I always thought the first deer to scrape were usually younger bucks. Last week I found the first scrape on my property and put a camera on it. i Pulled the card 4 days later and was surprised to see 2 mature bucks and a spike, and a passel of does hitting it numerous times. The spike was the only deer hitting it in the daylight, and the mature bucks hit it twice each night. None of the bucks had blackened tarsals and when the bucks and does were there together, neither cared about the other. All peed in the scrape, all used the licking branch, and all munched on acorns casually.
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Scrape info
- Thread starter huvrman
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deerhunter10
Well-Known Member
I'm sure bsk will chime in with a way more biological reasoning. But scrapes are used by all deer in my experience, but not all of them. I have 8 scrapes/ bushes that get used every single year and have for years and I get 90 percent of my pictures on those scrapes year after year this time of year. But the majority of scrape activity is at night. Big deer make scrapes little deer and everyone in-between.
Gobble4me757
Well-Known Member
Yep any and all make scrapes tbh…which is why I like using mock scrapes. I basically try to tell that big buck a new bucks is in town and make a cluster of mock scrapes around my stand…has worked multiple times for me
BSK
Well-Known Member
Scrapes occur where they do because of the overhanging limb. The overhanging limb is used as a communication device all year round, but the scrape underneath is only used around the rut. All deer of both sexes use the overhanging limb, but usually it as an older buck that is the first to open a traditional scrape. However, once open, every buck will rework/reopen the scrape. What I find interesting is (when mature bucks are present), the older a buck is, the more likely he goes through the full sequence of working the overhanging limb, reworking the scrape, and then urinating in it. The youngest bucks are the least likely to go through the whole sequence.
As for when bucks work scrapes, most is at night, but there is a slight peak in activity right around first and last light. I also find it interesting that in a good acorn year, the morning peak (lasting into daylight) is greater than the evening peak, but in a poor acorn year the pattern is reversed - the evening peak just before dark is higher than the morning peak. There is still an evening peak of scrape-working in a good acorn year, but it tends to occur the first hour after dark, while in a poor acorn year that peak occurs in the last hour of daylight.
Another strange thing I've noticed since I began monitoring scrapes with video cameras and can see deer full behavior, through most of the fall does only work the over-hanging limb at a scrape. They pay little attention to the scrape on the ground. However, like flipping a switch, suddenly every doe becomes VERY fascinated with the ground scrape, often spending minutes sniffing it, and this sudden change in behavior occurs about 5 days before breeding explodes.
As for when bucks work scrapes, most is at night, but there is a slight peak in activity right around first and last light. I also find it interesting that in a good acorn year, the morning peak (lasting into daylight) is greater than the evening peak, but in a poor acorn year the pattern is reversed - the evening peak just before dark is higher than the morning peak. There is still an evening peak of scrape-working in a good acorn year, but it tends to occur the first hour after dark, while in a poor acorn year that peak occurs in the last hour of daylight.
Another strange thing I've noticed since I began monitoring scrapes with video cameras and can see deer full behavior, through most of the fall does only work the over-hanging limb at a scrape. They pay little attention to the scrape on the ground. However, like flipping a switch, suddenly every doe becomes VERY fascinated with the ground scrape, often spending minutes sniffing it, and this sudden change in behavior occurs about 5 days before breeding explodes.
Typical prerut activity. That will change in the next 2 weeks
Typical prerut activity. That will change in the next 2 weeks
BSK
Well-Known Member
A lot of hunters will tell you scrapes around the edges of fields and food plots are not important. I think they are VERY important, just as important as scrapes back in the woods. However, I strongly suspect (but would need to verify in the data) that field-edge scrapes are worked more at night than woods scrapes are.
