How To Read A Whitetail Buck Rub
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- Whether a buck hits a rub again or not, learning to read a whitetail buck rub can help you understand the seasonal timing, antler size and even the approximate age of a buck. From historical buck rubs to fresh, giant buck rubs, here is how to make sure that you are reading the clues that an old giant has left behind. Here is how to read a buck rub when you are scouting your favorite hunting grounds this off-season...
Now I got to walk my ass back out to that rub I seen this morning and inspect it.
Lmao😂
The best deer hunting channel on youtube, Love seeing your videos pop up. You are out in the woods almost everyday it looks like.
Nice video. Its always nice to watch hunting videos like this that we can always learn from or refresh our thoughts of things we may have forgot. Remember that deer like cover. Need food and water. For us the thicker the woods the better. I love lots of buck brush and a mix of different trees around me.
Valuable info which made perfect sense. Many of us don’t have your ability to interpret what the woods/deer are telling us. Thank you. Like and value many of your videos.
Thanks a lot Don, I really appreciate that! You are very welcome and I will do my best to keep them coming.
Very helpful, doesn't hurt anyone to learn something every day thanks !
Another great video. Thanks for making this videos. I’m 35 and up until a couple years ago I’d never watched a UA-cam video and all my info about white tails came from my father, grandfather, the older guys on our lease and observation.
Kevin you are very welcome...I really enjoy making them! Great to combine the experiences...I hope it all makes sense!
Great information, will be in the woods Saturday keeping my eyes open.
I've known about rubs, but I will tell ya, I'm changing my whole hunting strategy because of you next year lol. Thanks again!
Man that's awesome to hear James!! I try to offer something in every video for all levels. But to hear you are changing I can't wait, to hear back from you. Hoping this year is the best year ever for you and thanks for the feedback!
@@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 I will definitely let you know how it goes! With all the new tips you provide everyday, I really dont see how I can go wrong lol. You're like a cheat sheet lol. Thanks again man!
@@JamesThomas-vz4of you are so welcome James and I like that, lol "cheat sheet"! Can't wait to hear about it...
Lol Jeff "Cheat Sheet" Sturgis, kind of has a ring to it lol
@@JamesThomas-vz4of ha, pretty funny!
I found some really cool rubs this last season and had always wondered about the info behind the rub thanks for making a video on the rub subject I have found some smaller trees that have 4 or 5 years of different rubs from knee high to a little over my head all in the same direction
Very cool Rob...I love finding rublines like that! And you are very welcome...hope some of the tips helped!
Rob Cline jr am just kidding around here so please don't take this wrong. but those must be small trees an there bending over while they rub them or you got so really big bucks or elk mybe or your short. all though in this video that rub is above Jeff's head know I'm just joking here.
@@yogibear6271 ha, yes good point...
And yes, I'm short leave me alone, lol But, it IS above my head for sure - ha!
@@yogibear6271 hahaha no elk in New Hampshire wish there were elk here
Rob Cline jr didn't mean a thing thanks for taking that so well best of luck with all your white tail Ventures they are amazing animals. you will never quite learning from them.
I just learned so much. Can't wait to go examine some rubs. New sub. Thanks!
Good vid!!! I love this time of year to we have found alot of rubs here lately too that we didnt see during hunting season
Thanks a lot Dan! That's great to hear too...should be agreat year this year!
Great video! Definitely going to change the way I hunt
That's awesome to hear...good luck!
Great video, Jeff! Very informative and I always enjoy your references to the UP.
Your comment on January yarding in the UP is well received. The deer in our area move south and winter in a very different area than where they are located in October/November.
It makes sense that this would be an excellent time to scout as there will be no danger of bumping deer or leaving scent.
However, searching for mature buck beds is obviously difficult with snow on the ground. Do you use these historical rubs to try to identify bedding areas during January - March (in the UP) scouting? Or do you employ different tactics to identify bedding areas during Q1 scouting?
Thanks, Jeff! As always, I’m looking forward to the dialogue.
Very informative, really enjoyed this video. I really like watching all your videos so thank you for posting them. A little behind on them but will catch up as time allows.
I took my quite cat out 2 days ago finding big rubs close to bedding areas, Eating tag sandwiches this year but hey we have some great up and comers next year.
