mauser06

ok guys..scrapes and rubs are popping up already. i know one particular scrape and rubline gets hit yearly. cant say if its the same buck or not..but its hit yearly. i never hunted a scrape in my life. i know during the rut they get used more..but hey if they are being made right now i think the bucks will hit them pretty regularly..they use them to mark their territory dont they?? the spot im hunting is here at school and ill mainly only hunt it in the mornings..its hard to pin down a feeding source and bedding area up here. the area is a giant thicket. some of it older then others. alot of browse...some oaks and grapes. i think scrape hunting may be a better bet. rifle season i rely on funnels and bottlenecks. but i cant pin down a food source..mainly because i suspect they do ALOT of browsing. but do have one oak point ill hunt..but i want to hunt the scrapes...any advice or tips or anything?? should i put scent in it or leave it alone or use scents in the area?? ill probably only hunt it once a week..maybe 1-3 times depending on if im doing any good...but need help on how to go about it....ive never used scents or anything..i hear of guys putting doe urine in scrapes..or hanging in trees..or buck urine etc..thanx guys....im starting my hunting up here next wed..

RDHunter

The best advice I can give you is this : go to youur local sporting goods store or Cabela's for that matter and pick up a Day Time Dripper and a large bottle of Active Scrape from Wlid Life Research they should a ( combo pack ) that has both plus a booklet on Scrape Hunting & Mock Scrapes.
This should be all you need to get the information you need to hunt scrapes and how to use them.
Good luck to ya , hope you have a safe and secssful season.

TURKEY FAN

Here is the skinny on scrapes.......if he is a biggun now..........He wont come into the scrape at day time, instead he will come upwind of the scrape and smell it from a distance, to see if anyone has been using it, you might want to try to set up opposite of the scrape, and try to ambush the buck that way. Just my 2.

mauser06

RD......i thought about that but its public ground...it doest get hunted too hard in bow season though....can i hang it like 10foot high so its out of eye level?? i did read about those..drip in a day to make the bucks think its a doe using it in the day time....makes sense....

turkey fan....good advice thanks..ill keep that in mind. theres an old grown trail they use and the scrapes are on..i was planning on getting back and setting up to watch that. i dont know if its the same buck..or if hes alive this year...last year he TRASHED trees and the scrapes were TORE up...he was frustrated! 3 small trees were in a small group and he shredded them...but that could been a jacked off 1.5yr old forkhorn i guess...but i know some bruisers haunt the area...its just sooooo hard to pin them down. they bed all over as well as eat everywhere. the deer population is finally pretty balanced...i think scents and calls may start working here with a better buck to doe ratio.....thats why hunting their scrapes caught my attention...

keep the advice coming...the more the merrier....

Bradkoz

my experience with scrapes has been if its this early and getting used hunt it. when the rut comes they are too busy chasing or cruising to check them as often. my first shot at a deer ever was a nice 8 pt coming to a scrape about 250 yrds back off a field right before dark. and last year there was a comunity scrape at my brothers one spot and he let his friend sit the first evening on it. he drew on a big eight right before dark but had to turn his bow to the 12pt behind him, he missed but they were both coming to check the scrape out before feeding

Bradkoz

oh and another thing dont use any estrous scent yet still a month away and the deer will notice.

Dubbya

Mauser, I've seen does use a scrape all year long. Obviously there is a buck involved at the beginning or the end somewhere, and he has to check his scrape at some point. True, many big bucks will check their scrapes in the dark, but as the rut nears they make check them more often. This is your opportunity to take him out. Also before the rut begins, I've found deer to be more patternable in that bucks aren't wildly chasing does and can follow a regular regiment.

chiefks

Is it true only big mature bucks will make scrapes this early in the season? Seems like I've read that some where and that we should hanga stand and hunt it.

quiksilver

I hunt a lot of scrapes - both mock and natural, and I've been doing it for at least 10 years now. The only thing I can tell you for sureis that there are no guarantees.

One day, you can set over a scrape and see buck after buck, three days later, that scrapemight be leafed over and the deer aren't in it anymore. Sometimes, you make a mock scrape that deer will continue hitting and using it, other times, you do the same thing, and it just leafs over without so much as a hoofprint.

Sometimes they're nightwork, other times, you can catch bucks in them all day. Sometimes they circle downwind, other times, they boldlymarch right in. I've seen deer paw them, scrape them with their racks, eat the dirt, wipe the hanging branch with their preorbital glands, lick it, sniff it,nibble it, pee in it. I even saw asmall buckroll on his back inone of my mocks, I thought he was having a heart attack or something, but apparently, he just wanted to roll in it like a dog. Does will frequent them as well.

Believe me, if there was a magic trick or a rule of thumb, we'd all know it. I killed my two biggest archery bucks out of my own homemade mock scrapes. Now, I'm not saying that they were lured in by the scent, because I use so little scent that they couldn't have possibly smelled it from afar. They may have just been naturally passing through, but I can say for sure that when they smelled and saw the scrape, they both went straight to it, putting them at 15-20 yards broadside, dead in the center of my shooting lane.

The only product that I ever used was Tinks 69 Powder. I mixed that with distilled water and made a milky liquid that I dribbled into my mocks. During the peak rut, I've had good luck with that same mixture on my scent wicks. Unfortunately Tink's Powder is discontinued, and I'm down to my last 2 bottles.

When you're playing in mock or natural scrapes, you're playing with fire. Deer will be especially sensitive to foreign odors, so make sure you're wearing latex gloves and rubber boots, or you'll get busted.

njbuck22

I havent done much hunting over scrapes, but its worth a shot. If there is that much browse and they can bed somewhere, you need something to draw them to a particular spot. The scrape might just be the ticket. Let us know how you make out.