Good morning,

I've been hunting for awhile, but am new to deer hunting in the midwest. I'm on public ground. There is a horse trail that is the primary trail into and out of the woods I hunt. This morning on my way out of the woods, I saw 2 different areas with fresh rubs. One of the areas also had a scrape. Both areas are on small trees (1 inch diameter) and are less than 5 yards off the horse trail. I know I've read a lot of posts about setting up on areas like this, but I'm hesitant with it being right on the trail.

Any advice?

i have seen deer use horse/cow trails before, and some areas where they just cross them. fresh rub is a good sign.
check the tracks and see which direction the deer are moving. maybe you can find a good choke point with maybe a better shot and/or better cover.
some property's are like a maze of deer trails, with one way in and 1 way out (per se), so sittin on those ends of the trails will help.
sometimes a road or dam, body of water or even trees laid down can make a funnel.
a good climber might come in handy as well, just sitting still high up letting yer scent blow over them.

I would be hard pressed to hunt right off of that horse trail...plus who knows if that sign was made at night or not...I would try and find more sign around there but off the beaten path...if you do choose to hunt it, just be prepared to see other hunters or horseback riders coming down the trail...wish you luck

Thanks for the replies. I do appreciate it. I'm going to follow my gut and get off the beaten path. Got to be more sign further up the hill.

Thanks again and good luck to you guys.

I have hunted a piece of public land in south east OH before which is riddled with horse trails that are still heavily used all the way through gun season. I was amazed at how much they don't care about those paths. The closest got to the trail was about 50 yards, with a bow, several times i had deer in front of me when a person on a Horse would walk by and the deer would just stop and watch them without moving a muscle. one time the deer was within ten yards of the trail nearly in full vision and the three people on the horse never saw it. They grow so accustom to horses and the voices that come with them that they know to be catious around them but don't really pay them much mind. Actually come to think of it I never saw one run from a person on a horse.