RE: Scrapes & Rubs Already....
I think there are a couple possibilities here. Adult bucks will begin to make rubs and scrapes as soon as their velvet is removed. It will be mainly used to visually mark territory and leave scent in their area. It is a far cry from the rutting activity that will take place in the weeks to come, but it is still there nonetheless. Also, mature does, 4-5 yrs old are the first to begin to come into season. For most of them it will be the end of Oct/ beginning of Nov,(here in the northeast)triggering the pre-rut, but occasionally some older does come into season the prior month. This will trigger bucks to begin making scraped and rubs as soon as they realize this.