Elk rub size

alphapygmy · Jun 1, 2012

How tall can a rub be from a really good sized bull (Rosie, not rocky mtn)? I've been scouting a new area out and have come across three rubs that have left marks as high as 7.5 feet. Are they climbing the tree with their front legs when they rub, like my goats used to do when they marked trees? I ran into the bull I think is making the rubs last year during deer season. He was a huge 7x6 but he had his head down grazing so his rack went forward and I didn't get to see him with his antlers pointing up. I've been up looking for sheds as soon as I could get up in the mountains after the roads cleared from snow. Inquiring minds want to know!

usmc · Jun 2, 2012

ive seen them as high as i could reach with my rifle barrel.usually ticks a scraps but still its way up there.at least 8 feet.

orygun · Jun 2, 2012

A Roosevelt elk bull with a full rack is a MONSTER! 7.5' off of the ground? No problem.

And, no he isn't climbing that tree!

ps, the Rocky Mt elk may have a bigger rack, but the Roosevelt is the larger of the two animals.

alphapygmy · Jun 3, 2012

I figured those rubs were from that huge bull I saw. I'm in my late 30's and I've been tooling around the woods with dad since I was 4 and he was the largest elk I'd ever seen. I was only 15 feet away and when I tried to activate my cell camera he heard the beeping and bolted into thick reprod. Murphy's law I got an archery tag to go look for him and now I've got a cast on my arm

I don't know if I'll be able to hunt this year. If nothing else I'll just wander around during archery season and look for him.

orygun · Jun 3, 2012

Or, pass on that archery tag, go scouting and then rifle hunt!

alphapygmy · Jun 3, 2012

It's draw only for elk where he's at. Anyway, I like archery season, I barely run into anyone the whole month. It's nice and peaceful. Rifle elk season is a little crowded and short for my taste. Depending on how my scouting goes between now and next year I'll have to consider a rifle tag, then if I don't draw I can just get an archery tag.

hermannr · Jun 7, 2012

A friend of ours has a mounted 7 point. Beautiful mount, but looks dumb, he has 9' ceilings, and the nose is touching the floor, the upper times are touching the ceiling.

Then, think that the biggest live Elk I ever saw up close and personal (<5 feet) his nose was about my eye height...and I am 6' 1".

I was told many years ago that the diameter of the branch/tree rubbed, would approximate the diameter of the antler doing the rubbing. I cannot say if that is true or not, but keep your eye out and maybe there is a spot of truth in that old wives tale.