buck rubs

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Zap
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buck rubs

Unread postby Zap » Tue Mar 02, 2010 3:50 pm

What can you folks tell me about rubs?
Rubs in a line along a trail.
Three or four rubs close at no distinct trail.
What do these rubs say to you?
Whatever you can tell me I want to know.
I want to learn about rubs and what I can deduce from their location and placement.

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PLB
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Re: buck rubs

Unread postby PLB » Tue Mar 02, 2010 4:53 pm

Rubs in a bed or in a staging area indicate a buck's core area and or bedding area. Rublines are great but I would look for tracks to determine the buck that made them is a buck you'd like to target! I would stay away from rubs made near food sources away from bedding areas as these were probably made at night.
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magicman54494
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Re: buck rubs

Unread postby magicman54494 » Tue Mar 02, 2010 8:22 pm

Since I don't speak "deer" I can only guess. I don't hunt rubs. I use them as sign that a buck was there just like I use srapes, tracks, beds etc.. Some bucks seem to rub a lot others don't. They tend to rub the same type and size trees so you can use that to determine the area a buck lives in. I assume that they rub for several reasons. They tend to tear up small whippy brush when their velvet comes off. I have read that the big bucks rub first but I have no proof of this. I know that when a doe is in heat they will really tear up the woods. If you hunt this rub sign one day late you are wasting time for sure! Then there are "sign post" rubs. These are rubs that may be worth a few sits. Logic tells me that the more time a buck spends in an area the more rubs he is likely to make there. Rubs in a line indicate a travel route but if you hunt it too far from his bedding area you probably won't have much luck. There are rubs in staging areas near food sources. I'll guess that they do this while burning time waiting for the cover of darkness to come out and feed. I see rubs in crossing areas or bottlenecks. I also believe that for the most part rubs are a scent markers telling all the other deer that "I was here" or "this is my area".
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Re: buck rubs

Unread postby dan » Wed Mar 03, 2010 12:24 pm

Man... I think we could write two or three books on what rubs mean... And I would still probably be wondering if we were right on all of the info.
I would say a buck might rub a tree any time any where he might be for any reason he feels like... :lol:
But, what we are really looking for is the types of rubbing activity that can help us as a hunter. 1st off, I truly believe the oldest biggest bucks, don't rub much. Most of the rubbing occurs from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 year old bucks.
One of my favorite types of rubs is where a buck rubs the cross trail of a doe.
The reason I like these types of rubs is they are made during daylight most of the time and revisited a lot ( during the rut )
The places I find these cross trail rubs are where a buck skirts around the perimeter of a doe bedding area smelling each trail where does head to the bedding area. He will rub the trees right where the trails intersect. Some people will mistake these rubs thinking they are on the doe trail cause the buck trail is often faint.
You can also find these rubs where a buck will cruise 40 or so yards into a woods along a field and check all the doe trails heading into or out of the fields to feed / bed.
Another huntable rub is the classic rubline that comes out of a bedding area. But in my opinion, they are usually made by bucks that have not reached maturity yet...
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Re: buck rubs

Unread postby Arrowbender » Sat Mar 06, 2010 8:49 am

I have witnessed the making of a rub a good number of times by adult bucks. Meaning 2 yrs & older (some in the 200 lb range so I'll say older). Almost all were called, mostly grunted in. I'd say nearly half were somewhat close to their bedding.
I don't normally hunt rubs, but am encouraged if I find them near one of my sets or areas I was planning to set up in. And it's always cool to find the thigh size or "fuzzy" rubs in an area that was going to be targeted.
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Re: buck rubs

Unread postby MOBIGBUCKS » Wed Mar 10, 2010 4:58 pm

After getting out and really doing some "detective" work in my hunting areas, I really like finding a bucks bed and then glancing around the area. It amazes me all of the little rubs and rubs so low they could only be rubbed while laying down. Someone just walking fast through the woods thinking they were "scouting" would never stop to recognize these areas are in fact bedding areas. If they did notice these rubs they would say, "oh, can't be a big buck because the rubs are all small." I used to be this guy....LOL I finally took notice and started tracking deer and those "little" rubs from that little deer had hooves big enough to put four fingers in the track! I'm pretty sure I have seen this buck on my trail cameras. There are several scrapes not too far from where he is bedding; I actually found the faint trail he used coming out of his bed to scent check the scrape from some distance. I will not put cameras in this area next year though; I believe that was a mistake and one of the reasons I did not get him. At that time, I didn't know where he beds. Now I do :)

Anymore, any rubs get my attention, but I try to discern the why behind the rub. I prefer the rubs near beds because I seldom see "classic" rub lines in my area.


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