Can you tell how old a buck is from rubs
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: Silentdeath
06-Jan-13
I found some rubs deep in the swamp. I am curious what you guys think as far as will he be a mature buck next year. It is so far back in the swamp that I don't want to put a lot of effort into hunting him just to find out he's a basket rack. By mature I mean 4.5 or older.
Thanks
From: Notnormal
06-Jan-13
no
From: TREESTANDWOLF
06-Jan-13
Not necessarily, but, the height of the rub is a good indicator. I've seen rubs on utility poles and they are not made by spikes or forkies.
From: pappy
06-Jan-13
NO
From: HuntnBigGame
06-Jan-13
Multiple bucks will use a rub like that,yours looks like it already has three years of action. Good area to scope out for next year.
From: hunter
06-Jan-13
first of all weres the swamps? second of all any other tree,s rubed, and last why are u holding ur palm in the photo? looks like a fake rub to me.
From: Bowme2
06-Jan-13
As a general rule... big trees, big deer. Smaller saplings and such, could be a small deer or a big deer. Look at the upper and outer branches as well and see if the bucks upper tines and main beans knocked off the smaller limbs.
With that said... could a small buck come behind a big buck and rub the same tree? Yep. It would be hard for me to believe a little 4 point would make such a rub.
From: otcWill
06-Jan-13
That isn't a big rub and not much can be inferred from it. If it were huge I'd say2 year old plus
From: TJS
06-Jan-13
No
From: Nick Muche
06-Jan-13
Count the shavings and divide by 6.
Hunter needs to spend more time is school.
From: PA
06-Jan-13
Must have been a buck, I guess.
From: grizzlyadam
06-Jan-13
Looks like several years of rubs , there must be at least one big one in there. Set up a trail cam.
From: Jack Harris
06-Jan-13
I was always of the opinion the bigger the tree the heavier the buck in general ( but not always) and yes there are individual rubs and community rubs. I would also look for imprints nearby to better gauge size of buck.
From: Fulldraw1972
06-Jan-13
Its hard to say by that picture. That isn't a huge rub from what I can tell. However that doesn't mean that rub wasn't made from a big buck. Three and a half year olds are the biggest tree rubbers as far as quantity of rubs.
From: RK
06-Jan-13
The math equation for figuring your question out is very complicated and not really worth the effort. I think Apple has an app for that but it is rather expensive. One way to tell if multiple deer are using the area would be to measure all of the hoof marks and start a spreadsheet for comparison.
Other than that hunting the area might be an easier way to do things.
From: Earl E. Nove....mber
06-Jan-13
Pretty sure dinks would have a rough time doing much damage to a large tree,, Other than that anything goes.. I agree the rub pictured is not particularly big.. I have seen trees 12" in dia. pretty much totally destroyed.
At the same time I have seen some pretty good bucks rub some pretty small stuff on occasion.
Height of the rub I have always felt was a bigger indicator of size
From: Silentdeath
07-Jan-13
Thanks for the help guys.
From: 1958bowhunter
04-Feb-13
Good comments. Rule of thumb. Small bucks rub small trees. Saplings from 1/2 inch to 2 inches in diameter. most anything that is bendable. Big bucks will also rub small trees. So......you probably say what's the difference? Small bucks won't rub large trees. Big bucks will. How large is large? That depends on hunting pressure and nutrition. While one area might consider a rub on a six inch diameter tree large, another area might not. Any tree larger than 6 to 8 inches around that you find rubbed? that should get most anyone's attention. and that would indicate a wall hanger. Questions about rubs are not always simple to answer. As with most anything in deer hunting, Experience is the best teacher. :)
From: Knife2sharp
04-Feb-13
Well you can't go wrong placing a trail camera facing that tree.
From: Buffalo1
04-Feb-13
My guess is a 6 1/2 yr. old with antlers only on one side.
From: Rock
05-Feb-13
I have watched spikes rub power poles in the past and even once had a Doe rub her forhead on a 10"+ dia rub. As stated above bigger heavier and more mature deer usually tear these rubs up the most.
From: MNRazorhead
05-Feb-13
Nope. But you can get somewhat of an indication if is a mature buck by seeing if the wood (not bark) is shredded or is rubbed smooth. This assumes a mature buck is going to have more rough burr on his bases than a younger buck and will shred the wood and leave fibers and splinters rather than leave smooth wood. But not a rule by any means, just one more piece of the puzzle to be looked at with other pieces. Good luck.
From: MC
05-Feb-13
That looks like a sign post. Many deer use it every year. Good early season area.
