Rubs, consecutive years
 

Just went out to some woods that Ive not hunted much of before and found several rubs that appear to be in consecutive years.

Will a buck continue to rub the same small area year after year? The reason Im asking is that I found 3 rubs within 10 feet of each other and he first rub is very small, looks to be several years old. The second rub is decent, looks to be a couple years old. The last rub I found is a very nice one and was done just this past year.

"First year" rub:


"Second year" rub



"Third year" rub:




Like I said, they all appear to be in consecutive years, so Im thinking that they are possibly the same buck as he ages and grows. Correct?

RE: Rubs, consecutive years
 

It could be multiple bucks, especially if the area is in a buck travel corridor. Sign post rubs are rubbed by multiple bucks every year. I've seen the same tree rubbed until it fell over, then they started a new one.

RE: Rubs, consecutive years
 

I've wondered the same thing. I also have wondered if the buck that made the one from last year maybe moved out of that area.....or didn't make it.

That being said.....I don't recall a deer (ANY deer)making a rub on the same tree in my area.

Interesting question, though.

RE: Rubs, consecutive years
 

Yeah thats true...I have a fence post that has been rubbed so much that it's starting to look like an hour glass.


Either way thoug...could this be a decent area to set up a stand near?

RE: Rubs, consecutive years
 

Yeah I couldn't help but think (hope) that it may be the same buck and that he had kind of tagged that as his area. I was thinking if it was then he would probably be like 4.5 this season, lol. Guess I can get my hopes up...

RE: Rubs, consecutive years
 

3 years in a row i had this one buck make rubs almost on the same exact trees going in the same direction every year. I know it was him because i hunted this spot like crasy, but he was so smart he only moved during night( trail cam confirmed)

RE: Rubs, consecutive years
 

I have seen the same tree ribbed year after year - in the same direction too. This spot also demarked a constant buck travel route that never occurred during daylight hours.

RE: Rubs, consecutive years
 

There is one tree where I hunt that gets rubbed every year by multiple deer (I have witnessed). There are also spots where the same deer has rubbed one year then never does the next but still uses the area.

RE: Rubs, consecutive years
 

I have a ridge line I walk every year and there are the same trees rubbed year after year. Its a given! Another tree where I kinda park just off the road has had rubs on it for 10+ years!

RE: Rubs, consecutive years
 

I'm a firm believer of it! 10 years or so ago there was a group of 6 Iron wood trees in area of the woods I hunt. The 1st year the tree that got hit was 3 inches in diameter or so. The next year he picked a bigger Iron wood tree about 2 feet from the other one. This went on for about 4 years. The last tree he hit was about 10 to 12 inches in diameter. He hit each tree in the same way every year, the only things that were different each year was the height of the rubs, size of the tree's. Each year he would pick on a bigger Ironwood tree. I'm sure this particular buck was a biggin and died of old age. Depending on the area of the woods I'm a firm believer that a buck will rub in the same area year after year.

RE: Rubs, consecutive years
 

Thats what I was wanting to hear! Thats what this buck has been doing...the trees are all very close together, the only difference is it seems like the rubs get higher, wider, and even a little more "agressive" looking. Im hoping he's just getting bigger and making bigger rubs and that that is his "domain".

RE: Rubs, consecutive years
 

Some bucks do rub the same tree year after year, more so around their primary scrapes than others.Not to be confused with community scrapes where multiple deer use the same scrape and licking branch year after year.
Without writing a short novel I will just say that these scrapes and rubs are almost always made by the same buck unless something happens to him and a subordinate takes it over. Rubs at these scrapes are almost always licked, and other deerstay clear of these scrapes and rubs.
I have watched several bucks rub the same tree on the inside corner of a fieldover a 4 year period and are usually licked also but are nothing more than boundry rubs or scent posts. Same thing along trails.
Then there is aggressive rubs, just working out, showing off, or pissed off at the world!

RE: Rubs, consecutive years
 

No one mentioned it, but a lot of timeswhen a Buck rubs a tree while in hard antler, he is actually scent marking with the orbital glands located near the corner of his eyes. To accomplish this, his antlers contact whatever he is marking. It is only natural for them to rub in the same areas, if not the same tree, year after year.Of course, not all tree rubbing is scent marking, but a lot of it is. ;)