Rubs multiplying in mid January?

[BillJ]

I haven't been out to my main hunting grounds for a couple of weeks.  Yesterday I got to spend a bit of time walking through it.  I jumped a couple of does, but other than that saw no deer.

HOWEVER, I saw rubs... many rubs... more fresh rubs than I have seen all season.  As a matter of fact, I don't remember ever seeing so many rubs on this property.  Big rubs and little rubs.  Whole stands of saplings trashed.  And all of this appears to me to have happened just in the last couple of weeks.

SO... what's up with that? I expect to see antlers dropping this time of year, but it seems they are still rubbing and even stepping up that activity.   Is it possible the time table is way off this year?  Anybody else seeing this?  

BillJ

[Lost Viking]

I was hunting the last weekend in Dec and saw a buck chasing does...no shot but fun to watch.  Also saw several freash rubs.  Thoutht it a bit odd as well.

[barebow]

I was out hunting yesterday. I didn't see any deer but did find a fairly fresh scrape and seen some rubs that were not very old.

[fyrfyter43]

Our NJ group found quite a few new rubs, and even a couple of fresh scrapes yesterday.

[bentpole]

We Jersey boys were out from sunup to sunset yesterday and were amazed ourselves at the amount of fresh scrapes and rubs we saw. Someone should be up soon to post pictures on our thread.

[ccarp00]

Maybe weather or some other factor made the second rut come late this season?

[Pat B]

As long as there are hot does to be bred there will be buck rutting activity. I was in Cades Cove(in the Great Smokey Mountains) a few years ago in March and the 2 biggest bucks there still had their antlers and were chasing hot does. This is a sign of an unbalanced buck/doe ratio...an unhealthy herd.   Pat

[Hermit of LongHollow]

Agree with Pat - Here in north central PA I watched 4 different bucks fighting 1 week ago today. I've got a spotting scope set up to watch a scrub field about a thousand yards away.  Herd must be out of balance.

[varmint101]

I would think one of this year's fawns getting bred.  All it takes is one.  If I remember right on a chart I saw once on typical breeding spikes the last one was in mid to late January.