Jeff love your channel
Your videos are so informative.
Great video Jeff, confirms a lot of what I already believed.
Very knowledgeable and thank you.
Appreciate the info. I have 3 fresh trees with deep markings on the back away from the rub itself and I always wonder how did bucks make those marks. This have been going on for 3yrs and count. I’m learning a lot watching your videos keep them coming.
That is great to hear Tyron! Man I love seeing those deep, backside gouges! You are very welcome and I will keep them coming...
Always well done and informational
In my neck of the woods it always seemed as though the big bucks were rubbing small pine and striped maple. Depending on the trees available in that area. I did see a cedar tree that was being hit year after year. It was in an area were several territories crossed. A scrape the size of a small car. I found these things to late. Not far away but not close enough.
Great information Jeff. You never touched on the subject of rub directions from bedding to feeding is this something you don't believe in or just haven't touched on yet?
Look for fence lines, tree lines and so forth. If you find rub line with scrapes underneath, that buck will be back to check them, most of the time daily or several times a day. “Satellite” bucks will visit those scrapes as well along with does. You wanna get a look at him set up on that area. ✌️
More great info Jeff, I never really read much into a rub before. I was always told the bigger the tree the bigger the deer. Now as I got older I realized, that is not always true.
Thank you very much and that is so true...but at the same time you can use tell at least a bit of age and generally how wide...and stickers or not. I live to investigate though, rubs are pretty cool eh?
I have a very nice buck in my property scraps rubs hes working it. Cant wait for the perfect weather to go for this big boy. Off 7 days straight here soon but looks like i may only have one good drop in temperature to work with. But im excited lol
Have you been able to hunt it yet? Curious to know if you got him.
@@redskin4040 well ive only hunted it twice because of weather and wind. Still learning their patterns and so fourth. Lets just say the neighbors are loud and drive fourwheelers lol. I have not had him in bow range.
@@devouring2772 well good luck. Hope you get him soon. If not maybe he'll make it until next season.
I began studying whitetail deer around 2006 snd I have found that quality information, applied is probably one of the most effective methods of hunting success. I love that you make the time to prepare, record, edit and upload the videos to provide many with important foundational info. Thank you. In my short time hunting, I have succeeded in killing quite a few mature bucks. The challenge is awesome. The amount of deer activity that one sees while hunting for specific deer is unparalleled, yet I have never found a successful method of ridding the rutting monarch meat of the infamous "gamey" flavor. After trying several methods, I opted to only take mature bucks in the early archery season, before the cruising begins. Obviously any hunter will have greater success during the mating seasons, but I'm a meat hunter and a foodie. Do you know if there's any true steps that can be taken to eliminate the gamey flavor? To me, having a freezer full of savory meat is a thousand times more rewarding than a wall full of incredible memories. Every mature buck I have taken, has given me some great campfire stories, but always left a bad taste in my mouth. *That was supposed to punny*😒
Not trying to be a dick, but from what I've learned, the gamey taste is due to mishandling of or some kind of improper care of the deer. Also, the time it takes a deer, or any animal to expire will effect the taste as well. Shot placement, and proper cleaning is about the only thing I've found that will help your situation.
@@rabbitsfoot1 Thanks. I've killed close to 80 deer in 9 seasons and (as I have stated) I have learned quite a lot. I always aim for the lungs, because they bleed the best, transferring the most blood from the muscles. It also helps if you never allow the deer to know what happened, so they don't pump more blood into the muscles and they can just find a close place to lay down. Yes, I also use great care in field dressing and do keep the meat clean. The only gaminess i've tasted is from the mature bucks.
Just a little fyi... when the word "but" is used in a sentence, it usually cancels or otherwise contradicts what preceded it in a sentence. 😉
I hunt for meat as well. Like I tell my hunting buddies, it’s just as easy to shoot a big buck as it is to shoot a doe.
It’s the luck, not hard to shoot big racks inside a fence line.
@@rabbitsfoot1 Shot placement and handling is a factor, yes! I have killed nearly 100 deer and every mature buck I've killed (accept one) had a clean double lung, quick bleed out, kill. And I handled them the same way I handle my does and young bucks and I can say there is a major difference in the taste of the meat. You can pretend it all tastes the same, if you want to, but even trophy hunters kill does for freezer meat.
