What do deer rubs look like

Instead, most rubs are made by relatively few dominant bucks to signal their readiness to breed and to proclaim their control over a given area. Rubs are intended to be eye-catching.

All whitetails possess specialized forehead skin glands that become increasingly active in autumn. And tests indicate that mature, socially high-ranking bucks exude greater amounts of the glandular secretion than do younger males or females.

However, those same signals stimulate females and help synchronize breeding cycles. As a result, the presence of older bucks and their signposts helps maintain social order in a given area. What Do Deer Rub on? But they prefer to rub trees and shrubs that have smooth bark and no lower limbs and are one-half to four inches in diameter. In the Southeast, bucks seem to prefer aromatic species, such as cedar and sassafras.

Trembling aspen is the preferred species for rubbing in the Northeast and Upper Great Lakes region. In its early stages of growth, the species has a smooth, soft bark that is easily stripped. Staghorn sumac, red maple, black cherry, balsam fir, pines and willows are also frequently rubbed, whereas sugar maple, ironwood, beech and paper birch are usually avoided. All bucks occasionally rub saplings less than two inches in diameter, but only older bucks regularly rub trees six or more inches in diameter.

In addition, young bucks seldom re-rub the same tree. So, if you happen upon a large-diameter tree that shows signs of frequent rubbing, you can be sure that at least one older, rut-experienced buck is in the area. Once antlers are fully developed, their velvet starts drying and shedding. Bucks accelerate its removal by rubbing their antlers on trees or raking them through brush. They usually shed all their velvet in less than 24 hours.

For most of the country, the rut occurs from late October to early December. Before and during the rut, bucks rub trees to mark their territory, work off aggression, and intimidate other bucks. Buck rubs also serve as dominance symbols and communication signposts. When a buck rubs trees, brush and saplings, it leaves behind scents from its forehead. Other deer often sniff rubs, and sometimes rub the spot themselves before moving on.

He was not using body strength or weight to push against the sapling like we commonly see in other rubs. It appeared to me he was working on his speed and agility. He was no doubt preparing himself for dominance bouts with other bucks. I have also witnessed other types of mock combats in which bucks engaged saplings. I have seen mature bucks brace their bodies and throw all their weight into larger saplings with such force that a person could hear the sounds 75 yards away.

Bucks will often work themselves into a frenzy as they rake their horns up and down the tree while ripping the bark off. Many times during such endeavors, a buck can be heard groaning and grunting. This action reminds me very much of a boxer using the heavy bag to build his strength, power and stamina.

I believe this is one of the main reasons a buck develops large neck and shoulder muscles during the fall. Their bodies are flowing with testosterone, and when you combine this hormone with aggressive rubbing, you'll get the same results as a bodybuilder using steroids while working out with weights. Common rubs appear anytime in the fall after velvet shedding has taken place.

However, as a buck's hormone level rises, rubbing intensifies. Rubbing actively will increase weekly until breeding begins. Even during the peak of the rut, mature bucks still make quite a few rubs. As is commonly believed, the size of the rub has a lot to do with the size and maturity of its maker. I have occasionally seen small bucks rub big trees. I once watched a spike rub a tree that was the size of my calf. However, he only hit it two or three times and did little or no additional damage to the tree.

The spike was not the original maker of this rub. When you find a rub on a tree that big you can bet that it was made by an older-age-class buck. The reason I believe that young bucks rub big trees is that these rubs also serve as scent-communication rubs more on this subject in Part 2.

Can we carry rub size far enough to say that a rub the size of a man's upper thigh is made by a really big buck? Not necessarily. Last season, my good friend Kevin Boyer from Century, Illinois, placed a trail camera on a telephone pole that had been ripped up.

Of course, visions of monster Boone and Crockett bucks always enter our minds when we find such sign. This was definitely a scent-communication rub. During the seven-day period that he had his camera set up to view the pole, six different bucks rubbed it. But not one of those bucks scored higher than the mids. I believe mature bucks are apt to rub trees of all sizes, both large and small. If a large rub shows sign of repeated use, it's always a good idea to put a trail camera on it before you set a stand nearby.

Large bucks will also engage in mock combat with small trees. Oftentimes, the amount of damage done to the tree indicates the size of the buck responsible. If the tree is mangled, and especially if it is twisted off at ground level, you can bet that a mature buck did the damage.

As a matter of fact, several of the older bucks that I've hunted in the past preferred to work on clusters of small trees or twist off single saplings more often than they rubbed large trees. Many times a mature buck will make scrapes around the mangled sapling. I also pay special attention to the height of the rub on a tree. I have heard hunters' comment about a buck having long tines because the rub was high on a tree.

However, we must remember that rubs are made primarily with a buck's antler bases. In every situation in which I have found rubs as high as 5 feet up certain trees, the buck that made them was extremely large in stature.