Muley rubs/scrapes?

guywhofishes

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I've seen mulies ravage brush, etc. when rutting. Sort of a strengthening and aggression action.

But have any of you observed them tending overhead branches, rubs or make scrapes like a whitetail? Basically marking territory and smelling the neighbors?

My understanding is that mulies cover much larger territories relative to whitetail - basically putting miles and miles on using their nose to find does (like elk). So why mark something if you're not likely to return type thing.

I've got cameras in mixed species territory - and have never once caught a muley doing anything outside of walking by in a disinterested fashion.
 


LOV2HNT

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When you're on camera do you act the same as you do when not on camera? :D

Sorry I have no input on this.
 

johnr

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Iffn I was a mulie, I would shit in front of every camera I came across.
 


jdinny

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mulies still exhibit all these behaviors.
we hunt in very mixed territory, and consistently take mule deer from ground blinds.
they do range more even in a summer pattern compared to whites showing up on multiple cameras a mile apart or more. But they for sure have a core area, for sure follow the same paths from bedding to feed. where we hunt we dont have many if any trees but we have pictures of sparring and scrapping and pissing in it. there no different than a white follow the food early on and follow the does later on.
 

jdinny

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in fact both my wife and i both shot mule deer this year from the ground blind over an alfafa field
 

guywhofishes

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mulies still exhibit all these behaviors.
we hunt in very mixed territory, and consistently take mule deer from ground blinds.
they do range more even in a summer pattern compared to whites showing up on multiple cameras a mile apart or more. But they for sure have a core area, for sure follow the same paths from bedding to feed. where we hunt we dont have many if any trees but we have pictures of sparring and scrapping and pissing in it. there no different than a white follow the food early on and follow the does later on.
Yes- you're right. I agree they're readily patterned in/out of feed/bedding.

But is this predictable during the rut?
my question is specific to rut I guess - have you observed them "working" the same rub or scrape - basically any behavior relying on scent to draw them in and attract them?

i.e. has anyone had success with mock scrapes for instance - like many do with whitetails.
 
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duckman1302

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I have also never seen, on camera or in person, a mulie rub a tree or fencepost. Seems like they are always tearing up brush or bushes. I have seen them sort of pawing at the ground making a scrape, but not in the same fashion as a whitetail. It seems it is more of a visual display of dominance with them and less of the scent (they dont urinate in scrapes and dont tend licking branches that I have seen).
 

jdinny

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that i cant answer. i have seen them piss into a scrap. i do know from past experince trying to grunt/rattle a whitetail buck in that running a doe hard and assume went into lock down so we tried to get him out anyway we had a small muley buck emerge and 3 smaller white emerge withing mins of rattling/grunting. so that stuff work albeit that 1 occasion . scent stuff idk
 


jdinny

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ive heard muley does on multiple occasions blow like a white but not nearly as loud or a vocal as the whites do..... i know thats not what you asked but some people say muleys dont vocalize and i can tell you they sure do.....
 

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