But notice how Jeff will not reply, because he knows that what I've said is true and it goes against his livelihood. He makes his money catering to trophy hunting and not harvesting savory meat
My friend..Thank you for the pointers on rubs. I do watch you at time to time. I my self make videos..I own HuntingOutfittersPlus site is down being revamped.. keep your eyes open you will love it..I am a run n gunner for deer I hunt out of brush blinds from the ground .Calling Rattling grunting and I slam that rattle bag up against a tree with grunts snort weez and a few doe calls. I AM VERY AGRESSIVE WITH MY CALLING I DONT WORRY ABOUT NOISE I BELIEVE NOISES ARE BENEFICIAL TO THE HUNT AND I ALL. SO CALL TURKEYS at the same time to boot. Deer feel calmer and I spray my turkey decoy down with tinks 69..so when deer come in they are smelling it and they are blind by my movement and I'll block off trails to make them go a certain direction for a shot game dont start till I'm ready to play it.playing the game from location to location because each spot is fresh from calling and I get. close to bending areas EDGES play the wind and cent control.i believe in estrus urine buck urine nose jammer.code blue code red drag rags with both buck and doe.i spray my blinds down and my self with dead down wind and all the urine's. If it dont happen in a hour or two .I move on to next location blind.And I'm very successful doing this . I'll never go back to a tree to play that sit n wait game. Thank you for your tips you and stan Potts I like.. So I wanted to share my style with you and your viewers..Thank you for the knowledge
I'm on youtube my videos are differant I have a 7 year old shooting a turkey with a 4-10 and more gobbling n gobblers in the fall also now that another topic most hunters dont do but videos will show that also.using gobbler tube n fall kills gobblers you want a gobbler act like one deer and turkey hunting is the same in all ways . Differences are beat the nose on deer and turkeys beat the eyes..be savvy
Pretty cool video, ive came across old rubs i found before that were being used just totally destroyed later on literally broke the tree in half
GREAT, GREAT INFO.. Again!! I'm out there looking right now... And am puzzled. Where I am hunting the rubs I am finding are right along the lake shore. In fact I found one spot late, that has a real concentration of rubs. This year's (2018) rubs. I find them along the shoreline.. No here's what I think is odd- The places I am thinking there would be rubs and scrapes (terrain changes, cover changes - pines meeting hardwoods, thick cover hitting open cover).. Nothing really. Even logging/old roads. The further I get from the water it seems like the rubs I find are bigger, but more random... Like the buck was coming along as got pissed at a tree LOL And they are raked good! I went into some cover that is thicker than thick, just to have a look.. Well, I'll keep at it. Obviously the bucks are there for a reason and I gotta figure why! Cameras are up, I just laid in a good supply of vines for mock scrapes, drilled a hole in them for the paracord. Thank you again Jeff for the vids and for making me think!! Oh.. I am going to note what the day "scores" value wise when I see up ticks on the cameras. I have to go back and look at Dec 2018 from the 2nd to the 6th because I had deer on all my cams :)
Awesome video. Good info.
Thank you very much!
Can you tell what direction he was traveling in? Can you tell if it’s a morning evening or night Rub?
Great video Jeff, just wondering if you could tell my questions by looking at the Rub.
Yes...watch the video for the direction. But no on the morning or evening question unless you know it was a morning or evening pattern. Then you can make assumptions. Interesting like most rubs...that tree was hit one time during the season that year by one buck. 3 mock scrapes nearby were each hit thousands of time throughout the entire year by all deer, including fawns.
Whitetail Habitat Solutions Thank you for your reply I totally agree. Once again outstanding video.
Love your videos very educational
I’m in east Alabama and have a small piece of land with good deer presents and in the last 2 weeks there’s a rub trail 50 yards long that has popped up around my morning stand . I want to use the stand but would hate to pressure him out of the area
I would definitely hunt the spot...likely more of just a pass through area if an actual rubline. Good luck!!
