Hunting scrapes

Just read a article that it appears most scrapes are made in the dark. In 48 yrs. of deer hunting I've haven't seen much scrape activity during hunting hours. I surely wouldn't hunt over them.

I sat near a few scrapes this morning & my target buck went past a few times @ 3 am. He never messed with them from what my mms cam showed, but when I went out , there was one or two bucks very close for a good hr or so, until it got light enough.

I've only seen bucks make scrapes a handful of times. Last year I watched an up and coming 8 freshen a scrape in the morning and it was a cool show. Hunting over one has never proved successful, but as Jesse said, having them where I was already gonna hang a set always helps the confidence level.

I also agree that most are tended to under the cover of darkness or early morning. One bad thing about hunting them is if the buck is bedded watching the scrape. Then, of course, you will run him out.

One time I do remember though, back in the day (1994 to be exact) I bumped a chocolate antlered 10 from his bed perched over a scrape. He came back to investigate it 3 hours later just so I could miss him. I swear he did it on purpose.

I have seen bucks work scrapes in daylight hours. Usually after a good rain and at first light or right before dark. I wouldn't hang my hat on hunting over a scrape, but I wouldn't shy away from them either. Patience is a must for a successful season.

On some of my all day sits I have seen several bucks work scrapes between 11 and 3.
Most guys dont seem to be out at that time and miss it.
I do think most are worked under the cover of darkness though.But I still like having a mock scrape close to my stand as usually a nice buck will take it over.Check out the time in the day pic and the other pic was a mock scrape I made a few weeks ago and I have over 50 pics of this buck working it. Just need to catch him there during the day.

I agree that most scrapes are hit when dark but I have come to understand them over the years. I've my property most of my life and have learned a lot. A scrape isn't just a scrape, but part of a scrape line. A lot of times a hunter finds a scrape and sets up shop and never sees a thing, the problem is he is set up on the wrong scrape. If you can find the bucks bed room you then know where he starts his route. Like stated above you generally see activity at dusk when he is getting started or early morning when he is finishing. Getting close but not to close to the bedding area is the trick to hunting not scrapes but scrape lines.

I'm only sitting near the scrapes because the bucks know as well as I that the does use this area. Hunt the does, you'll find the bucks ... is my game plan.

The only way to know for sure is to set out a trail cam.
I feel most "older" deer will be checking more night time than day...BUT. every so often, one will come in through in the day.



Ya just never know... "Today may be my lucky day"

I know several who put good faith in hunting scrapes the last week in October. One of our members killed a buck tonight. I am not a betting man, but I would bet he was hunting a scrape.

What I believe. Not what I know. Just my observation and theory. We all know they use them to check for estrous does. I believe they use them as Lumberhead said as well. Scrape lines are more important than one tiny scrape in my opinion. I have seen scrapes which look like nothing more than a legal pad (8.5x11") and I have seen them half the size of my truck's hood. I believe there are scrapes made out of frustration. I believe there are scrapes made when younger bucks are trying to figure out what to do. I also believe there are scrapes (the huge ones) which are almost like a "breeding scrape" for lack of better term. The ones I have seen like this I have found post season or during the season on accident. It is like entering the dragon's layer. You are in the bedroom. He has a place to watch it where he feels very safe. Like I said, these are theories of mine. I could be totally off. The other belief I have is a buck will go work a scrape to flex his muscle. I have seen some worked by a buck that wanted to display dominance. At least, that was my opinion. I caught a glimpse of the largest buck I have ever seen from the stand at 75yds. I called. He stopped and looked. I turned the can call first, pause and move on. Grunt. Pause, look, move on. Then I snort wheezed. Pause, look, move on over to the scrape. Worked it then went right back where he came from. It was almost like he was saying "Screw you. This is my turf!" Curious if any of you guys can relate or shed light on my theories? I truly don't know. Just my observations and what I have came up with from them.

I also have watched many bucks work scrapes in hunting hours over the years. Most of the time it was at prime time.

Also like boarheads pic mid day . When my kids were younger and could not be home after school alone, I would hunt mid days alot. It was not as active as mornings or afternoon hunts, but Those deer do get up and stretch there legs , and if a scrape happens to be on there way by, they'll stop.
The buck I shot this year just finished working one before I shot him.

Best way to be sure which way they are coming from day and night is using a trail camera. If they aren't showing until after dark or before daylight then start working your way towards where you think they may be bedding. With the rut coming they will slowly spend more time at scrapes and then eventually they will not worry about them at all until after peak breeding.

I have seen more doe work scrapes during hunting light then bucks. The bucks I did see hit them during daylight was the younger bucks. Almost all of the scrapes I have hung cams on that had decent bucks show up was worked after dark but then again these are field edge scrapes so it might be different in your neck of the woods then here. I find a few scrapes in the woods up here but there are a ton of them on the field edges. I would almost say it's a 10/1 ratio. I can find 10 field edges for every 1 I find in the woods. What I have come up with is the scrapes in the woods are tended to more often during daylight hours but those bucks are very close to those and most likely bump those bucks if you was to hunt the scrape. For that reason I don't hunt scrapes up here unless I'm doe hunting.

You can use rubs as a way to determine a bucks direction of travel. Usually the side of the rubbed tree is opposite his direction of travel. If the rubs are on the south side of the tree he is heading north. Not always true, but if you follow a rub line you can usually get a good idea of the bucks direction of travel while making the rubs.