how often?

[broketooth]

how often before peak rut does a buck visit a scrape. i have a stand over a scrape. i hunted it yesterday, no sign of the buck.i ruffed it up yesterday before light rain had set in. i checked it today and it looks like he paid a visit this a.m. it looks way different than when i left it. when can i look foward to seein him again, ruddy

[JRY309]

If the pressure is heavy sometimes they visit it before daylight or after dark.

[Matt Fowler]

Personally, I think most scrape activity is done at night. I try and backtrack from a scrape and set up. I don't hunt close to scrapes anymore.

[swamper]

I have had luck with them being refreshened within hours after a rain ended,not always the same buck though.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

You are probably wasting your time hunting over a scrape this time of year, almost all activity that I have observed around scrapes is at night or early, early morning like 3am. If it weren't for trail cameras I wouldn't know that, but I personally have only seen a buck work a scrape during daylight hours a few times in my whole life.
Your time would be better spent hunting the edges of bedding areas where there are lots of does. Stay back off of it on the down wind side because bucks cruise these areas on the down wind side and scent check the area without going into it.
The object is to get close enough to catch a buck that's downwind of the bedding area, but up wind of your stand, you want him to come through in the middle.....theoretically. You will know if your too close because he will circle behind you and bust you big time. It's best to stay further away than you think you will need to be and then if you see them moving through too far away, you could always move closer.
Also approach your stand from a direction that your not winded by the does in the bedding area, circle way around and come in from the back side of your stand if you have to, because if you blow those does out of there the hunt is over.

That's what I try to do this time of year and if your careful about stand placement you will get your buck.
Good Luck!

[rolltidehunter]

what swamper said!!

[broketooth]

i have seen with my own eyes four bucks that i know of in this area . a very nice sized spike who likes like he will be a dual fork next season, 2 different 6 points , and an eight point that was chasin a doe last sat. ive seen one of the bucks 2 days ago workin this scrape about 2:30 in the afternoone tues.im just not sure which buck i didnt get a good look at him . there are several funnels leading to this scrape line too. ive been seein alot of deer activity this past week. what do i do?

[30coupe]

I have to disagree with some of the others. I have seen bucks work scrapes during daylight in the last two weeks. Unfortunately, I think they were more random encounters with the scrapes than any planned action on the buck's part. One was a big boy, who tended a scrape after going nose to nose with a basketrack (no fighting). I called them in, but they met just out of bow range. That was just before dark.

Last weekend, I had a forky come by after being pushed away from a doe by a bigger buck. He stopped and tended a scrape that is 30 yards from my stand. On Halloween, a seven point tended a scrape about 80 yards north of my stand, then chased a doe by east of me. I got a good look at him, but no shot. His rack wasn't impressive, but he was huge! My cousin shot him later in the afternoon.

If they are on their feet, which they are now as the rut kicks in, they will tend a scrape unless they are actively chasing a doe, but don't count on it being the same buck each time.

[Don Stokes]

There's no telling when he might be back. During the rut, a buck might stay with a hot doe for a couple of days, and may move far from home. He'll be back when he's looking for another companion, unless he runs across another one before he gets back. However, most active scrapes are visited by multiple bucks if there are enough deer in the area, so you could see a buck visiting any time.

With my game camera I've seen bucks during the week of the rut that haven't been there before and never come back when the rut is over.

[TRAD101]

what don said. It's the rut and there is no script.