Rub Clusters

[funderburk]

What exactly do rub clusters mean? I get real excited when I find a tightly concentrated area (about 30-50 square yards) and slap full of rubs. I want to make sure I’m processing that intel correctly. Is it staging?

[Tennhunter3]

In my opinion they can mean multiple things.

Near young buck bedding they are common.

Downwind of doe bedding where young bucks cruise through.

A feeding-staging area.

Occasionally you will find large rubs in concentration. I think it's a buck overlap zone of territory. On qdma tracking they found buck territories often overlap. Similar to neighbors fighting over a property line they both put sign next to each other. Most hunters I think confuse this with what they call a core area.

[may21581]

I find them in doe bedding areas. I think just prior to breeding a doe when he is tending her he is taking out his frustrations in his rut bed. I found one once in a small cluster of sumac trees that was surrounded by crp in doe bedding.

[funderburk]

Near doe bedding is a great thought. I actually jumped a group of does 30 yards or so from one cluster I found the other day.

[may21581]

Another point I would like to mention from my personal experience. Bucks like to bed down wind of doe bedding in the thick cover just prior to them coming into estreous. He can bed there and smell them from a distance without stepping into the open. He will bed here and take advantage of the wind as long as he can or until she is ready. A few of these spots have been found in such locations.