Love to find the big rubs and groups of them, but I have killed big bucks where there were no large rubs. Before trail cams, scrape size and rub clusters, rub lines, large scrapes, and of course, big calf hoof looking deer tracks, were the only sign you had for trying to figure out what age bucks were in your area and how to pattern them. I have not looked for track sign for years, Kinda sad really. Still get excited when I see a large diameter tree rubbed, baseball bat size or bigger, or even a skinny sapling with a 2 or 3 foot long rub on it. Scrape lines, i.e. a series of trees rubbed, supposedly could tell you what direction the buck was traveling by which side of the trees the rubs were facing. Not sure how scientific this all was, but interesting to ponder.
Very informative video. You know your stuff. I know you film these alone, but if there was some way for you to show the particular marks you're discussing, that would really help some of us out....like me.🙂. I know self filming is a challenge though, and you make it so professional looking. It's just sometimes you mention certain marks and I don't know if I would be able to distinguish all these markings.
Awesome info! ill be using this info during my scouting trips soon!
Ever had any luck with historical rubs or guessing the timeline and hunting the following year? I have had some success around that tactic with scrapes
Great info
Do you set up other people's property for deer
Should I make a mock scrape and licking vine near a good rub area?
Great question...I make them by stand locations, to help continue and define the movement. So if it was a staging rub area I would not...bedding rub area I would not, but if it is part of buck movement between those areas and near a stand location I certainly would. Then of course hand a camera nearby.
Whitetail Habitat Solutions Sounds good. I believe it’s buck movement between areas. I’ll do it and set cameras. Be sure to remember me and I’ll let you know how it all works out. Thanks for the info.
If you found a line of rubs, would that be a good indication of a normal travel route?
Just killed a nice 10 based on seeing a rub, I always hunt historical rubs also, but I've been hunting this area for 30 years, pretty much know their habits
How can you tell if it's a rub or just a rub from ur tractor moving trees? Cuz I have huge one around my stand
If there are 7-8 rubs on different trees within a 15ft diameter of different size trees, would that be multiple different bucks or more than likely 1 mature one?
Sounds like a rub line. I'm curious about this myself.
JEFF,i need your professional knowledge,i live in east central Alabama where our does usually come into heat from mid January and lasts until the first week in February.they even extended our season a few years back from the last day of January to include the first 10 days of February but this is almost the last day of January and when i see groups of does and a buck comes close by they take off like a bullet.last year at this time if you saw does in a group there was always a big buck with them,any advice will be deeply appreciated.
Is there a tree or shrub I can plant in the woods under the canopy that will grow to thicken up an area and that is attractive to bucks for let's say cover, bedding, security and whatnot?
one thing ive noticed about rubs is that 90% of the ones I find are on evergreen aromatic trees. I wondor if the bucks like that fresh pine scent on their heads.
Must depend on the area. I have bucks that love rubbing on old wooden fence posts where the wire is gone. I think they are cedar. Also quaking aspen are favorites here.
Do you have any information on Louisiana ??
All the concepts are the same...Kurt the habitat changes 😊👍🏻
I would like the viewers here to go out an find a rub like this one an find a rock an a tree similar to it an rub the rock up an down it or better yet if you some sheds rub them up an down the tree an try an simulate that rub I think you'd be surprised how much effort that buck put into it. I think you will find its no easy
Great point Yogi! Incredible level of force and they make it look easy. Can you imagine how powerful their necks are?
Thanks for the video. I did learn a few things that make total sense. I have rubbed a tree with my( real) rattling antlers. Not easy.
@@fredsalay720 ha, not easy at all Fred! Pretty dang incredible...
Who is this Gentleman??? I've Hunted and studied deer for nearly 40 yrs... but I've never seen him...
Congratulations Mr Bailey you've discovered a gold mine! No gimmicks here...the REAL DEAL! There is no one like Jeff Sturgis!
@@notinacorner592 still doesn't tell me who he is...
@@jbcurdog72 check out his channel description and website
@@notinacorner592 👍
I was out scouting on public land recently and found 4 rubs on some nice sized trees all within 50 yards, does that means that's where he spends alot of time? Or could he have made those all at once and left?
