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Deer sign - Pine woods

hokiehunter373 said:
Similar to the other thread I just started, my brain got to thinking on a recent scouting trip. Several sections of public I have lightly hunted are covered in pine trees. The ground is usually covered in pine needles and the bark of trees doesn't seem conducive to rubbing. It seems that I find far less rubs and scrapes in these areas because of this. I have never found a rub on one of these pines. I find plenty of deer poop, trails, and beds still but it makes things a little more challenging to figure out where the killer spots are. Has anyone else seen the same and have any approaches to pinpointing where you need to be? I'm wondering if the deer will travel different/farther to a spot outside the pines to lay their sign and communicate with each other?
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The deer will just travel through the pines if they're open pine woods. If there is thick ground cover they will bed in there so look for brushy thickets and swamps. I wouldn't be looking for beds, I'd look for bedding areas and focus on exit trails and edges. Bucks won't rub on pines as big as in your photo but I have seen them rub on pine saplings many times up to even baseball sized thickness. They also love to scrape under an overhanging pine branch and how easily they kick up the pine needles will really get you going when you see that scrape. I often find scrapes like that in more open pines, usually when I'm walking in to my hunting spots so they're probably being made after dark.
 
I walk, study topo maps. Find the veins, depressions, ditches, walk those. Find the fringes, find the differences, find the sign try your best to determine exact travel routes. It’s hard to explain I key in on spots then walk. Then if private I’ll throw some minerals an cam, mock scrape an a cam, lil corn an cam. Something to give me an inventory of what’s laying the sign ever how subtle it is. I look at like this 100acres all looking exactly the same I need to find where they are to hunt it. Lots of times it could be an old erosion ditch they get pinched to travel around, it’s different but it’s why I play the game. Thick pines just take the field an big hardwood mentality an throw it aside, rain brings moisture a cleared 5th row plot can be deadly just a 5th row you can see down can also make them break cover, i Don’t particularly dig hunting huge pine stands but I know how. My current club is 80% pines so I’ve got my work cut out for me.
 
I wish you guys would specify which variety of conifer that you see (or don't see) rubbing activity. "Pines" is too generic. The variety makes a lot of difference in attraction to a buck for rubbing.
I have at least 8 different varieties on my place and I can promise you that usage is not the same for each.
 
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