Stand Placement

Found a small tree that is being rubbed. Would it be too much to set a stand up near there?

Do you have a cellular trail camera you could put up and find out?

Maybe downwind about 30 to 40 yards. I often prefer to wait until a line of rubs has been established, then you know their Trail.

I like a good rub line but don't often find them this early. Most rubs now are from velvet removal.

I’m pretty sure that’s what it is, no scrapes yet.

If you find an early rub line get downwind and kill the buck before the food source changes ..... You obviously are in a good spot .... Until he knows your after him

Gonna try to sneak a camera in on him tomorrow.

So much for catching “the big one” getting rid of his felt. lol

Rubs this time of year are not useful.

Bucks don't rub velvet because the velvet bothers them they rub because of a a hormonal change which dries and hardens the antler. When this hormonal change happens it puts the bucks into a breeding mode which is why you see all the rubbing happening in the early fall/late summer. I find a lot of scraping activity this time of the year also but it only last a week or so, being that ND bow season starts the first Friday in September I get to hunt velvet bucks for a week or so and I can testify that a velvet buck and a post velvet buck are to complete different animals in behavior. For the most part once the velvet is gone they become extremely nocturnal until the rut begins to kick in, and all this is supported by the many trail cams I've put out.

I remember hunting a large rub one year to find out my son made it with the ATV rack the week before

I like seeing rub lines but I like seeing clusters of rubs together even better. If you can find a cluster where a buck or bucks are really working an area over you've found a staging area or a transition zone where bucks are lingering waiting for it to get dark enough to leave their bedding area. I've usually seen them at the base of ridge where the hardwoods meet the dark growth or a swamp.

Clusters will develop as the season wears on and going in mid day during a rain is great time to hang a stand or look for a tree suitable for a climber. Downwind of course.

Awesome hahahaha!

lol I’m not moving the stand for that, just yet anyway.