rubs and scrapes

New Science: Rubs and Scrapes Glow Like Highway Reflectors to a Deer’s Eyes

Oct 15, 2025 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

In the light of day, our eyes see the pale yellow or white wood exposed by a buck that has shredded the bark off a small tree. But in twilight woods, deer eyes likely see…

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How to Build a Buck Rub Post

Aug 26, 2025 Red DeBraal

There is nothing more beautiful in my eyes than watching a buck attack a homemade, handmade buck rub post. Here on my land in central Wisconsin, I won’t harvest a buck unless it’s bigger than…

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NDA’s Guide to the Whitetail Rut

Nov 4, 2022 NDA Staff

The whitetail rut is the most exciting time of the season for deer hunters, and it’s also a time when the NDA receives a lot of questions about this important season in the whitetail’s year….

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A Guide to Rubs and Scrapes, the Social Media of the Deer World

Oct 19, 2022 Kip Adams

Whitetails don’t have cell phones or social media accounts, but they are far more social than most hunters realize. They surf the information highway at rubs and scrapes to stay in contact with locals as…

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Get Bucks on Camera, No Bait Required

Aug 28, 2019 Wes Delks

I recently moved to Illinois where feeding or baiting deer is illegal at all times of the year, and getting pictures of bucks suddenly became much more difficult. For me, trail-camera pictures control future hunting…

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The Why and How of Mock Scrapes

Oct 16, 2018 Dave Skinner

Virtually every hunter I know gets excited when they see a big, active scrape. There’s just something mysterious about them that intrigues us and gets our hearts pumping a little faster. We know when we…

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Bucks Rarely Return to Rubs, Unless It’s This Kind

Sep 26, 2018 Kip Adams

Have you ever placed your trail-camera to monitor a rub without success? Many rubs are never visited again by the bucks that made them or by other deer. However, some rubs are a little more…

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How Many Rubs Does a Buck Make?

Sep 10, 2012 Kip Adams

Not seeing many rubs and scrapes in your area? This may be directly related to an absence of older bucks. Just how many rubs does a whitetail buck make each year? That depends on the…

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