Nasty rub pics

[BuckSutherland]

I hunt in northern MN. Our deer numbers are slowly improving. There just hasn't been much to brag about where I hunt the last 5-6 years. Some of our bucks are finally starting to get some age after the brutal winters of 2013 and 2014 that possibly claimed half of our deer. I was out Sunday afternoon doing a little post season scouting on some state land. I found an area (public) that was logged about 9 months ago and has swamps close by as well as a hay field (just grass), other older clear cuts, thick nasty stuff, and some large conifers. I also stumbled onto this rub. It is by far and away the largest/nastiest rub I have ever seen.


Could it have been made by the buck in the picture, or are we talking something older and bigger? Sure seemed to be plenty of scrapes covered by the snow in this area too. That tree was 8-10" diameter. Usually they just mess with 2-3" stuff by us, and I do a lot of checking after the season.

 

[trampledbyturtles]

That thing is shredded, jeepers


This one appeared in my yard a couple weeks back. Should of been hunting out behind the house instead of traveling all over the place I guess.

 

[sandbur]

Buck, my WAG is another buck.


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[BuckSutherland]

Buck, my WAG is another buck.


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That would be awesome. I had the camera that took the following pictures about 1,000 feet away from the nasty rub. Found other good rubs back there too. It definitely has my attention more than any other spot I have ever hunted up there. I do believe I had around 12 different bucks visit my camera from labor day up til now. Hardly nobody hunted there either. Once that clear cut gets a little age and starts holding more does I think it will be a really good spot for years to come. This camera was only about 30 yards off the road. I will move it a little further back next year and add a bag of antler king. They just devour that stuff up by us. Best buck action I have ever had on camera far and away. Very excited for next year and praying for that mild winter. 4 or 5 of these deer would be shooters for me next year and all 12 would be shooters for my daughter.

 

[bigbendmarine]

That thing is shredded, jeepers


This one appeared in my yard a couple weeks back. Should of been hunting out behind the house instead of traveling all over the place I guess.

View attachment 21807

DANG, Trampledbyturtles... planted about 100 trees of various types around my home the past five years with all protected by ugly blue tree tubes. Wife can't wait until they're no longer needed... I was thinking about starting to take them off trees as they reached about 4" caliper... shoot, if I wait until they're bigger than the one in your picture afraid I MIGHT BE DEAD FROM OLD AGE!

 

[bigbendmarine]

OR dead from her killing me first!

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Buck - Your color pix in post #1 look like ideal deer country !! I've hunted areas that looked just like that in Maine and cuts like that just draw deer. All the new growth will be a big attraction for does & fawns - which brings the boys. I'm slobbering jealous of a piece of terrain like that !!!! Big rubs are a great sign for that area. Best of luck studying and figuring it out.

 

[BuckSutherland]

Here is what the area looks like from google earth.



We hunted right next to the road this year cause we had great camera pics and easy access. Next year I will go south of that low swamp grass and up towards that natural funnel and the private property by the rub location. Everything a buck could want in our area is there. Low swampy bedding, grasses, thick conifers, lots of browse next year, a field, EDGES, EDGES, and more EDGES.

The thing that I struggle with the most is access and stand location. I know I want to get into or near that funnel. I expect most of the travel to be from east to west. We get dominated by north and west winds up there. If I come from the south I am almost certain I will bump them off beds. Access needs to come from the West and most likely right next to the clear cut.


Action really dried up on my cameras around OCT, and I think it was from a lack of does in the area. As the logging regenerates I expect a lot more does to show up for the northwood buffet.

View from our stand this year:

 

[Rit]

I found a good size rub during a little post season scouting. Probably the biggest rub I have ever found. I am fairly confident I killed the buck that made this rub.

 

[sandbur]

You need to look straight east of those rubs where three or four habitats come together. Look for more rubs or a feint trail.

How to approach it is a big problem.

I like my stands in thick cover, unlike some hunters... in most cases anyway. I will take a narrow bottleneck of 50 yards even for a rifle shot.


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[Bowsnbucks]

^^^^^ Like Sandbur, I like my stands to be tucked into some evergreens in shadowy surroundings. Not only does this break up my outline, but in dim light conditions, it's easier to see better being in a darker location looking out into lighter areas, such as cuts, open swampy areas or fields.

