W.Seay
Well-Known Member
Just thinking.... All the mature bucks I've seen or killed, were in areas with very little sign (big rubs,few scrapes) however all were within one or two leaps from Very thick cover.
Rubs
- Thread starter W.Seay
- Start date
Mike Belt
Well-Known Member
At Ames if I had to depend on finding rubs for likely hunting spots I'd be in trouble. I find very few until later in the season.
BSK
Well-Known Member
W.Seay said:
Back when I first ran the calculations, only 40% of my property was within 100 yards of thick cover. Just over 50% of our hunting hours were spent within that 100 yard boundary area. Yet 90+% of our 3 1/2+ year-old buck sightings occurred within 100 yards of thick sanctuary cover.
Now, after seeing that data, much more of our hunting time is spent within 100 yards of thick cover.
W.Seay
Well-Known Member
No doubt, if it isn't thick I don't hunt it!
Big rubs are pretty to look at but usually not good for hunting Although my buddy killed a 138 10 point around 4 arm sized rubs.
Boll Weevil
Well-Known Member
I've yet to stumble onto the first rub this year...but that isn't unusual for my farm. Of course I don't go intentionally looking for them either, but am only hunting the edges of bedrooms until things warm up a bit.
As I think back on it though, the bigger deer I've killed weren't in areas with tons of sign either. They were mostly in travel corridors and all were either pushing a doe or cruising for one.
As I think back on it though, the bigger deer I've killed weren't in areas with tons of sign either. They were mostly in travel corridors and all were either pushing a doe or cruising for one.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I'm seeing a distinct lack of rubs this year. Don't know why. But scrapes are plentiful.
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
BSK said:
I'm seeing the exact same thing
chubacabra
Well-Known Member
I have seen only one rub this year myself, very strange. I watched the deer make that one.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I'm seeing a fair number of big signpost rubs, but virtually no little finger and thumb-sized rubbed trees. Everything I've seen rubbed is big cedars and pines in all the typical signpost locations.
Obsession
Well-Known Member
I found a lot of rubs this weekend on my place. They very in size and some are clustered and some are random. I have been seeing rubs since opening day. I have yet to see a scrape. Is there any data that suggests mature bucks rub/scrape more often that immature bucks? Why are some rubs clustered and some that seem to be random?
BSK
Well-Known Member
Obsession said:
Both rubbing and scraping tend to go hand-in-hand with competition levels between bucks. And this is partially about sex ratio and partially about buck age structure. The fewer does there are per buck, and the older the buck age structure, the more competition there will be between bucks for breeding rights, hence more sign-making (rubs and scrapes).
However, rubbing behavior has also been tightly tied to acorn crops in big hardwoods environments. More acorns means healthier deer in fall that have more excess energy to burn through rubbing.
McCoy
Well-Known Member
This is very interesting, yesterday I found without a doubt the best rub line I have ever found and still no scrapes (except my mocks). I very rarely find scrapes but there will be a few every year. This funnel I found the rubs in is approx 40-60 yards wide with 90% whiteoaks that have a great acorn crop, it goes through an old grown up field thats about 300 acres from one set of hardwoods to another. I have hunted in this same funnel for 3 years now and there were only a few rubs here and there up until this year, but now they are everywhere and even include 6 signpost rubs(i assume). This is the first I've heard of signpost rubs, could someone please explain these? I always thought they were just bigger/mature bucks. These that I found are around 6 inches in diameter give or take.
BSK
Well-Known Member
McCoy,
By definition, signpost rubs are trees that are rubbed year after year. They usually display considerable scarring from repeated years of rubbing.
That said, when I find a really large diameter tree rubbed for the first time, I generally refer to it as a signpost rub.
By definition, signpost rubs are trees that are rubbed year after year. They usually display considerable scarring from repeated years of rubbing.
That said, when I find a really large diameter tree rubbed for the first time, I generally refer to it as a signpost rub.
thirdwilliam
Well-Known Member
No rubs or scrapes last weekend, but this weekend, scrapes every where and a few rubs.Rubs seem less than previous years, but scrapes above average. Wilson county
McCoy
Well-Known Member
Thank you BSK. What do these larger diameter trees mean, if anything at all to age/maturity of a buck. Now that I know what it is there are several singpost rubs on this rub line that have been used at least the past three years I've hunted there. I moved a camera to the area yesterday for the first time. Thanks for the help.
Winchester
Well-Known Member
Rubs are virtually non existent here this year. I even spent several hours at ORWMA on the Scout day Sat afternoon, and after walking for 3+ hours and driving many miles on the old logging roads, saw exactly 1 rub. This goes hand in hand with what I have found on the other areas I hunt here, NO rubs at all so far. Matter of fact the one at OR makes #3 for the year that I have found! I think it has everything to do with the Total mast failure we have this yr, OR included as I found exactly 1 tree with just a few acorns under it, which is the first I have found all yr on all the places I have been here.
I think the deer, bucks included, are spending way more time and energy looking for food vs a year when they can gorge on acorns and be full in just a few mins. I think our rut is way more intense on good acorn yrs. I do think however that a lot of deer will be killed here this yr due to the fact they will HAVE to move much more to get the food they require during the colder weather.
I think the deer, bucks included, are spending way more time and energy looking for food vs a year when they can gorge on acorns and be full in just a few mins. I think our rut is way more intense on good acorn yrs. I do think however that a lot of deer will be killed here this yr due to the fact they will HAVE to move much more to get the food they require during the colder weather.
EastHipster
Well-Known Member
That's interesting.
I think it's a case of being in the Buck's area.
I Hunt a 100 acre lot with a little bit of Pasture and a House but mostly Woods and lots of Hills.
I have found 2 MAJOR Rub lines with lots of Fresh activity and they were showing up early in the season. I've also found small patches of Rubs and then smaller lines of 5 or 6 on trails.
But there are huge areas on the property where I don't see any at all.
Also, I've only found 2 serious Scrapes (where I KNOW that it is a real scrape) and they AREN'T in the same area as the Rub lines I have been seeing.
I think it's a case of being in the Buck's area.
I Hunt a 100 acre lot with a little bit of Pasture and a House but mostly Woods and lots of Hills.
I have found 2 MAJOR Rub lines with lots of Fresh activity and they were showing up early in the season. I've also found small patches of Rubs and then smaller lines of 5 or 6 on trails.
But there are huge areas on the property where I don't see any at all.
Also, I've only found 2 serious Scrapes (where I KNOW that it is a real scrape) and they AREN'T in the same area as the Rub lines I have been seeing.
