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Monday, September 21st, 2026

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Literacy matters: Know how to read buck rubs

The right rubs can tell you an awful lot about a big buck’s habits. Learning to read this type of sign, to decide if he made it at midnight or likely in the morning on the way back to bed, is a skill worth developing. (Contributed photos)

Other than a car hood-sized scrape with a nice licking branch hanging over it, there isn’t any deer sign that gets the average hunter excited quite like a rub on a thigh-sized tree trunk. Seeing freshly scarred-up bark on a good-sized tree tells you one thing: a big one was there, not long ago.
While bucks will make rubs pretty much any time their antlers are out of velvet, the frequency of laying down sign increases greatly in the run-up to the rut. This is an opportunity for willing hunters to scout out rubs, and set up near them to fill their tags. It’s exciting, and full of promise, but it’s not as easy as it sounds.

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