By your aerial pic, if you get winds from the north and west, I'd approach from the south right along that eastern red line you inked and stay just inside the tree line. I'd stay inside the trees and follow the curved edge of the neighboring field until I got to the location of the letters "o" and "n" in locations. I'd angle northwest from there and look for a good stand site in the evergreens so I could watch the edge between conifers and cut hardwoods along the orange and purple lines. I'd also be watching the narrow area between the small grass opening and the bigger low swampy grass area. That would seem to be a natural travel route.

 

[H20fwler]

 

[H20fwler]

 

[Tap]

View attachment 21818

I found a good size rub during a little post season scouting. Probably the biggest rub I have ever found. I am fairly confident I killed the buck that made this rub.

Rubs are nice, but multi year rubs are even better. You may have killed the buck that rubbed it most recently, but I predict that tree will be rubbed again next year and the year after that. It's hard to tell exactly from your pic, but it looks like that tree has been rubbed for at least 3 years. Conifer are classic for multi year rubbing. And conifer can withstand bark and cambium damage better than most hardwood species. Hardwoods just can't take being rubbed repeatedly over successive years without dying. Pine handle it well and I believe it's a reason that those perennial, sign-post rubs are so often on pines. They get used by multiple bucks and as bucks die-off, other bucks keep them going. I've seen those used continually for many years.

They just seem to like the smell of pine sap. I've filmed bucks in Iowa rub cedar trees then eat the shreds of bark and wood. I watched 2 young bucks hanging out together take turns rubbing and eating the shreds. One would do it and when he was done, the other stepped in. They took turns.

The next thing I like to see around perennial rubs are lots of old rubs from years past. Yes, a nice fresh rub line is exciting but it only tells me there was a movement pattern this year. But when I find new rubs next to old rubs, I know there is something about that spot that produces buck travel consistently from year to year.
I love perennial rub lines

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Amen Brother Tap !!! ^^^^^ Chapter and verse.

 

[BuckSutherland]

Rubs are nice, but multi year rubs are even better. You may have killed the buck that rubbed it most recently, but I predict that tree will be rubbed again next year and the year after that. It's hard to tell exactly from your pic, but it looks like that tree has been rubbed for at least 3 years. Conifer are classic for multi year rubbing. And conifer can withstand bark and cambium damage better than most hardwood species. Hardwoods just can't take being rubbed repeatedly over successive years without dying. Pine handle it well and I believe it's a reason that those perennial, sign-post rubs are so often on pines. They get used by multiple bucks and as bucks die-off, other bucks keep them going. I've seen those used continually for many years.

They just seem to like the smell of pine sap. I've filmed bucks in Iowa rub cedar trees then eat the shreds of bark and wood. I watched 2 young bucks hanging out together take turns rubbing and eating the shreds. One would do it and when he was done, the other stepped in. They took turns.

The next thing I like to see around perennial rubs are lots of old rubs from years past. Yes, a nice fresh rub line is exciting but it only tells me there was a movement pattern this year. But when I find new rubs next to old rubs, I know there is something about that spot that produces buck travel consistently from year to year.
I love perennial rub lines

That makes me really happy to hear guys talking about that. I found plenty of old rubs in this spot too. Check out this conifer. Just like you said. Maybe 30-40 yards from "the big rub." Also another decent one on some other tree. I didnt dilly around much, I just got the hell outta there so I dont blow them out.

 

[BuckSutherland]

And TAP, I agree 100% about what you said about deer rubbing conifers. I have shot two nice bucks up by us. This one in 2010 and a smaller 8 pt in 2012. Both of them had their foreheads absolutely caked with pine sap and tree bark. Even I could smell it from 10 feet away. I've used cedar for mock scrapes before and they like to eat them as much as they like to rub their face in them. Maybe I should start rolling in conifer sawdust for a cover scent/ attractant.

