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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Autumn Whitetails on October 23, 2009, 12:57:00 PM
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Hey Guys,
I'm looking for a little help.I have great scrape line going through my property which has 7 scrapes in a 200 yard stretch. I have one area where there are three scrapes right next to each other.Actually two of these scrapes can be considered as one. That scrape is 4' long and 4' wide.I've never seen a scrape that big.There is a perfect tree by the scrapes which would give me a 6 yard shot. I've never hunted over scrapes before and looking for some advise. Should I or shouldn't hang a stand a that spot.
Thanks,
Marc
This is what I found coming to the scrape.I have other bucks but this guy I the biggest.
(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh35/matthew70407/deer010.jpg)
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Hang it man! lots of deer killed on scrape lines! Probably more so at this time than later around these parts anyway.
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Yep i would be hanging me a stand up real quick.
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The buck will check those scrapes until he finds a ready doe(s) has left her calling card and then hunting the scrapes will be pretty unproductive. However, early in the rut when the bucks are ready and the does are not interested the bucks will check them at any time and my advise is be there in the middle of the day (10AM thru 2:30PM). My experience is they get checked then and not when other "deer" activities have the bucks attention.
I would put a stand on the access very near to the scrapes, not the scrapes themselves.
Joshua
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Well said jhg!
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Make sure the bedding area isn't 15-20yrd from the multiple scrape area. Then hang the stand and then the deer.
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if the scrapes are fresh..hunt them....once the rut gets going ...theyll abandon the scrapes and have easy picking of does in estrous.......if your not sure if the scrapes are being used ..take a broken branch and sweep some leaves in the scrape before you head back in at night....they will probably be cleared in the morning if its hot....good luck and be very careful of wind and scent.
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Two years ago I found a scrape line with 4 scrapes in a 100 yd. stretch, so I just sit back in the brush for a bite of lunch since it was mid-day. While getting the snack out of my pack, a healthy 4X4 was back on the scrape, never making a sound on his way in.
In essence, set-up now and be there all day.
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You can hunt it but make sure you note this scrape area for next year.I've found many times we you get close enough to a mature bucks scrape to get particulars,You contaminated the area and that buck has now become 3x's tougher too hunt but not always.
Good luck and post pics
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Good information guys.This spot had a scrape there last year but nothing like this.I think the rut will start here in a couple of weeks. I will start to hunt late morning and mid day to see what happens unitl the rut kicks off. Thanks again.
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Stay on the down wind side and be ready.
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Most scrape activity is at night. However you never know when he will come by. I have seen a few mature deer checking scrape lines during the day, but they do it about thirty yards down wind of the scrapes they trust their nose more then anything.
Get the wind right and try hunting thirty or fourty yards downwind of the scrape line if you are looking for a mature buck.
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Yes, most activity is at night, especially if the weather is warm. However, changing weather and cold fronts mean you should be there all day.
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I watched a healthy forked horn tend a scrape. It is in the exact same spot as last year, and the year before that. Never got a shot though. I saw where he cam from though so there will be a stand there soon.
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Love hunting scrapes....definitely do it
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Are the scrapes along a field edge, or in some cover?
I believe scrapes along field edges are typically visited in the cover of darkness, especially this time of year when pressure has turned the bucks nocturnal. Those are usually the scrapes I find and they may be all along the edge of a field/woods. I have read (in Bowhunting Pressured Whitetails) that very large scrapes, or multiple scrapes in a small area that are found in some cover, or very near some thick cover, are rare. These are likely primary scrape areas and are the epicenter of dominant buck activity in the area. You are very fortunate to find such an area. The best time to hunt these scrapes is during the pre-rut when the bucks are ready but the first does have not yet come into estrous.
In my area the prime time pre-rut should be starting this coming week into the first couple weeks of November. I like to hunt the hardest from Halloween till gun season on Nov. 15. As mentioned mid-day is an excellent time to hunt them. The bucks will bed down while it's still dark and get up around mid-day to scent check for does along the edges of bedding areas and hit the scrapes that are in the same areas. The next few weeks is the time to start hunting them, but it's a touchy business not to alert the dominant buck of your presence. As mentioned once the rut and chase phase is in full swing with many does in heat, the bucks will be traveling greater distances and less likely to hit those scrapes on a regular basis. When they are chasing, the bucks are much less predictable and could show up just about anywhere. I don't have any personal experience with primary scrape areas, since I have never actually found one, but it all makes sense me.
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During daylight they will be checked from quite a ways downwind. If you get too close you will get busted,and never know it. I'd rather hunt one good primary than a dozen boundary scrapes. Dont ignore the middle of the day this time of year. Now go get em!
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I haven't had any better luck at scrapes than a well traveled trail. That being said I still saw deer in both locations and have had many opportunities. Like other people said at least you know they are frequenting the area which is a plus not only on your ego but also your chances.
Good luck!
Charlie
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If you get some rain and a little wind overnight that blows a bunch of leaves into the scrapes, get there early the next day and be there untill he comes along to freshen and clean them.
I agree that usually they are checked from downwind and predicting how far downwind and picking the perfect spot can be tough.
After a front comes through, you have several things in your favor. Increased activity and a bucks urge to open those scrapes back up.
As others have said, once the chase gets rolling good, most scrapes get very little attention.
Pick two spots, one where you want to sit, one where you want to hit. Good Luck
Trap
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This scrape line is deep in the woods and the closest field is 400 to 500 yards away.My property is a great funnel for deer but this is the first I've seen anythign like this.I'm setting a new stand tomorrow and will be hunting Sunday.I'll keep everyone updated if any thing happens.
Thanks again everyone for your help.
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It sounds like you have a winner there. I think the key to scrape hunting is finding the right scrapes to hunt. I usually don't pay that much attention to scrapes along field edges although I have seen bucks work them earlier in the season when they haven't been pressured yet. Like I said, I've heard about primary scrape areas and the gold mine that they are, but I've never found one myself due to there rarity. I'm always on the lookout for just the situation that you described.
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Would ya'll use any scents when hunting these lines?
I found a rub/scrape line this past off season and plan on going back this week to see if its opened up again.
I'm thinking of setting a stand in the area but was wondering if you use scent and if so which ones? Would you use estrous or buck urine?
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This happened to me Sunday morning.
I'd found a nice line of scrapes and followed the rub lines in between them until I found a fresh scrape, larger than the rest about 20 yards from the edge of a thicket on the downwind side. I trimmed my way about 20 yards further in figuring the buck would scent check his scrape from inside the cover in the daylight. Went and pulled a ladderstand and put it up in a red oak there. Sunday morning I went it to kill him and found that I was right, he did check it in the daylight on the downwind side but he checked it from 80 yards downwind!
He smelled me, tucked his tail and sneaked out of there back into the pines. If I hadn't seen him, I would have never known he was there.
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if you wait a couple of weeks, you'll be too late.....
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Don't forget your deer calls. Although a buck decoy could be a good possiblity as well. Good Luck
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Good luck!
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Hey guys,
I put a a cuddyback and found this guy working the scrape.What do you think?
Marc
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I think there is... no pic Autumn?
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I'm not seeing it either, unless it's the pic on page 1.
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1st post was edited on the 31st so that must be the pick he is talking about.