet? Fresh rubs?

Unread postby Mibowfreak » Sat Aug 20, 2016 3:14 am

Everything I am glassing and picking up on trail cameras, are still in full velvet. Over the next 2-3 weeks, that will all change in my area.
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Re: Anybody lose their velvet yet? Fresh rubs?

Unread postby JohnFunn » Sat Aug 20, 2016 3:51 am

tbunao wrote:IMO, I think that rub is from last year. No shavings on the ground and the outline of the bark is pretty well dried up with a good amount of discolor. I would assume if it was fresh then it would be a little whiter and the edge of the bark have some greenish color to it. Best way I can describe what it would probably look like if it was fresh is to cut a branch off a similar type of tree and take a knife to it shaving it. Know what I mean?

Agreed...i know what you mean!

Good find though

Here is a snip it from an antler study. Nature has its own way of breaking rules so it's definitely possible

"When the antlers are growing, they are full of nerves and blood vessels and are covered with a hairy skin covering tissue commonly called “velvet.” Antler growth is like building a skyscraper. What is first built is the structure or a frame or matrix. Think of pouring concrete; you must first build a form. That is what deer do. During the early summer, deer antlers are soft to the touch or spongy. Towards the middle of summer, as the form is being finished, the deer begins to “pour” the bone.

By late summer, as day length decreases, testosterone levels begin to increase, the form is filled, and the antler begins to harden. Finally the blood vessels within the antler itself are filled and lose their ability to nourish the velvet, and it dries up and falls off. The velvet is typically totally removed in a day, and some of it may be eaten by the buck. In Virginia, most deer are in hard antler by September 15th. Contrary to popular belief, deer do not rub their antlers on trees just to remove the velvet. In any given year, an individual buck may make hundreds of rubs, 99.9% of which are made after the velvet has already been removed."

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Re: Anybody lose their velvet yet? Fresh rubs?

Unread postby rbuckleyjr1 » Sat Aug 20, 2016 9:55 am

Still a couple weeks away. Won't be long!
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Re: Anybody lose their velvet yet? Fresh rubs?

Unread postby Josh_S » Sun Aug 21, 2016 9:42 am

I actually just saw another completely out of velvet today...unfortunately dead on roadside. It's a shame, he was a shooter to me.


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