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So in the rut we find buck rubs often, yet the deer are polished now but I haven’t come across one rub yet? So do they use brush or cedars to get the first velvets removed or does it just fall off? Always wondered how that worked.
Was born in a Big City Will die in the Country OK with that!
Jerry Herbst
Re: Buck rubs?
[Re: Law Dog]
#8489687 Yesterday at11:58 AMYesterday at11:58 AM
Just wondering how they are getting polished before the rut starts just seems odd I’m not coming across any rubs once the rut starts they will be everywhere then.
Was born in a Big City Will die in the Country OK with that!
I think the birds are very thorough at eating the velvet. It would be hard for a buck to get all the tiny pieces out of the crevices by rubbing. Obviously those pieces come out. I think birds are what do a lot of the velvet removal. Some insects probably help too.
Maybe someone else who has been around domestic deer, which are of course easy to observe, will chime in.
"It can also be eaten off by other deer or birds and any velvet that does hit the forest floor is quickly scavenged by mice and other critters because of its high nutrient content."
It makes sense that deer would eat the velvet off of other deer too. They could lick the antlers clean and shiny.
The people I knew who raised "trophy" deer, kept the non breeding bucks alone, as much as possible, so they wouldn't damage their antlers, or even kill each other. So there were no deer to eat and lick off the velvet, only birds.
Hey Jerry, over here to the east I’m seeing plenty of rubs. Something I’ve always noticed and found interesting is that we have some cedar and pine patches in certain areas. The bucks that patrol those areas always have a dark brown hue to their antlers, vs the ones that are always destroying my apple and maple trees…. lol. When out ditch parrot hunting this past weekend found several fresh rubs and came across 4-5 scrapes as well. About to start sitting in tre stand a bit more often, once these darn Asian beetles and noseeums die the next couple nights hopefully!! Good luck
Bucks rub the area they are in. Early rubs are normally in spots bucks summer and early fall Pre rut is when their range expands and they mark their territory so others know they are around. Spot rubs and scrapes can happen when a buck gets fired up from a doe being around or letting bucks know he’s in the area Rub lines are a different story.
I’m in central MO now heading home then back again to MO early next month I’ve been walking a lot and moving stands around I put up a blind and have been trimming trees not seeing much for rubs yet. No bucks out in the fields yet in the daytime.
I watched a large group of does out in a grassy field the other day a buck showed up they scattered pretty fast. Seeing a good number of does and yearlings been passing on them looking for a bigger lone doe. Weathers cooling off I’d like to stay but the neighbors heading to LA to hunt and I need to take care of his critters until he gets back.
Was born in a Big City Will die in the Country OK with that!
I’m in central MO now heading home then back again to MO early next month I’ve been walking a lot and moving stands around I put up a blind and have been trimming trees not seeing much for rubs yet. No bucks out in the fields yet in the daytime.
I watched a large group of does out in a grassy field the other day a buck showed up they scattered pretty fast. Seeing a good number of does and yearlings been passing on them looking for a bigger lone doe. Weathers cooling off I’d like to stay but the neighbors heading to LA to hunt and I need to take care of his critters until he gets back.
What area of Central Missouri are you hunting?
If you're not seeing any rubs there probably are not any mature bucks living nearby. However that doesn't mean you won't get the chance to shoot one in these next few weeks.. They are going to start ranging out anytime now. Some of the biggest deer that I've ever shot was during Halloween weekend and came from farms a mile or two up or down the river.
Deer will eat the velvet as it is shed as well. Just like cows will eat afterbirth, reduces scent to attract predators. They will rub their antlers on all types of vegetation. The rubs on saplings and larger do polish antlers and help to strengthen their necks as they prepare for the rut.