Aging Rubs

[Lockdown]

Did several searches and didn't come up with anything although I'm pretty sure we've discussed this before. Anyone have any links?

I know obvious signs like fresh bark at the bottom of the tree or dripping sap are both good indicators of a fresh rub. But what else clues you in to how old that rub is? This topic is one of the holes in my game.

[E72]

Got me thinking LD. Could go out behind the house and experiment with a shed antler,......make your own rubs on several preferred saplings bucks like to rub. Then observe each day how they change with drying and color . Weather could affect how fast a rub dries too, hot and dry and a rub on a maple might dry out in a few days. I always look for the bright and wet look , maybe some leaves freshly kicked up around the tree.

[Jonny]

Use a knife to create your own rub, and compare it to the one you found. Can see how the tree looks with a fresh rub and make a guess on how old the one you found is. Plus if you do it in an area you frequent, you can check back on it and note how it looks after x amount of time. Might be tree specific, but at least by me, they only rub a select variety of trees. Can't name them, but I know them when I see them.

The knife thing is not my idea. I remember seeing DK post it somewhere (I think it was him).

[Lockdown]

Got me thinking LD. Could go out behind the house and experiment with a shed antler,......make your own rubs on several preferred saplings bucks like to rub. Then observe each day how they change with drying and color . Weather could affect how fast a rub dries too, hot and dry and a rub on a maple might dry out in a few days. I always look for the bright and wet look , maybe some leaves freshly kicked up around the tree.

I thought of doing a track aging experiment. Never thought of a rub experiment. I definitely want to be able to check it daily. Need to think of a spot to do this...

If I do it, I’m going to detail the crap out of it and post the results on the Beast. Ideally I’d have two species of trees. Then I’d make some in direct sunlight and some in the shade.

Starting to sound like lots of pictures to take and keep strait. Maybe posting videos on YouTube would be the ticket

[MOBIGBUCKS]

Use a knife to create your own rub, and compare it to the one you found. Can see how the tree looks with a fresh rub and make a guess on how old the one you found is. Plus if you do it in an area you frequent, you can check back on it and note how it looks after x amount of time. Might be tree specific, but at least by me, they only rub a select variety of trees. Can't name them, but I know them when I see them.

The knife thing is not my idea. I remember seeing DK post it somewhere (I think it was him).

Yup, I do this as well.

Only thing I do differently is scrape the actual rub to see the difference

[Lockdown]

Use a knife to create your own rub, and compare it to the one you found. Can see how the tree looks with a fresh rub and make a guess on how old the one you found is. Plus if you do it in an area you frequent, you can check back on it and note how it looks after x amount of time. Might be tree specific, but at least by me, they only rub a select variety of trees. Can't name them, but I know them when I see them.

The knife thing is not my idea. I remember seeing DK post it somewhere (I think it was him).

Yup, I do this as well.

Only thing I do differently is scrape the actual rub to see the difference

Sometimes I wonder why I can’t come up with simple, perfect solutions like this on my own Great idea! This is why I love the beast.

[HunterBob]

I thought of doing a track aging experiment. Never thought of a rub experiment. I definitely want to be able to check it daily. Need to think of a spot to do this...

If I do it, I’m going to detail the crap out of it and post the results on the Beast. Ideally I’d have two species of trees. Then I’d make some in direct sunlight and some in the shade.

Starting to sound like lots of pictures to take and keep strait. Maybe posting videos on YouTube would be the ticket [/quote]

I'd love to see both! I'd give it a watch or a read for sure.

[E72]

Most types of trees I see here getting rubbed are mostly maple , some cherry , young beech ,sumac , cedar and pines .
I believe these were on silver maple last year but need to check again . I thought they were a few days to a week old when I found them. Looked a little dry to be any sooner than that. One thing about rubs no matter what kind of tree ,.... I like them on big trees !

[backstraps]

Most types of trees I see here getting rubbed are mostly maple , some cherry , young beech ,sumac , cedar and pines .
I believe these were on silver maple last year but need to check again . I thought they were a few days to a week old when I found them. Looked a little dry to be any sooner than that. One thing about rubs no matter what kind of tree ,.... I like them on big trees !

Nice!!

[UofLbowhunter]

Got me thinking LD. Could go out behind the house and experiment with a shed antler,......make your own rubs on several preferred saplings bucks like to rub. Then observe each day how they change with drying and color . Weather could affect how fast a rub dries too, hot and dry and a rub on a maple might dry out in a few days. I always look for the bright and wet look , maybe some leaves freshly kicked up around the tree.

I thought of doing a track aging experiment. Never thought of a rub experiment. I definitely want to be able to check it daily. Need to think of a spot to do this...

If I do it, I’m going to detail the crap out of it and post the results on the Beast. Ideally I’d have two species of trees. Then I’d make some in direct sunlight and some in the shade.

Starting to sound like lots of pictures to take and keep strait. Maybe posting videos on YouTube would be the ticket

Hope you do this i dont have access to bushes or trees to try this myself. I want to see some results

[Twenty Up]

I’ve seen this and heard other beasts mention before, early season bucks rub soft trees. Pines mainly around here then they’ll branch into some other hardwood species as their antlers harden up. Pines, fir, cedars, spruce, redwood to name a couple

Doesn’t help now, but locating bedding areas and trying to pattern deer in March-May it helps

[Tufrthnails]

Run around in your local WMA and rub a bunch of trees every week away from where you want to hunt!!!! You could have the woods to yourself with all the hunters in the area chasing their butts! And you could document it!!!!!

[Motivated]

MOBIGBUCKS--So when you're find a rub that you're really interested in knowing is it brand new, one day, one week, or one month old, you take your knife and scrape a thin layer of new wood right in the middle of the rub and check to see if there's a significant color difference? Or moisture difference?

I like it! How much of a change do you see in a week or month?

I like the rub experiment aging idea. I did document some track aging experiments under different conditions a few years ago but I'm sure the pictures are gone by now, and there's no way to get them off my old dead phone.

[Motivated]

THP's Deer Tour #17 video-- they mention how a rub is new and take a guess that's three days old. Perfect timing!

I would love to hear them explain why they thought it was 3 days old. Maybe they were aging tracks nearby or using something specifically about the rub itself. They didn't say. I know with my observations I generally can get to the time frame of "within a week, within a month, two months, three months old". But I couldn't say that a rub was X days old.

Hopefully they specifically discuss this on one of their question and answer sessions.

[Lockdown]

So here’s the deal guys. I’m searching for a good spot to conduct this experiment. It absolutely has to be close to my normal work commute route. I just don’t have time to spend an extra half hour or 45 minutes a day conducting the experiment. Mama wouldn’t like it and I’m not gonna make her mad before rut IMO I need to check it daily or the results will be flawed.

I think I have a spot that will work, I just need to verify it’s got the right trees and shrubs. I want to test the same species that I typically find rubs on.

I will record all weather conditions and probably post a YouTube link for each day. If you can think of any details you want included, let me know.

Also if anyone else wants to conduct the same experiment go ahead. The more info the merrier.