lack of big buck sign

[Buckbreath]

My brother and I checked out several new areas yesterday in hill country. Found some buck and doe bedding, food sources and good access routes. The one thing we didn't find was any big rubs. I know this general area hold some giants but was concerned after not finding big rubs. The lands we were on looked equal to adjacent private lands as far as cover and bedding. It's 5 hours away from where we live and we are looking to hut during the rut. Would the lack of big rubs keep you from pursuing these properties? I should note
we didn't spend any time walking bottoms, only the top 1/3rd.












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[dan]

I would want to see some big rubs on the property to tell me there are some bucks worth going after. Those rubs might not be in the bedding area, but should be on the property somewhere.

[Babshaft]

Does this particular area normally have lots of buck rubs? Did you find large tracks near the beds?

I've been reading a lot of threads on buck sign on here and it seems the general consensus is that if you have GOOD buck bedding (away from other hunters, thick cover to back/good sightlines, consistent wind and thermals etc.) and a large buck identifying factor (large tracks, trail cam photos, high rubs etc.) then you should be giving it some observation sits or hunts to determine what you've got.

Just a trend I've been noticing in a lot of past threads asking about rubs and other buck sign. A lot of the guys put a big emphasis on tracks, photos and not just high rubs. Any chance you can check the rest of the property? Do you know those giants local to that general area are on this property, or is there another spot they could be?

Hope that helps!

[RidgeGhost]

One of my places I've never found big rubs. I killed a buck there last year and have some giant sheds from there. Big bucks are there, they just don't leave great sign.

Big tracks are about the only way to confirm they exist without a camera.

[Tim H]

Unless you have had visuals of nice bucks or trail cam pics, I wouldn’t hunt an area without big buck sign. If there are giants in this area they will leave some sign somewhere. Maybe not a lot, but enough to know they are there. Otherwise if not, I’d check out other properties.

[Dewey]

I wouldn’t rely on just big rubs. Contrary to popular belief not all big bucks make big rubs. It’s nice when you find them but I prefer finding other sign as well to get the whole picture. Big tracks and especially cam pics are a much better indicator of mature bucks being around. If I based my scouting on only big rubs I would eliminate large areas of land where I know big bucks frequent year after year. I rarely see any rubs I would consider impressive in these spots but sightings do not lie. The bucks are there but they just do not go crazy rubbing trees for whatever reason.

[brancher147]

I would check the bottoms before saying there were no big rubs. That is where I typically find the bigger rubs, and is usually all night time sign. But lack of big rubs does not mean there are not big bucks. I hunt property where I never find a scrape, and some where I don't see big rubs, but big bucks are there. I scouted a piece of public the other week and found probably 75 beds and some definitely buck beds but only a couple rubs and no big ones, but I will definitely be hunting it. There may be no rubs due to terrain (extremely steep) or due to lack of suitable size trees that bucks want to rub. And some big bucks don't rub big trees or many trees at all. Look for big tracks or hang some trail cams is my advice, but don't give up for lack of big rubs.

[yungbuck]

I hunt a small property that has multiple doe bedding areas in it ...it is 80 acres and I have spent about 20 hrs scouting and shed hunting it each year not once finding a big rub(some smaller trees rubbed but no tall big diameter rubs) but come rut big boys roll in and last year a 160 was killed on it...I have also seen mature bucks on it and found their tracks but they just aren't rubbing trees

MY vote is deploy some cameras and let them soak and hunt it

....I was on this area I mentioned above yesterday and found a buck bed, first one I have found on it in the last 4 years of searching... My first thought was no way to kill this guy based on his spot... Time to get creative

[ghoasthunter]

if I cant find big buck sign in the area after 3 trips I move on if their is a lot of old historic sign ill check it every year till it comes back then figure out why normally food or pressure . I'm sure I missed on a bunch of good deer over the years this way but I rather hunt the hot pockets than waste time.

[Matt6506]

I would check out the lower areas for rubs, sometime I don't find alot of rubs near the bedding possibly because of lack of competition for the beds. I do however find rubs in the lower areas where it is almost impossible to hunt due to swirling winds. I would check for the rubs in the bottoms, if you find them hunt the staging areas near the beds don't fall for the trap of hunting the bottoms. If you don't find bigger rubs in the bottoms move on. Also don't ignore big tracks. All bucks make rubs only big bucks leave big buck tracks.

[thepennsylvanian]

I feel I'm in the same boat here. I suppose you could call it "Hill country", as it's far from flat. But the elevation changes aren't drastic enough to warrant across the face versus vertically. I've been scouting the bottoms for rubs old scrapes and so on, nothing. Zigzagging up and down the face to try to cut sign, nothing. I'm not finding the sign, or at least not recognizing it. I'll get random pictures of buck on the cameras, but random at best. I can find doe like it's my job. I can and do, will continue to shoot doe often, to do my part and fill my freezer. However, the season is long and that can wait or I can do it in areas that I my not particularly hunt buck, if i could ever find them. I've scouted close 200 acres of 2700, realistically. I've been through close 700 acres of the property but that's not saying I got viable data from it.

[Redman232]

One aspect that I think is over looked is your buck to doe ratio in the area. I have first hand experience on 1 property for almost 20 years now. Prior to 2012-13 there was next to no buck sign in the form of scraps and big rubs. Big deer were still seen and killed. Then the state started a doe slaughter and ehd hit. The heard is much more balanced now and the buck sign has exploded the past few years. Doing manly activities boosts testosterone in humans(physical labor/lifting weights), I'm sure it's the same for deer (sparring/rubbing etc). So what I'm saying is, that if there isn't much competition for does, the bucks just might not be as amped up in this area if your doe to buck ratio is way out of whack.

[ghoasthunter]

My brother and I checked out several new areas yesterday in hill country. Found some buck and doe bedding, food sources and good access routes. The one thing we didn't find was any big rubs. I know this general area hold some giants but was concerned after not finding big rubs. The lands we were on looked equal to adjacent private lands as far as cover and bedding. It's 5 hours away from where we live and we are looking to hut during the rut. Would the lack of big rubs keep you from pursuing these properties? I should note
we didn't spend any time walking bottoms, only the top 1/3rd. check the bottoms if there is no big buck sign on major transitions and edge cover keep going till you find it then work up the hills buy path of least resistance in the top edge of drainages to 1/3. the bottoms will typically have the bigger rubs once you find one fan out from there.












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