Should I hunt rubs or scrapes?

Publish date: 2024-05-10
To sum up, while scouting your hunting area look for both rubs and scrapes. Rubs on large diameter trees will let you know that a big buck has been in the area, but a scrape is more likely to tell you where he will return.  Takedown request View complete answer on buckmanager.com

Should you hunt over scrapes or rubs?

In my experience, hunting over scrapes during the pre-rut is a lot more effective than hunting rub lines. In high-pressure areas, such as public lands, rubs are often more random or clustered in staging areas near field edges or food sources that are mostly visited at night.  Takedown request View complete answer on crossbowmagazine.com

When should you hunt rub lines?

Using rubs to kill mature bucks

When you get into a buck's bedding area, you will likely find several rubs. The problem is they are difficult to hunt because of their close proximity to the bedding area. Preferably only hunt this area in the morning, but be prepared to stay all day if you don't kill a deer early on.

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Should you hunt a community scrape?

Community scrapes don't happen accidentally. These scrapes are created naturally by deer in precise locations. Community scrapes are great to hunt around during the rut and are vital to getting a solid inventory of what deer are living in your hunting area.  Takedown request View complete answer on northamericanwhitetail.com

Will a buck come back to a rub?

Many rubs are never visited again by the bucks that made them or by other deer. However, some rubs are a little more special and are visited by multiple bucks and even does. Deer even visit these unique rubs across multiple years.  Takedown request View complete answer on deerassociation.com

How To Read And Hunt Buck Rubs And Scrapes

Should you hunt over a deer rub?

In this scenario, rubs in the cover matter because they were far more likely to have been made in daylight. But one rub doesn't make for a good hunting area. Rub lines are better, not only because they'll show a concentration of sign, but because they'll give you a clear direction that your target buck likes to travel.  Takedown request View complete answer on themeateater.com

Do big rubs mean big bucks?

While science doesn't have much to say about rub size, it will confirm that bigger deer are more likely to make them, and they're most likely to show up near edges. Those pinch points and funnels along fields are the best place to find torn up trees, and maybe find a mature buck.  Takedown request View complete answer on themeateater.com

What time of day is best to hunt scrapes?

Your early arrival allows you to hunt elsewhere. Return in several days return and be ready to hunt the revived scrape if it's active. Primary scrapes are food destination locations, which means you should only hunt them in the evening. You would spook any attending deer with morning entries.  Takedown request View complete answer on themeateater.com

When should you hunt over scrapes?

Peak Scraping

Though bucks will work a scrape's licking branch 365 days a year, October through mid-November is their prime scraping period in the North.

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Do Bucks check scrapes?

In an area with a good buck population, you might get a multitude of bucks hitting it — oh, and also does. Bucks tend to scent check scrapes from downwind prior to working them and to check if an intruder buck has entered the area or to scent check if a doe is close to estrous.  Takedown request View complete answer on codebluescents.com

Do Bucks follow rub lines?

Remember, mature bucks establish their rub-lines along routes they feel the most safe and secure using. But they'll often times abandon those routes if they feel their safety has been compromised.  Takedown request View complete answer on outdoorlife.com

Do Bucks stay close to scrapes?

A buck may even ignore a scrape all-together during the peak of the rut - in fact you can often determine when the rut has actually started when the scraping activity stops. However, a wise old monster will still cruise the downwind edge of a quality scrape and that is often the best location to hang your stand.  Takedown request View complete answer on whitetailhabitatsolutions.com

Do mock scrapes attract bucks?

“Mock” scrapes are a great way to entice bucks into an area, hold them there longer and bring them close enough for a shot. The best results I've had come from making a “series of mock scrapes” and using Magnum Scrape Drippers over them – my own “fake scrape line,” so to say.  Takedown request View complete answer on issuu.com

Should you hunt early season scrapes?

To be successful at hunting over pre-rut scrapes, the hunter must time the three or four-day window, when bucks are most active during daylight hours. If it's too early into the season, the bucks still use scrapes at night.  Takedown request View complete answer on mossyoak.com

Do Bucks return to scrapes?

A buck will often make a random scrape whenever he comes upon an attractive licking branch and is “moved” to work the site. Seldom will they be reused and in most cases are not serious candidates for a hunting set up.  Takedown request View complete answer on community.legendarywhitetails.com

Do Bucks hit scrapes every day?

In 10 years of Scrape Research (checking up to 103 scrapes per year) I've found that some scrapes are only hit once, that some (often "traditional scrapes" [used at least three years in a row] that are used in "staging areas") may get hit up to 17 times (probably by several different bucks), and that they may get ...  Takedown request View complete answer on archerytalk.com

How early do bucks make scrapes?

With the peak breeding season weeks or months away, many are wondering why are bucks making scrapes so early and if those scrapes signal an early rut. According to a Mississippi State University biologist, scrapes in late September and early October aren't as uncommon as some may think.  Takedown request View complete answer on clarionledger.com

Do Bucks hit scrapes after rain?

During the pre-rut, when bucks are scraping hard, get on a community scrape after a rain event. Bucks will want to get up and freshen rained-in scrapes. One of my favorite times to hunt is after a heavy rain passes through.  Takedown request View complete answer on bowhunter.com

Should you put anything in a deer scrape?

For example, during the early season and pre-rut, it's best to use a scrape starter or straight buck urine. During the rut, it's better to use estrus scent. All the above can work during the late season.  Takedown request View complete answer on huntstand.com

How can you tell how old a rub is?

Rubs made just hours earlier often have a greenish tint. A rub that's a week or two old will be drier and slightly faded. The edges of the rub will be dry, and it won't be easy to see bark shavings on the ground. Rubs that are months old look gray, and there won't be any bark fragments around the tree.  Takedown request View complete answer on buckmasters.com

Why do bucks leave rubs?

Early Season

Before and during the rut, bucks rub trees to mark their territory, work off aggression, and intimidate other bucks. A series of rubs made along a trail or field edge are called rub lines, and provide clues about their travel patterns.

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Why do bucks like horizontal rubs?

Rather than long-range attractants, horizontal rub sites are intended to encourage a buck already moving through the area to come in your direction and stop where you want him, similar to how many hunters use fake scrape trees in food plots. Once the buck comes over to the site, the real magic happens.  Takedown request View complete answer on themeateater.com

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