Early Fall Buck Rubs
Is there a trophy in your forest? Before your archery deer hunt this fall, a slow walk through your hunting area in late August or September can reveal the signs of a wall hanger. Whitetail bucks at this time of year are trying to lose the velvet on their antlers. These rubs are hard to find and many hunters ignore going out and locating them this early in the season. There are a couple of good reasons to search for these deletions.
First of all, the rubs that come out this early are usually the biggest bucks in your area. Their dominant males start rubbing first and continue rubbing throughout the season. By locating these early rubs, it will tell you your pattern for your early archery hunt. Wildlife biologists found that dominant males average around 300 rubs per year and up to more than 500 rubs per year. The smaller, less dominant males will usually begin rubbing in late October. Smaller males have a much slower testosterone level that only begins to excite them when they come into heat. This is why your hunting area looks as if all the small trees in your hunting spot were run over by a blunt-bladed lawnmower in early November. In other words, finding deer rubs early on (August through September) can show you a real wall hanger.
The second reason to locate these first frictions is; installing your stand or stands on these rubbing lines. If you wait until just before the grind to go outside and look for rubs, you may get a false sense of where the biggest male has modeled himself. Less marked pre-season trees can actually tell you about an individual deer, allowing you to establish your stand before hunting pressures alter your route. Setting your stand exactly where it’s needed early in the season can determine whether you score well. If your archery season starts in October, you should try to set up your stands no later than mid-September. This will allow things to settle down before the opening day of the archery season.
Setting up your stall around the first few rubbing lines should be done with good scouting to find the path or funnel the deer use between their bed and their feeding area. If you place your stand too close to the feeding area, it could mean the male won’t make it in time for daytime shooting hours. Instead, place your stand closer to your sleeping area, but not too close, so it doesn’t disturb your sleeping area. This will increase your chances of seeing the buck during legal shooting hours.
Archery deer hunting early season might be your best chance to pocket your best money. A little preseason scouting can make all the difference to scoring big or just struggling through another archery season. Preseason items are hard to find, but when you find them, your chances of getting your trophy are greatly increased! Good luck and good hunting!