Here is a good question for the guru's?
 

Ok, its early season, bucks are shedding velvet. Say you find several fresh rubs in your hardwoods. Would this be a good pace to hunt a buck? Is this his core area? Now remember, since he has lost his velvet his diet is changing and so will his patterns.

Idk about were you are at, but typically when they come off their summer patterns down here they go to acorns, wherever they are at. you may be getting those rubs in there because thats not where he is at just yet but he is just coming through checking for acorns if there are any in that area. It may not be his main area yet, but heads up, i could be soon

So u think he is investigating a possible core area?

Im not meaning a core area exactly, summer feeding patterns and fall feeding patterns are different, as im sure you know, he may not be in there on a regular basis right now but if there are acorn trees in there he may be straying from his regular routine at this moment to check if they are dropping. once they begin to hit the ground hard he may come off his summer feeding and switch to the acorn crop..

He's got new antlers and he's testing them out. He's still in his summer pattern and bucks are still running together....for now. In the next couple weeks, they will start staking out their new territories. In mid-October, the rubs you see will be rut rubs. Now, they're just testing out their new antlers.

All summer with velvet probably annoyed them. They can't wait to smash them into stuff.

I have about a 20ish acre area with the same type setup. Its a ridge area, 3 ridges all merge to a nice flat bottom with TONS of acorns everywhere. On one side of the ridges is clear cut across a road, on the other is a pond and houses. Its like he/they cross the road, skirt the outside ridges in a huge circle. I did however find quite a few scrapes popping up along that path yesterday.

I put up a camera and plan on checking it in a week or so. If you can I would do the same to see if they are starting somewhat of a pattern yet, not neccessarily checking those scrapes/rubs, but adding more along a "rub/scrape line." Good luck, I hope this tactic works out cause some of those rubs are dandys :D

Do you find this while hunting or while scouting over a period of time?

Its a hypothetical question but depending on whT state you live in, it could be either. For me its pre season ohio opens sept 24 this year and I cant wait brother

From my experience, bucks MAY rub to remove velvet in or near their core areas, but also along rub routes, and near evening, nighttime and morning "high use" areas, meaning food sources, trails and rub routes. So, you may have to do some more investigating to determine if you are within a buck daytime corea area (the description and boundaries of which may be subject to personal interpretation). According to deer researchers description - a daytime core area is the total area in which a buck spends the majority of its time during daylight hours, so lets say from sunrise to sunset. BecAuse it send so much time ther, it often contaisnsome lfeeding and watering ares, but definitely bedding ares, thermal cover, and escape cover and routes.

I personally do not like to hunt within a buck's core area, because it is where it spends the daylight hours, often resting, where it will also have its prefered bedding sites. If you go in there too many times you may run the buck out of it, and you may not locate its new core area that year.

Since bucks often change their seasonal home ranges in response to food availability and the thermal cover needs of the deer during the different seasons of the year, there is a good chance the buck will change its core area, or at the very least, its travel patterns (in the late sunmmer / early fall) to reflect those changes and needs.
I've found that in southern Minnesota bucks often change from summer home ranges to fall home ranges / breeding ranges sometime between Sept 10 and Oct 15, which means you may have to hunt the deer in a different area after it moves.

But, because it may stay in its current area for a week or more, you may be able to pattern it along its curren travel corridors and rub routes - getting as close to the core area as you can to setup to hunt it, without spooking the buck out of the core area.

You can, if you KNOW you are good enough, go into the core area and hunt the buck. But, I often leave this for a last ditch effort - for many different reasons - and there are many reasons I can use to justify going into the core area. .

If you know when the buck generally leaves and enters the core area, you can get in there before it does in the morning, hunting it along its rub route as it comes back in within 1-2 hours of sunrise. Or you can setup along the rub route (which may be completely different) as it leaves the core area in the evening, again getting as close to the core area as you can without spooking the buck.

I hope that this helps some of you,

God bless,

T.R.

You can find my artricles all over the internet, just use Google to search for "TRMichels" or "T.R. Michels".