Figuring Out Rub Lines

Ed. W. from Iowa writes to ask about hunting rub lines. I love to hunt along rub lines. However, the last two years I hunted a rub line that ran along the bottom of a steep gully. The rubs were fresh, and there were some scrapes in the area. I did see a few smaller bucks, but have never seen the big guys that make these big rubs. I put in a fair number of hours on several stands along that line over the past two seasons. Any thoughts?

Ed, the only thing I can think of is that the bucks are winding you before you see them. The reason I say that is because you are in a deep gully. This may not be the situation where you hunt, but in my experience, deep gullies have extremely variable winds. Plus, when you are down low, in the early morning, the temperature goes up a bit, and when that happens, hot air rises, carrying your odor up the slope or up the ravine. What I might suggest is that you find the trail into and/or out of that gully, and look for a stand location on higher ground.

I'm like you. I love to hunt rub lines. In fact, I would rather hunt a rub line than a scrape line. But, I look for rub lines on high ground ridgelines would be best, though not always possible.