Hey Guys, going to put some mock scrapes to use on public land. Just wanted some tips on how and when to set them up. Is this a strategy you guys use for early season or wait until you start seeing some being made? I've seen some of Jeff sturgis's videos and he uses a thick (for a licking branch) 1.5in vine. Has anybody played with this kind of licking branch and if so how does it compare to the smaller ones. What scent do you prefer? Etc... Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Make sure it is in at least a somewhat shaded area and the ground has some short vegetation and holds some moisture
some of the podcasts i've listened to they start using mock scrapes this time of year. I have decent luck in october using my own pee. anyone ever use last years deer "forehead cape" as their licking branch for scent? I skinned out my dads buck last fall, and kept the hide from the nose to the back of the head and froze it. I plan on trying to use that this as my scent
Not a mock scrape but amped up an existing one. Five different bucks including this dude showed up within the first week. The dripper is just out of frame above his shoulder.
This without a doubt is the best mock scrape info I've read. https://forums.bowhunting.com/threads/my-thoughts-and-experiences-with-mock-scrapes.22204/ In this he uses Buck Fever Synthetics. I personally haven't used them but have heard great things. I use Denver's Deer Scents and have been very happy with the results!
This may not be popular, but IMO the success of a mock scrape has almost nothing to do with what scent you put in it and almost everything to do with location. I have bought and used many different "products" over the years designed to entice bucks to a scrape. And by golly nearly every one of them worked. But I have learned something based on my observations hunting and through trail cameras. I have had bucks start using mock scrapes I have started with my own pee (yes that's right), and even with nothing at all, just creating the scrape on the ground under an overhanging limb. heck a couple weeks ago I had 15 bucks scraping under an overhanging limb I was going to put a mock scrape under in September but didn't even make the scrape yet. I've also made mock scrapes and put out scents in them and never had them touched. I think getting a buck initially interested in a scrape has more to do with a visual than an olfactory stimulus. If a buck sees a scrape he will check it; he can't help it, regardless of what it smells like. I love setting cameras on scrapes. Instead of worrying about what scent I use, I instead put scrapes in locations deer already want to be where they will readily see them. It is a lot easier to make a buck do something where he already wants to do it than it is to make him go somewhere else. I got thousands of scrape pics last year without using any commercial scents.
DO NOT BUY COMMERCIAL SCENTS PERIOD--- gather pee on scrapes from different area,s place this into your newly made scrape or freshen a current scrape with this, it drives local bucks wild, They gotta know who the intruder is !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree with everything you have stated. For the most part I use DDS on pre existing scrapes that have already been established. Too many hunters think they can just make a mock scrape anywhere and Deer magically show up. It's really not how it works. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Since working with NCO, I have had a lot of time invested in mock scrapes while testing scents, probably a lot more than most people. Take that from what it is worth. Location makes a huge difference. Scrapes under overhanging branches, on wood/ field edges, on high ground in marshy area, etc., are all fairly easy to get pictures of bucks working your mock scrapes. The deer see it and explore it. It may be outside hunting hours, but they'll be there. To get them during daylight, immediate cover and surrounding area cover become a lot more important. These are the areas you want to actually hunt over. However, I believe using scent here may be more important as they are harder for deer to find visually. Usually scrapes in these areas are used year after year. Find one of these and put in a stand. Scents can make a big difference. Real urine products work well if used fresh and applied directly to scrape. They are MUCH less effective in a dripper. I believe this is because they already are or become spoiled when the temps are high. Spoiled pee dripping from the sky probably isn't very appealing. I see much more success using GOOD synthetics (unfortunately, the most common brands we tested barely resembled deer urine at all. Try OUR SCENTS) when using drippers. Early in the rut, doe in heat scents seem to produce better. Once closer to the peak, buck scents seem to come on strong. Using both, I have seen some mock scrapes keep a big buck nearby like he was on a leash.
I am very wary of anything with "synthetic" in the name. I just have a hard time believing a deer can't tell the difference. Deer have more olfactory sensors than a bloodhound. What something smells like to us isn't what it smells like to a deer. Synthetics, preservatives, aerosol propellants, etc that are in deer scents have a smell.
They do have an extremely good sense of smell. But that isn't the whole story. Some things you smell better than they do. It is all based of certain receptors. But that is a very long, deep, involved subject. Many people thing synthetic means plastic, or using odd chemicals. That isn't the case. For synthetic scents, we actually mimic real deer urine. The same chemicals found in real urine, just put together in a lab using different processes. There are no foreign substances for them to detects. More like fresh squeezed lemonade vs reconstituted lemonade. In reality, real urine is more likely to spook a deer... because most of what you buy in the store is spoiled garbage.
If I were to recommend buying real urine I'd suggest getting it straight from the farm and not the store where it sits on the shelf.
ABSOLUTELY. Our fresh urine product that will be out soon for the season hasn't even been made by the deer yet
