Can you tell the diffrence between Deer and Elk rubs??

[janttihunter]

Went out scouting today. Found allot of new areas that looked promising!! I saw allot of rubs, actually 5 different rub lines. All of which had both Deer and Elk sign surrounding them..trails, scat, beds..

I figure the smaller, lower rubs are deer, and larger were elk?

But there were some that could have just been a big buck...

Is there any way to tell the difference? I'm going to set some cams up.

Do Elk rub for the same reasons deer do? And some of the larger ones looked really fresh even had sap still. I thought maybe a cougar scratched on the same tree maybe

[Old Man Yager]

I think you're right, lower rubs are bucks, if it's higher up, probably an elk. Another thing I see alot of is the elk will rub the hell out of an alder patch. good luck on your scouting

[janttihunter]

Ok thanks

[MLhunter1]

You can usually pluck a hair out from any rub.  That will tell u what it is.  But be careful touching rubs if your in the animals bedroom.  Might send them on.

[bear]

if you can't reach the top of the rub, then it's probably an elk.   

[janttihunter]

These all were in different spots and all had atleast another 5 rubs similar around them along with snapped sapplings and some had older ones from pryer seasons too.

[janttihunter]

Sorry there sideways its my first post with pics 

[RoyBoy]

hard to tell from the pics but the top ones look like a good mature blacktail justa going to town. as far as the other one its hard to judge how tall it is. but there looking like good bucks to me 

[janttihunter]

Like three feet at the highest piont.

[sirmissalot]

Looks like buck, buck, bull, bull.

I got into an argument with a buddy last year about some bull rubs he was calling buck rubs. Bucks don't often rub 5 ft up a tree but according to him the bucks are bigger where he lives. Like way bigger.

[janttihunter]

Lol we all have buddies like that...

[longstevo]

I've always been taught (in addition to the height of the rub) that a mature buck won't rub on anything much larger than four inches in diameter, while a bull elk will tear up a tree up to eight inches in diameter. 

But...

[NWBREW]

3 ft. at the highest? Those look like all buck rubs to me.

[billythekidrock]

Mature bts will beat the snot out of an 8 in diameter tree. I've found bt rubs in trees as large as 16 inches through.

I've always been taught (in addition to the height of the rub) that a mature buck won't rub on anything much larger than four inches in diameter, while a bull elk will tear up a tree up to eight inches in diameter. 

But...

[JM]

Went out scouting today. Found allot of new areas that looked promising!! I saw allot of rubs, actually 5 different rub lines. All of which had both Deer and Elk sign surrounding them..trails, scat, beds..

I figure the smaller, lower rubs are deer, and larger were elk?

But there were some that could have just been a big buck...

Is there any way to tell the difference? I'm going to set some cams up.

Do Elk rub for the same reasons deer do? And some of the larger ones looked really fresh even had sap still. I thought maybe a cougar scratched on the same tree maybe

One thing that will be a good give away if it is an elk is to look up high for knicks in the tree or snapped twigs or limbs from the tips of their horns. It it's a mature bull it will generally be above your head and higher than obviously higher than a deer can reach.

[mrmoskillz]

There will be tracks right infront of the rub or scrape.  There might be deer and elk sign all around it but usualy there is a lot from which ever animal made the marks right in front of the tree.

[bobcat]

There will be tracks right infront of the rub or scrape.  There might be deer and elk sign all around it but usualy there is a lot from which ever animal made the marks right in front of the tree.

True but that's only if it's a fresh rub.