There are always a lot of questions around mock scrapes. I've been using them for years (about 10 to be exact) and have always had good luck. I've got a natural corner that I know the deer will travel. Last week, I moved a camera to that location and made a mock scrape with the assumption the bucks would be shedding soon. I simply used my rubber boots and cleared out the area under an overhanging branch. I broke off a few other branches and tossed them in a ditch that I knew the deer could not get into (if you are worried about scent, take them with you.) Next, I peed in the new scrape. Here's the results from week 1. Some are photos, others are screen captures from the video.
Good call on snapping the branches. That is one thing I haven't been doing, but will start when I ramp up my mock scrapes this year.
That's right okcaveman. I just simply scratched up the ground and peed in it. I used to use Bob Kirschner's SilverTop (he's a local Western PA guy) and it worked great. Bucks would tear it up. I was out one day and was making one behind the house to put a camera over and thought, I've read about this before, why not. and it worked. Now that the bucks have started using it, I won't touch it again.
I'll give it a try. Wanting to try mock scrapes anyways and if it can be that cheap? Heck yea Team Red Sun Rising