Some years ago, I wrote a three-part series on “The Biology of Rubs and Scrapes”. I found it hard for hunters to grasp neither were rut specific. Both categories could be broken down, to some extent, into specific classifications. Rubs had types and purposes and so did scrapes. But what continued to lead hunters down the wrong path was a variety of misinformation, i.e. trying to connect rubs and scrapes to strictly a rut purpose.
Nothing could be more wrong. Both are nothing more than communication devices. It just happens that more information is spread during what is normally considered, “The Rut”. As long as bucks have hard antlers, they rub…but does also rub-on the same trees. Both does and bucks create scrapes…12 months out of the year. It is just that we see more visible rubs and scrapes in the fall.
The trump card is the licking branch. It is used by all deer from doe fawns to monster bucks and it is used all year, created all year and just what information is shared, I have no idea.
Are any of the three of any value to a hunter in terms of killing a “deer” or in killing a “mature buck”? Only if they understand what and how the three communication devices are used. Consider this: Scrape hunting, to kill a mature buck, is 95% counter-productive. A skilled hunter, might kill a mature buck, 5% of the time. 95% of the time, he will fail. UNLESS he understands what he looking at when he sees a “hot” scrape and then, knows where to place his stand. Then, he has a 15% chance of success.
Nothing could be more wrong. Both are nothing more than communication devices. It just happens that more information is spread during what is normally considered, “The Rut”. As long as bucks have hard antlers, they rub…but does also rub-on the same trees. Both does and bucks create scrapes…12 months out of the year. It is just that we see more visible rubs and scrapes in the fall.
The trump card is the licking branch. It is used by all deer from doe fawns to monster bucks and it is used all year, created all year and just what information is shared, I have no idea.
Are any of the three of any value to a hunter in terms of killing a “deer” or in killing a “mature buck”? Only if they understand what and how the three communication devices are used. Consider this: Scrape hunting, to kill a mature buck, is 95% counter-productive. A skilled hunter, might kill a mature buck, 5% of the time. 95% of the time, he will fail. UNLESS he understands what he looking at when he sees a “hot” scrape and then, knows where to place his stand. Then, he has a 15% chance of success.