Definitely more likely he just had an attitude and left. Unless it is right next to his bed...or a staging area right next to food, I group of rubs over a 50 yard area are typically more random. Maybe an area that he passes through? That is similar to the area that I shot the video in. Not bedding...not food... but definitely an area that they travel!
In my experience, if you find an area like that, it usually means it's part of that bucks normal travel routine. Possibly close to his main bedding/feeding area. Doesn't mean you'll see him though. But I'm just joe schlub on a keyboard. That has been my experience through the years though.
@@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 Thanks for the response! It's close to a heavily used trail, maybe a good area to set up a mock scrape and set up a camera?
@@gattlynmolnar1406 I like that idea...sounds like a great spot for a mock scrape setup! Let me know what you find...make sure to hide that camera well 😉
@@johnhall7790 it takes a lot more scouting to determine for sure! The older the buck the more rubs he makes. In my experience there are more random not-so-tight rubbing spots than not. Again though, a lot more needs to be determined...
Do bucks rub on pine trees?
Do not buy the rap every time I try to contact them because it’s not working it says cannot connect to server
Jeff, I have a picture of a rub from the other day that I would like your opinion about.
I hope the video helps! Can you upload it to a shiort UA-cam video on your channel?
@@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 I posted a short video called NW Minnesota public land rub. I generally see rubs lower down and with not as much scratching on the back of the tree. This tree was by a swamp on a transition line with 13 other rubs on trees of various sizes. It's hard to tell by the picture but the rub is almost chest height and I'm 6'1. What class deer do you think would rub like this?
@@sandysanders5137 Go fuck yourself Sandy Sanders. This is my first year bow hunting, actually my first year hunting anything. I've been a drug addict for 15 years, and spent most of my 20's in a Minnesota prison cell, my dad's dead, and my mama tried. I finally sobered up in 2015, got baptized, and pulled my head out of my ass. I'm a union member at manufacturing plant in North West Minnesota, I run 10k marathons, I recreationally body build, and I hunt my ass off. I spent over 55 days hunting with my second hand pse bow and my second hand lone wolf treestand. I shot 4 deer this year including a decent 8 point on public land. I figured out my myself watching these videos, asking older dudes at work for advice, and putting the hours in out in the woods. So nobody fucking held my hand. I made mistakes but I never made the same one twice. Unfortunately I happen to fall into the age bracket called "millennial" but I'm far from a snow flake buddy. Anyways, even though your a miserable fuck, I still wish you the best of luck this fall.
@@billycrystal288 mountain lions make scratching posts on trees. Minnesota also has small elk and moose populations. Might be worth comparing the rub you found to sign other species might leave. Might not be from a whitetail. I've never hunted moose, elk, or cougars... so I'm not the right guy to make the call, lol. Good luck.
@@dgott7726 yea that's what I was wondering. I thought it could have been something else too. I did not see fresh tracks other than coyote though, so I'm gonna wait till spring to put a trail cam up.
Do u ever use a EBike to scout or hunt
I sure do Brent...I have 2 QuietKats and like them a lot!
I find a lot of deer beds overlooking my food plots. Is this common and how do I hunt these
That's very food and those are almost always does...I hunt that movement by hunting the bucks that would be in position behind those does, as I come in from the side or behind, and then wait for them to come back to their beds in the morning....
I hope that makes sense?
@@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 Yes thank you very much
@@andrewstrong5055 cool you are welcome!
You failed to mention the deeper old rub, scar tissue or regrowth below the fresher rub; this would be more history of this rub.
I hunt nothing but conservation..hunters dont bothers me. Hunting is a frame of mined. And the funny thing is theres a lot of hunters were I hunt.every one else is n a tree.And I'm tagged out quick with this style. Because deer are not call shy. And as hunters we need to realize deer are social and bucks are looking for does dodging hunters coming to calls..like turkeys you can bust up does and sit down call in one..so ppl run n gun turkeys calling from spot to spot to find a bird well running n gunning deer is the same but easier
A rub means he's been there, that's all it means.
Great comment...also the size of the buck, age of the buck, history of location for buck use, presence of mature bucks in the area or not, timing of buck use on land,...for a few others.
A lot of words not saying much. A far more concise articulation could have given a better foundational understanding for the hunter just getting into an analysis of buck signd.