I have used this trick for years and it works very well for bucks rubbing on young trees.
I use tomato cages. The ones sold at big stores that are 2 or 3 wire rings attached and have wire legs you stick in the ground.
I cut the wire rings on one side so I can open them enough to get around the tree trunk. Then just let them sit there at ground level. Don't push them in the ground. You want them loose.
The buck comes along, starts to rub his antlers on the tree trunk, and gets them in the wires, which will move, and "catch" on his antlers and he will leave that tree and move on to one that does not have the wire.
You need to put them on each fall for several years, until the tree has a large enough caliper the buck is no longer interested in rubbing on them. I just leave the cages on year round.
An inexpensive, often free, alternative is to go to a local fencing company and ask for scrap field fencing, like used for horse and cattle pastures. They will usually have the ends of a roll around. You can cut this fencing and fashion your own "cages" - I made mine about a foot across. You may need to buy a "fence tool" to cut the wire if you do not have a really good wire cutter, as the wire is strong.
After putting one of the tomato cages or fencing cages on a young tree, I have never had a buck rub one again. I live in the country, on 16 acres that is wooded and we have a lot of deer!
