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.