Elk Rub Discussion

[WapitiTalk1]

If you find fresh elk rubs during your September outing, how do you react?  The rub in the picture is one of several on a remote saddle and they are fresh.  What do you think this bull (or bulls) is/are doing by thrashing these trees?  Do you think this is some sort of staging area, bugle/advertising spot, or just a transition area that the bull happened to have a few spare minutes to beat some trees down?  How do you react when coming upon fresh elk rubs during your hunts, or, do you just treat them as merely another piece of the puzzle (another form of elk sign like droppings, beds, well used trails, etc.).  Whaddya you cats think about elk rubs and how do/would you hunt them when located?     

 

[Fullabull]

When I find rubs, there are usually multiple in the area which tells me a bull or bulls frequent the area and feel safe enough to do their thing. If I only find one rub, it just tells me a bull passed through recently and got a little frisky. If multiple, I look for signs of where the elk came from or went too and go from there.

[JPhelps]

Elk rubs are exactly that...they let me know an elk has been there.  Helps me figure out what they are using for a feeding area, transition area and bedding area.

[Bean Counter]

I look for rubs in different stages of age. In a location like this it's obvious I me that bulls use this location year after year.

[Netminder01]

tag

[huntinluva]

Anytime I find rubs I try to mark them on the GPS so I can perhaps begin to tabulate any patterns.  As the seasons pass I can look at old waypoints to see if I can get any advantage on the wily critters.  Also let out a locator bugle if there are multiple fresh rubs, may just entice the culprit to respond and see who is in his funhouse. 

[Elknut1]

Personally, I do not put a lot of stock into random rubs. It just means a bull was there at one time. Rubs are done by bulls for various reasons. They will rub to remove velvet, to challenge or intimidate another bull, to display for cows to come their way, they rub to attract & size up other bulls but not looking for a fight,  they rub as their testosterone levels rise & are feeling their oats, this is one of the most common. Those are the rubs I look for if any.

  My favorite ones where I will plan an ambush is where the rubs & tracks are fresh & spread along a trail for a good 1/2 mile. Bulls will do this with or without cows, meaning some rubs are by the herd bull & others by satellites as they follow this herd around, they do this as cows show signs of estrus! Bulls can become restless as they await cows to be bred, one of the things they do besides bugle is rake trees/brush for no apparent reason other than restlessness. It is quite common to find these trails where multiple or single bulls use these trails from feeding to bedding & vice versa. You will find that bulls will rake a tree here & there while on these trails up & back. Over a course of a week or three multiple rubs will take place along these trails showing consistent fresh use, this is elk using the area at present! These types of finds are much better than a random rub found throughout the woods.

  ElkNut1

 

[ellensburgpo]

I agree with elknut, if there are a bunch of fresh rubs clustered in an area like this one its a better indication of elk using the area than one random rub.