[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/reading-buck-rubs\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/reading-buck-rubs\/","headline":"Reading Buck Rubs","name":"Reading Buck Rubs","description":"Improve your chances for harvesting a buck by reading deer rubs to track your prey, identify travel patterns, and determine the best ambush sites","datePublished":"2016-10-10","dateModified":"2018-12-04","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/#Person","name":"Hector Agosto","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Legendary Whitetails","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","url":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","width":522,"height":226}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/7-Alsheimer-00705-07013S.jpg","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/7-Alsheimer-00705-07013S.jpg","height":1125,"width":1195},"url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/reading-buck-rubs\/","about":["Hunting"],"wordCount":1228,"keywords":["Deer","Hunting","Tips"],"articleBody":"Next to scraping sign, few things grab a hunter\u2019s attention more than the sight of a big buck rub. The mere presence of rubbing sign adds to a hunt\u2019s excitement. As intriguing as rubs are, the \u201cwhy\u201d and \u201chow\u201d bucks make them\u00a0is often overlooked by hunters.Time LinePrior to velvet peel rubbing is nonexistent. \u00a0Rubbing behavior begins with velvet peel in late August and early September in the north and ends once antlers are cast. \u00a0After years of studying rutting behaviors I believe a buck\u2019s desire to rub brush and trees is driven by shortening day length and fueled by the amount of testosterone in his body. \u00a0Between mid-August and mid-September a buck\u2019s testosterone level will increase nearly 100% from what it was in June.\u00a0 And from mid-September to November 1st it will double again, reaching its peak by the first week in November in the north.\u00a0 A doe\u2019s estrogen level will also peak around November 1st, setting the stage for breeding to take place.\u00a0 Here in my home state of New York velvet peel is full-blown around the first of September.\u00a0 From this point on rut behaviors begin increasing until reaching their apex in November.Why Do Bucks Make Rubs?Many believe bucks make rubs to strengthen their neck muscles in preparation for the rut.\u00a0 Though this is a byproduct of rubbing behavior the primary reasons they rub is to show dominance and leave their scent on the rub.\u00a0 When making or reworking a rub, bucks leave scent from their nasal, preorbital, and forehead glands on the brush or trees they rub\u00a0and they will almost always lick the rub throughout the process.\u00a0 It should also be noted that does will on occasion rub their nasal and preorbital glands on rubs they encounter.Though other bucks can no doubt visually relate the size of the rub to the size of the animal, it\u2019s the odor left on the rub that often lets other bucks know who\u2019s been there.\u00a0 It\u2019s been my experience that this, as much as the size of the rub, works to determine an adult buck\u2019s social status within a given territory.\u00a0 Also, many researchers believe that the scent (pheromones) bucks leave on rubs serves as a priming function that influences the timing of breeding.Rub TypesAfter witnessing and photographing hundreds of \u201cbattles\u201d between bucks and tree trunks I\u2019ve concluded there are four kinds of rubbing behavior: random, rub-line, traditional sign post, and aggressive breeding.1 – Random rubbing is a byproduct of increased testosterone in a buck\u2019s system and his desire to leave his calling card.\u00a0 He does this by randomly rubbing trees and brush while roaming his territory.\u00a0 At times there appears to be a pattern to these rubs (i.e., along travel corridors) but more often random rubs will appear wherever a buck feels the urge to rub.\u00a0 Most random rubs will not be a prime location to hunt.2 – Rub-line rubs are made by a buck as he travels back and forth between bedding and feeding areas.\u00a0 Most are made along well used trails and are the \u201cmother lode\u201d of rubs to hunt because of the way they can tip off a hunter to a buck\u2019s travel pattern.Here’s an obvious rub line. Notice how all the rubs are facing the same direction.RELATED: Finding and Analyzing Rub Lines3 – Traditional Sign Post rubs occur more often in a balanced herd where there are many mature bucks.\u00a0 Such rubs are usually found on trees 6 or more inches in diameter and rubbed year after year.\u00a0 Unfortunately, it takes a good population of mature bucks for a true traditional signpost rub to exist, so, in most of the whitetail\u2019s range, where 75+ percent of the buck kill is yearlings, there are very few traditional signpost rubs.Here’s a traditional sign post rub along a travel corridor. \u00a0Notice the tree scars from previous years of rubbing.4 – Aggressive Breeding rubs are a result of a buck\u2019s attitude at a given time and are caused by competition within the buck population during the breeding phase of the rut.\u00a0 They are made wherever a breeding party of two or more bucks attempt to breed the same doe.\u00a0 This type of rubbing takes place when one of the bucks aggressively makes a rub in sight of the other buck(s).\u00a0 This often prompts one or more of the bucks in the breeding party to repeat the process by making his own rub to telegraph dominance.\u00a0 Such rubs take on the appearance of clusters and are a good indication where the actual breeding took place.Importance to the HunterOften, where you find scraping you\u2019ll find rubbing.\u00a0 The more of each the better your chances of harvesting a buck.\u00a0 Locating a line of rubs, usually made along a well-worn trail between the bedding and feeding area (what I call a transition zone) will be a prime ambush site. \u00a0Also, rub lines can often reveal the way a buck was traveling.\u00a0 If the scarred side of the tree faces the feeding area, the rub was probably made in the morning when the buck returned to his bedding area.\u00a0 If the scar faces the bedding area, the rub was undoubtedly made when the buck exited in the evening.Does will also communicate by leaving scent and smelling buck rubs.If there is a good doe population, there is even more reason to be excited about hunting a transition zone that contains many rubs because does will also rub their nasal and preorbital glands and forehead on rubs bucks have made.\u00a0 With doe groups in the area, the chance of killing a buck increases dramatically as the rut moves through the chase phase and then climaxes with the breeding phase."},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Legendary Whitetail's Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/reading-buck-rubs\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Reading Buck Rubs"}}]}]