Buck rubs

[damore81]

Anyway of judging what size buck is rubbing on a tree based on the rub/tree size? I found some 2-5 inch trees completely ripped to shreds. Some rubs were 3ft long from top to bottom. The top of one rub was about 4.5ft from the ground. The property I usually hunt doesnt typically have too many rubs but this year I am hunting a swamp behind a farm so I really dont know what to make of these rubs.

[YFKI1983]

I read that any rub 3 inches or more is a mature buck...I have no way of telling if its true or not though

[phade]

You can tell a ton about the buck by its rub sometimes.

 

Shredding - where it looks like the tree has been hit with a cheese grater, indicates a buck with pearling at the bases growing outward on the rack. Most younger bucks do not have pearling at the bases.

 

You want to look for tine height and also look for tine marks on trees around that rub - ie a tree is rubbed but there's tine marks on the tree a foot behind it or to the right.

 

You do get into some generalities. Big bucks can make small rubs or big rubs. Small bucks don't make BIG ones, but can make some that may fool you. One of the more less known traits of mature bucks that I have seen over time is that they will make brush rubs - redbud and other similar brush rubs where the brush looks like someone swung a shovel around. Smaller younger bucks generally don't do this. It's not an absolute, but I think brush rubs of that sort are often a result of frustration rubbing whereas younger bucks don't do that.

[damore81]

You can tell a ton about the buck by its rub sometimes.

 

Shredding - where it looks like the tree has been hit with a cheese grater, indicates a buck with pearling at the bases growing outward on the rack. Most younger bucks do not have pearling at the bases.

 

You want to look for tine height and also look for tine marks on trees around that rub - ie a tree is rubbed but there's tine marks on the tree a foot behind it or to the right.

 

You do get into some generalities. Big bucks can make small rubs or big rubs. Small bucks don't make BIG ones, but can make some that may fool you. One of the more less known traits of mature bucks that I have seen over time is that they will make brush rubs - redbud and other similar brush rubs where the brush looks like someone swung a shovel around. Smaller younger bucks generally don't do this. It's not an absolute, but I think brush rubs of that sort are often a result of frustration rubbing whereas younger bucks don't do that.

 

Well that definitely gives me some hope because these trees definitely looked like they were hit with a cheese grater lol. I did not notice any tine marks on trees behind or next to because the trees were alone. I did however notice tine marks on the rub itself which reached around 4.5ft.

[BizCT]

Multiple bucks could be rubbing the same tree. I put a camera on a huge buck rub, and got a pic of a tiny spike smelling it and rubbing it.

[GreeneHunter]

Multiple bucks could be rubbing the same tree. I put a camera on a huge buck rub, and got a pic of a tiny spike smelling it and rubbing it.

Antler Envy ?   LOL

[phade]

Multiple bucks could be rubbing the same tree. I put a camera on a huge buck rub, and got a pic of a tiny spike smelling it and rubbing it.

 

 

How big is that huge rub tree? 1"? LOL.

[Arrow Flinger]

How big is that huge rub tree? 1"? LOL.

 

That's what I was thinking! A huge rub to me is about as big around as the calf of your leg. Generally speaking, I look for rubs wrist size or bigger to tell me theres a big buck working the area. It also helps if, like Phade said, it looks like it was rubbed with a cheese grater and not a metal pipe. Sounds to me like you have a big one around there somewhere. Heres what I consider huge rubs, and I found these on public land too!

 

 

Edited November 14, 2013 by Arrow Flinger

[NYbuck50]

i was always told to judghe rubs by their max height on the tree... Rubs lower to the ground on the tree were generally smaller bucks, and if tyhey rubbed  3-4 feet it was something more substantial. Not an exact science though for sure