I planted a bunch of spruce trees on our land in lines were I want the deer to walk with the intention they will be rubbing them and hitting my mock scrapes. I want them to waste as much times as possible on our land even if it means losing some trees. I am gonna get about 1,000 feet of rolled wire next year and start protecting some of these trees until they reach 6-8 feet.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

BuckSutherland - I've seen how bucks walk along lines of spruce here on a big piece of land that was logged years ago. Someone planted spruce along a skid trail (probably to keep the trail from eroding) and every year it's a roadmap of rubs and scrapes. Those spruce have been rubbed for years with some having branches broken several times - but they still survived. They're well-travelled every year and I think part of the reason is the dark, shadowy travel corridor they provide - even in daylight hours. There's no food source nearby - only mountains, woods and brush for a long way.

Seeing that situation on a remote piece of land got me to copy it on our camp property. Planted lines of spruce to invite / "steer" the deer where we want them to travel. I think you're gonna like your results.

 

[Rit]

Rubs are nice, but multi year rubs are even better. You may have killed the buck that rubbed it most recently, but I predict that tree will be rubbed again next year and the year after that. It's hard to tell exactly from your pic, but it looks like that tree has been rubbed for at least 3 years. Conifer are classic for multi year rubbing. And conifer can withstand bark and cambium damage better than most hardwood species. Hardwoods just can't take being rubbed repeatedly over successive years without dying. Pine handle it well and I believe it's a reason that those perennial, sign-post rubs are so often on pines. They get used by multiple bucks and as bucks die-off, other bucks keep them going. I've seen those used continually for many years.

They just seem to like the smell of pine sap. I've filmed bucks in Iowa rub cedar trees then eat the shreds of bark and wood. I watched 2 young bucks hanging out together take turns rubbing and eating the shreds. One would do it and when he was done, the other stepped in. They took turns.

The next thing I like to see around perennial rubs are lots of old rubs from years past. Yes, a nice fresh rub line is exciting but it only tells me there was a movement pattern this year. But when I find new rubs next to old rubs, I know there is something about that spot that produces buck travel consistently from year to year.
I love perennial rub lines

I have a lot of Eastren Red Cedars on my property. I like to cut all the branches off on a few select trees up to about 6’ high. Then I use some paracord to drop a branch down and scuff up the ground. I don’t know if perennial scrapes are a thing but the two cedars I have done this to have been hammered the last two seasons. Both rubbed and scraped.

 

[Tap]

Rubs are nice, but multi year rubs are even better. You may have killed the buck that rubbed it most recently, but I predict that tree will be rubbed again next year and the year after that. It's hard to tell exactly from your pic, but it looks like that tree has been rubbed for at least 3 years. Conifer are classic for multi year rubbing. And conifer can withstand bark and cambium damage better than most hardwood species. Hardwoods just can't take being rubbed repeatedly over successive years without dying. Pine handle it well and I believe it's a reason that those perennial, sign-post rubs are so often on pines. They get used by multiple bucks and as bucks die-off, other bucks keep them going. I've seen those used continually for many years.

They just seem to like the smell of pine sap. I've filmed bucks in Iowa rub cedar trees then eat the shreds of bark and wood. I watched 2 young bucks hanging out together take turns rubbing and eating the shreds. One would do it and when he was done, the other stepped in. They took turns.

The next thing I like to see around perennial rubs are lots of old rubs from years past. Yes, a nice fresh rub line is exciting but it only tells me there was a movement pattern this year. But when I find new rubs next to old rubs, I know there is something about that spot that produces buck travel consistently from year to year.
I love perennial rub lines

I have a lot of Eastren Red Cedars on my property. I like to cut all the branches off on a few select trees up to about 6’ high. Then I use some paracord to drop a branch down and scuff up the ground. I don’t know if perennial scrapes are a thing but in the two cedars I have done this two have been hammered the last two seasons. Both rubbed and scraped.

You can bet your last bullet...perennial scrapes and perennial rubs are very real. They exist and they are one of biggest reasons why scouting between now and spring green-up is critical. Find them now and hunt them next season.
What you did by cutting bottom branches is a good thing. Bucks have a hard time passing up a nice, branch less, small to medium sized pine. Cut branches tight to the trunk. I think that scuffing the bark helps, too. Just like making mock over hanging branches and scrapes...once a real buck starts using it, it becomes a "real" scent hub. Deer will take it over and your work is done.

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