Ep. 498: What Deer See at Scrapes That You Never Will (New Research)
About this episode
Beau Martonik discusses new research on how deer perceive UV light in scrapes and rubs, impacting hunting strategies.
Beau Martonik breaks down a peer-reviewed study from the UGA Deer Lab published in December 2025 that found whitetail rubs and scrapes emit measurable UV photoluminescence that deer can detect and humans can't. Beau covers the core finding, what's causing the glow in rubs vs. scrapes (more specific than most coverage reported), a timing detail that most outlets got wrong, and what the study doesn't prove. He connects the science to six years of personal trail camera observations — including a 2020 signpost rub experiment where a buck would show up within 24 hours every time the rub was freshened — and lays out six practical takeaways for how this changes how he's thinking about hunting scrapes and rubs this fall. Topics include: why deer can see UV light and humans can't, why the downwind scrape-checking rule may be more complicated than conventional wisdom assumes, what doe scrape activity might tell us about two-way signpost communication, and why urine in the scrape is the signal — not the scrape itself. 00:00:00 — Intro 00:01:51 — The 2020 Signpost Rub Story 00:05:32 — What Hunters Have Always Assumed 00:07:27 — The UGA Study Breakdown 00:09:01 — Why Deer Can See UV Light and…
More episodes of East Meets West Hunt
- Ep. 500: 50 Years of Big Woods Hunting Lessons w/ My Dad, Joe Martonik
- Ep. 499: The Hardest Deer We've Ever Tried to Bowhunt w/ Collin Heaps
- Ep. 497: Giant Bucks in Mountain Laurel Nobody Else Will Hunt w/ Pat Burns
- Ep. 496: Summer Scouting Mountain Bucks — Trail Cameras, Cuts vs. Mature Timber, and Why Deer Disappear on Opener w/ Johnny Stewart
- Ep. 495: Wild Game Cooking Deep Dive — Bear Fat, Venison Burgers, and Freezer Turkey w/ Allie D'Andrea & Nick Berger
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