Over the last several years I have seen several tv hunters using a relocated sapling in some of their food plots or cleared areas to attract deer into the open to tend to a scrape or to rub the tree. Have any of you had any success using this tactic? I listened to Dr. Grant Woods speak at the IL Deer & Turkey expo he even had a slide in his presentation advocating the use for one. Just curious what everyone's thoughts are on the treecoy.
It works well. I have done it for years. I normally use cedar trees and cut most of the branches off to about chest height and shred some bark with my handsaw. Start a scrape under is and put some scent on it. They normally take it over within 24 hours. Willows work well also.
I dig the hole with a tile spade and jobbers to make it as small as possible and about 3 feet deep. Tamp the tree in as tight as you can. I have not had any pulled out.
Are actually transplanting the tree including the root ball so that it will continue to grow, or just cutting it off and sticking it in the ground?
I cut them out of a road ditch and just stick them wherever I want a rub tree for the season. Then I pull them in the Spring a toss them. They will stay in good shape for the entire season. For willows, pour a bucket of water in the hole. For cedars, I have never added water.
Invasive specie, have at it. I like them because when you cut them down the tree is dead no suckers coming out of the stump.
Fletch I know you have had success in the past, I tried it last year but no action. Is there a certain diameter tree that works best? The one I trimmed was 4-6" in diameter.
I have a couple of thickets of cedar on my property and they make great thermal cover in the winter. The deer love them for cover and will browse on them also. For someone wanting quick cover that deer love, I would not be afraid to plant them. Just know that you will need to keep them from taking over the universe. Mowing them off when they are small puts an end to it.
The deer love them around here. Make for great bedding areas. My property is loaded with Hedge(Osage Orange) and Honey Locust, I'd gladly trade those for just about anything else.
That's about what I use. I think they really like the cedars here. I think the sap holds scent well?? I also scrape most of the bark off with the teeth of a handsaw to make it appear rubbed. I add Buck Fever forehead gland scent and make a scrape below. I normally leave a little lower limb on one side to make the scrape under. I sometimes add a little pre-rut deer urine in the scrape. Other times I just leave the fresh dirt. I have gotten multiple buck pictures on some of these the very first night it was out. I have sat on stand and watched nearly every deer that entered the field come scent check it at a minimum. I usually stick them at exactly 20 yards from a stand if possible.
Most of the reading I have come across says to use young hardwood trees or cedars. I think this is definitely something I am going to try this year. When do you typically put the tree out there?
