Has anyone ever found a "community scrape?" The way I understand it, it is a scrape that is used year round. I have found one in the same area for a couple of years now. If there is such a thing I'm wondering what the purpose or function is. They seem to be active and regularly visited by alot of deer. Anyone have any insight into this phenomenon or is it really even a real thing. Blessings.........Pastorjim
I see tracks all year in them. they are real. I have wasted time hunting over them without having any luck.
I should add that the ones I thought were community scrapes were much much larger than a traditional scrape, appeared all year, and had tons of footprints in them. I guess I should have hung a camera and saw exactly what it's all about. Thanks for your responses so far. Blessings........Pastorjim
I have noticed that too Jim, that the community scrapes do seem to be larger. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
I have noticed that too Jim, that the community scrapes do seem to be larger. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
Found them and have likewise never seen a buck visiting one. Hang a camera and let us know what you find.
IMO community scrapes are like finding gold in the deer woods. And while there are a lot of scrapes that will be visited year-round simply due to their location and being convenient (possibly on a well-used travel route or feeding area), I don't believe those would necessarily always be classified as community scrapes. I get pictures of deer in and around several scrape locations all year but most of the time they aren't using the scrape or standing in it - they're just passing by or milling around the general area. This doesn't constitute a community scrape IMO. In my experience a community scrape is 3-4x larger than a standard scrape and most often located inside some sort of cover. It's pretty rare to find a true community scrape on a field edge which is where most scrapes are located (in Ag country anyways). Almost every community scrape I've found is in the timber and located at some sort of hub of travel activity - saddles on ridges, where a bunch of ridges or fingers meet, etc. These scrapes are almost always visited year-round and have deer actively checking the licking branches and depositing scent. Trail camera data usually shows buck activity year-round and in my experience the most daylight buck activity of any type of scrape. I personally believe these are the first spots bucks go to start checking on the local doe population during the pre-rut. Much safer than going out on a field edge in daylight as they're often closer to their bedding areas and thicker cover. If you can find one that presents a good hunting opportunity and good access in and out it can most certainly be a productive spot to hunt.
Thanks for your insight. This scrape is definitely much larger than a typical scrape you find during the rut. Plus the fact that it has appeared for several years is definitely intriguing. It is located at the edge of a pine thicket that opens up into some hardwoods. This all borders a swamp that has water in it most of the year. That is actually how I discovered it. I had a camera out in the swamp to photograph waterfowl. When I went to the shore on the opposite side with the kayak I found it just inside the pines. I am definitely going to hang a camera there the next ime I'm in the area. Blessings..........Pastorjim Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk
I have one on my property. It is on the edge of a thicker area where they bed a lot. The scrape is under a cedar tree which they will also rub on at times. I've been monitoring that scrape for the last 5 or 6 years. The scrape is there year round, but doesn't get as much activity in the summer, but gets heavy use from September through April. Still a ton of traffic in and around, just not any scraping during the summer. The strange thing is, deer aren't the only animals using it. I've had coyotes intentionally urinate in it as well. Every buck in the area will use the scrape. I have stopped hunting directly over the scrape because I don't have a great spot to hunt it, but every deer I have killed on my property has been within 200 yards of that scrape, and I have picture of every deer I've killed using that scrape.
I have one dead set in the middle of a 2 mole square of mostly woods. I have run a camera on it for the past 3 years and it gets a ton of traffic. The interesting thing I found was that mature does tend to be the catalyst to more use in the fall. In early Sept, the does start coming around band marking the hanging branch by chewing or orbital glands. This starts a chain reaction that brings little bucks and finally big bucks. Usually, get many more bucks on that camera than anywhere else, by far. I recommend video mode b/c it's very interesting to see them posture and how they act around it. Sent from my XT1710-02 using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
Yep, I found one last July on the bottom of a heavily traveled ridge. Ended up hanging a camera and caught some some very nice deer and does coming through using it along with the licking branch . The deer continued to use the area most of the hunting season. We put out several cameras along that ridge to see some travel routes of other deer. I climbed the area a few times last year in hopes of catching something slipping but I was unsuccessful, but we did hang a stand this off seasons after seeing the heavy trails being used on the ridge. I'm now within eye sight of that area. Hopefully it pays off this season with the new stand.
