RE: Early Season Rubs.
IL Trophy Hunter knows what he is talking about. One thing I have learned over the years is that there is never an exact measure of buck size to- rub timeing, rub size, scrape timeing, or scrape size. However there is ageneral rule of thumb such as larger bucks WILLrub andscrape early, but so might a 1 1/2 year old. The first scrapes of the season are 100% territorial scrapes (boundry markers if you will).These scrapes are usually highly visable such as field edges, logging roads, etc. Later in the season bucks develope breading scrapes in which they "check" on a regular basis. A territorial scrape could develope into a breeding scrape as well. These scrapes are usually found on flatter areas or plateaus within the timber (my location is extremely hilly). These pre-rut scrape lines are extremely effective to hunt.If large size rubs become evident, at any time of the year,this is almost always the making of something large. Keep in mind there must be more than one tree wrist size or larger and shreaded,not"tinkered" with. Remenber, scouting CAN NOT end on opening day. Pre-rut to rut scouting is a must. So, early season rubs and scrapes are encouraging and yes, hunt them, but don't take too much stock in them until later in the season.