Elk rubs vs deer vs moose

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Feb 2, 2020
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I hunt an area where I see. BOAT load of rubs. There are very few deer in the same area compared to the amount of elk. I've just used the height from the ground to determine whether it's deer or elk. I figured deer rubs are mostly 1.5-2" from the ground, where elk are usually much higher.... 3-5". Moose,... I don't know what a moose rub looks like

So what's the main determining factor people use to distinguish between elk, deer, and moose?
 

Gerbdog

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I asked the same question a bit back and..... its hard to say on all of the above. Some say its the width of a tree between elk and deer, some say its the height, and then others swear they've seen elk rub low on tiny trees. Between elk and moose? no way to tell. The best chance at knowing what caused the rub is catching the animal in the act.

to add to this... i was scouting an area earlier in the year that had some promising sign in it... but a few indicators led me to believe it was a mooses' hangout spot, the biggest key being the chewed up willows in the area and the massive amount of chewed aspen bark (elk like aspen bark also but this didn't strike me as a wintering ground for elk). The rubs in the area were of almost no help in getting to this determination.... without a trail cam photo I to this day have no idea if it was an elk or a moose... but I suspect its a moose... The pellets left around were especially woody as well.
 
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OP
H
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I asked the same question a bit back and..... its hard to say on all of the above. Some say its the width of a tree between elk and deer, some say its the height, and then others swear they've seen elk rub low on tiny trees. Between elk and moose? no way to tell. The best chance at knowing what caused the rub is catching the animal in the act.

to add to this... i was scouting an area earlier in the year that had some promising sign in it... but a few indicators led me to believe it was a mooses' hangout spot, the biggest key being the chewed up willows in the area and the massive amount of chewed aspen bark (elk like aspen bark also but this didn't strike me as a wintering ground for elk). The rubs in the area were of almost no help in getting to this determination.... without a trail cam photo I to this day have no idea if it was an elk or a moose... but I suspect its a moose... The pellets left around were especially woody as well.

I tried a search but i couldn't find anything.

The location these are in would leave me to believe it is elk. I see far more elk scat around them than moose or deer. All of the high density rub spots are up on a ridge farther away from the main water source with willows and aspens where I have seen the moose and there's a high use trail going through some of them that have a lot of elk tracks.

So unless these moose are traveling farther away from their willows and aspens to rub, I would think it's elk. And the height of the rubs (most are almost 5' high) would lead me to believe they're not deer.
 

Gerbdog

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Sure sounds elky, cant hurt to get in there and hunt it for a day or 2 and see if there are elk around, I know I would, have some backup spots in mind along with that one, gotta walk until you find the elk
 

Ucsdryder

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In my experience deer usually rub low. Kind of like an antelope buck. If you see a rub 2 feet and below it’s most likely a deer.

Moose like willows and if you see a rub in the willows it’s most likely a moose. If it’s really high, likely a moose.


Everything else I assume are elk. Haha
 
OP
H
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In my experience deer usually rub low. Kind of like an antelope buck. If you see a rub 2 feet and below it’s most likely a deer.

Moose like willows and if you see a rub in the willows it’s most likely a moose. If it’s really high, likely a moose.


Everything else I assume are elk. Haha

I LOVE assuming all these are elk. That means I've got a couple insanely good spots that have held bulls for a long time. It's just a matter of being at the right spot on their corridor at the right time.

I grew up whitetail hunting for 20 years and those were always 2' and lower. They would also always be just on one or two trees. Not 10 trees in one spot. But, that could be due to the deer getting pushed around by hunters a lot more and deer usually not living passed 4 years.
 

tjihrig

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Jun 26, 2019
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I hunt an area where I see. BOAT load of rubs. There are very few deer in the same area compared to the amount of elk. I've just used the height from the ground to determine whether it's deer or elk. I figured deer rubs are mostly 1.5-2" from the ground, where elk are usually much higher.... 3-5". Moose,... I don't know what a moose rub looks like

So what's the main determining factor people use to distinguish between elk, deer, and moose?

Moose and elk rubs are generally the hardest to distinguish because of size and height. I look the rub over closely and almost always find hair, even on year old rubs. Black hair moose, blond red hair elk.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
OP
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Moose and elk rubs are generally the hardest to distinguish because of size and height. I look the rub over closely and almost always find hair, even on year old rubs. Black hair moose, blond red hair elk.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yea I was looking for hair on a lot of them. I haven't found any with black hair I don't think. Several with blondish hair that kinda made me question if it was elk or deer. With elks neck and head fur being so dark, I didn't think it would be blonde looking. But, if it's a couple years old and at 10,000 feet, I bet the sun could bleach it out somewhat easily.
 
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