growalot Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 So I just found another rub cluster 20yrds from one of my stands...that makes 3... My question would be what are your thoughts on such clusters being made by more than one buck...My personal definition of a cluster 4-6 trees with in 10-15 of each other all rubbed up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfdeputy2 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Cluster rubs I always thought are kind of a staging area. find them usually in sight of a food source or it is an area that a buck spends some time OR they are from more then one buck showing aggression Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
growalot Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 No food near any of the three...take that back...a couple of mature reds ..but not many acorns ...this latest was a trail I was checking out for branches and one I had not blown the leaf cover from...I can see travel by how the trees are rubbed...but do not know times..no cams near this spot...yet.. Will clear that trail today...not worried about pushing deer out...because I didn't push any out of the swamp when I cleared there just before hunting it. Nor when I put up the new ladder on the other stand I had deer on the next day with new rubs... We always get rubs and scapes late here..as I've mentioned in the past...the boys are just moving in now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turkeyfeathers Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I've got that in the area I hunt too. Every year 6-10 little trees are all beat up. Always assumed it was same deer. These happen to be near a pinch path between two fields thru small plot of trees. Sucks I can't get in tight there as I blow directly at it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfdeputy2 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 (edited) I've got that in the area I hunt too. Every year 6-10 little trees are all beat up. Always assumed it was same deer. These happen to be near a pinch path between two fields thru small plot of trees. Sucks I can't get in tight there as I blow directly at it. That is exactly what I am talking about that may be more than one deer it is a staging area to the fields couple write ups on cluster rubs http://www.cabelas.com/category/Deer-Nation-Article-Cluster-Rubs-and-Stage-Areas/567454680.uts Clusters of buck rubs are most likely to occur in habitats close to areas with abundant seasonal food, such as wooded cover near corn or alfalfa fields, oak habitat in years when acorns are abundant and areas adjacent to forest openings or near artificial feeders and food plots. Such rubbing strategy makes good sense, of course, because other deer will probably concentrate near such choice feeding sites, making a buck's signposting most effective. Edited November 16, 2015 by gfdeputy2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
growalot Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 (edited) Dbl post Edited November 16, 2015 by growalot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
growalot Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 Thanks for that link...good read...the one I just found makes sense in that my stand has that one mature oak 5 ft in front of it...and the area is mostly beech with a large bramble patch not far away...the others...I still can't figure as far as the food thing... Would it be normal to have 3 staging areas on only 73 acres? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisceglia Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 (edited) i read somewhere that a cluster of rubs indicates the center of a bucks range and when they are rubbed in a line that is indicating the boarded of his home range, like said above i usually always see these clusters of rubs right next to a food source. Edited November 16, 2015 by bisceglia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfdeputy2 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Thanks for that link...good read...the one I just found makes sense in that my stand has that one mature oak 5 ft in front of it...and the area is mostly beech with a large bramble patch not far away...the others...I still can't figure as far as the food thing... Would it be normal to have 3 staging areas on only 73 acres? don't know if it is normal or not but I would say it would depend on where the bucks are coming from? I might have missed it but how far away are they from each other? i read somewhere that a cluster of rubs indicates the center of a bucks range and when they are rubbed in a line that is indicating the boarded of his home range, like said above i usually always see these clusters of rubs right next to a food source. I heard that too but most everything I have read talks about food sources & that is usually where I see them too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
growalot Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 Hhhmmm..... now the question will be...which one to hunt opening day? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 all the bucks now have shed and are out there like the wind. when I've seen them it's usually in a travel corridor that is getting a lot of activity. as a buck passes through he rubs a tree next to another rub to say hey I'm here too. you get clusters along the path of travel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
growalot Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 In two of them they are less than 10 ft...the one today they are 10-15 ft apart... If your asking how far apart each cluster is...ones a 1/2 mile from the others and the two are 250 yrds apart... the two are no closer to any of the food plots or oak flats than 200yrds.... Now I have had staging areas on our place well every year but last year and this is the first time I have seen cluster rubs...These are not near those usual staging areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfdeputy2 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 In two of them they are less than 10 ft...the one today they are 10-15 ft apart... If your asking how far apart each cluster is...ones a 1/2 mile from the others and the two are 250 yrds apart... the two are no closer to any of the food plots or oak flats than 200yrds.... Now I have had staging areas on our place well every year but last year and this is the first time I have seen cluster rubs...These are not near those usual staging areas. Yes I was wondering how far apart the clusters are these can change yearly depending on the food source this is not an etched in stone rule that it is a staging area but clusters are usually used in this manner like I said earlier it could also be another buck coming into the area & could be a sign of aggression or like DBhunter stated just to say Hi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
growalot Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 Here is at least one that may be making them still...the others I'll show if I am lucky after 7:10 am on Saturday or later ...cropped due to not wanting locals to see location ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfdeputy2 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Nice & don't blame you for the cropping of the photo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.