Whitetail Tips

Hunting Scrapes - Is it Worth the Effort?

October 01, 2009

False Scrapes

There are three different types of buck scrapes. Each one is made during a specific time of the year. The first is called a false scrape. Every bowhunter reading this column has come across this particular type of buck scrape. It is the scrape that seems to appear out of nowhere around the middle of October. Before discovering this scrape, hunters often complain that they haven’t seen much in the way of buck sign in the deer woods. Then, almost magically, there are dozens of these small circular scrapes throughout the woods.

The explanation for these small scrapes coincides with the early rut or pre-rut. During the pre-rut a few mature does (usually 4.5 years old and older) come into a brief estrus cycle lasting about 36 hours. This early estrus cycle is meant to kick-start the primary rut (a whole other story).

Once the estrus aroma of the does is detected, bucks react by haphazardly pawing out many little scrapes throughout the woods hoping a doe will visit the bare earth patches they leave behind. These scrapes are usually not much larger than a foot or two in circumference.

In the end, these false scrapes are nothing more than a definite sign that the primary rut will follow within 28 to 32 days. This is the most valuable information a hunter can glean from them. Should one spend time hunting over these early scrapes? The quick answer is no – that’s why they have been given the name false scrapes – because within a couple of days these scrapes dry up and are abandoned.

Secondary Scrape

As the primary-rut approaches, which is generally from November 10th to about November 20th (give or take a few days on either side), bucks begin to make their more traditional scrapes called secondary scrapes. These are the scrapes most hunters see in the woods. They are often made in the same places year after year. They can be anywhere from three to five feet in circumference – with four feet being the average size. They are often found in straight lines. They are sometimes located along an overgrown fence row, along a logging road or in the deep woods. When there are several in a row, it is often called a “scrape-line.”

Secondary scrapes are bare to the ground, may have a wet area and possibly a track or two in them. These scrapes are both visual and olfactory sign posts left by bucks to attract estrus does. They are not exclusive to the buck that initially made the scrape and are often refreshed and attended to by several bucks in the area.

While secondary scrapes do attract bucks, they mostly do so at night. For years, hunters and even biologists used to think that this type of scrape was the place to ambush a buck. Over the last dozen years, research with trail cameras, GPS collaring devices and visual sightings has confirmed that an overwhelming number of bucks visit the secondary scrapes nocturnally.

While an occasional buck is killed over a secondary scrape, a majority of these scrapes go unchecked by bucks during legal hunting hours. It was also discovered that most bucks that do visit them during daylight hours are 2.5 years and younger. So, are the secondary scrapes worth hunting over? They can be – but they require too many man-hours and luck to say – yes they are. I would not spend my valuable time hunting over them.

Primary Scrapes

Primary scrapes are made mostly by mature bucks 4.5 years old and older. They are always six to eight feet in circumference. They are always found in thick cover. They are always bare to the ground, they always have an overhanging branch with a frayed off end, and they sometimes include a licking stick (a small sapling about two feet high with the end chewed off and frayed) within a few feet of the scrape. Most importantly, they usually have a buck bedded down within 100 yards of the primary scrape that is constantly wind checking it to see if a hot doe or competitive buck is visiting it!

Primary scrapes will have tracks in them and a hunter who has a good smeller (nose) will be able to detect a musky odor to them as well. These are scrapes that attract bucks during daylight hours because they are made in the most secluded and overgrown places a buck can find.

When you discover a scrape like I have just described – you have hit the scrape-hunting lotto. This scrape should be hunted – but carefully. Once you discover it, don’t approach it too closely. Back off and set up in a treestand or on the ground. Work the wind in order to keep your scent to a minimum.

Good hunting tactics include using deer calls such as estrus doe blats and/or softly blown grunt calls. You can also use buck urine and doe estrus¬–but use it sparingly. Too much scent will work against you. Remember a buck wind-checking this scrape is usually close by. Rattling can work effectively too as long as you keep making the sounds of a pushing and shoving match rather than an all-out buck fight!

If you find a primary scrape–keep it a secret. If you tell too many hunting buddies the hunting pressure will drive the buck off and the scrape will become useless. One last hint – if you hunt the scrape unsuccessfully on one outing don’t hunt it again for at least 48 hours! Even though there is a small window of opportunity to catch this buck at the scrape, hunting it two days in a row – especially at the same time periods – won’t work. It won’t take any respectable mature buck long to figure out what’s going on. If you hunt it more than once, try going in from 10am to 2 pm. Staggering the times you hunt it will pay off in big dividends and you can take this advice to the deer hunting bank!

Whitetail Tips

Hunting Scrapes - Is it Worth the Effort?

False Scrapes

Secondary Scrape

Primary Scrapes

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