When are you guys going to start them and what are you using this year? Sent from my Samsung Galaxy s4
I picked up a couple magnum drippers after season last year at Wallyworld for really cheap. I'm gonna use those this year but have never done them before. I've only doctored already made scrapes before. So I'm interested in this topic aswell and looking forward to everyone's replies.
We always start ours around the first of October, might be a little late, but we've had good luck with Mrs. Doe pee's scrape stuff.
I'm actually going to back down my mock scrape action this year. In the past few years I've done 3 or 4 of them primarily to get trail camera photos. The trouble I had was that effectively maintaining that many mock scrapes was a pain, and I wasn't really using them to my advantage while hunting. They definitely worked and got deer to them, but IMO they weren't any more effective at helping me kill the deer I was after. Part of that is simply b/c I wasn't putting enough thought into where I was putting them or how I was going to hunt them. I kind of just went into the woods and said "This is a good spot for a scrape" and went from there. Definitely not the best overall plan. This year I plan on doing one good mock scrape in an area where I suspect one of my bigger bucks is spending much of his early season. I found this area through pure luck last year and managed to get a lot of pictures over a natural scrape that opened up in late September. Since I suspect one of my target bucks is living nearby I'm going to create and maintain a mock scrape in an area that's easier for me to hunt and access than where the natural scrape is. Ultimately I want to try and lure him out of his bed to my scrape during shooting hours sometime in October. I have a great setup in mind with that first October cold front on a North/Northwest wind. Going into this scrape building with a better game plan in mind I believe will keep me more vigilant at refreshing it and using it to my advantage this fall. I will be using Tink's Power Scrape to get my scrape started sometime in late August or early September. I may use some BF forehead gland as well, but most likely not until all of the velvet has come off and we've had a few cooler evenings to start kicking their testosterone levels up.
this is something i am very curious about as well. I heard this summer that it doesn't hurt to start early and some people start them early in the summer to try to condition the deer to checking them and giving themselves better odds at bagging that buck early season. So I went out a couple weeks ago and made two mock scrapes to see what it would be like starting them so early. Overall it wasn't too productive. Had some does checking them but only one small buck that kept coming back and checking it every third day. Is it really too early now and is it worth continuing to freshen them up or just wait until august/september? Curious to see what others think and do as well in regards to mock scrapes. Especially since I just picked up some tinks power scrape and drippers
Great post JZ. I have a spot that I only hunted a handful of times last year, but while scouting in mid-November (thats when we got permission), ran accross a couple mature bucks midday chasing does. Ill post up some aerial photos later today. Its basically three very overgrown fields, and an open grass field separated by a pine ridge and a creek. Ive killed many does coming from this area onto my property in the past...now we have the ability to actually hunt the area. I believe that since the does use it year round to bed that it would be a very productive mock scrape location. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy s4
I've been using Mock Scrapes for years in front of my cameras. Here is my method. I find a natural path where I know they are going to pass by. Find a place with a natural hanging branch. Next I will clean them out. I use either a stick or my rubber boots to scrape it out. For years, I used Bob Kirschner's Silver Top get and the deer would tear it apart. About 4 years ago, I started freshening up on my own. Yes, I pee directly in it. The first time I did it, had 6 bucks in it the first night, one within a few hours of me being there. It only takes a few times and once the deer start using it, they take it over. Good luck.
This is one of those things that I've "heard" about in magazines and on the Internet but have yet to actually see any real proof of this working on a regular basis for people. I believe a lot of what people talk and write about when it comes to deer hunting is simply theories and what they think should happen, but not actual real-world experience. Of course I'm sure that somewhere there's a person or two who has done this and been successful who will argue with me but by and large I doubt that your average hunter is having lot of success with mock scrapes during early season. Now what I have seen with mock scrapes is that they're just like regular scrapes. During most of the early season deer will pretty much ignore them. I've had plenty of videos and photos of deer simply walking right through my mock scrapes in August, September and even early October. But then there comes a time when a switch is seemingly flipped and all of a sudden the bucks are there working the licking branches. I think the thing to take away from this is that even if the bucks aren't ripping up your mock scrape in August and September it's not the time to give up. If you keep at it and keep freshening up they will eventually take notice and start coming to your scrape. The whole point of starting mock scrape early is simply so the deer will take notice of them and their location. They may ignore it but they know it's there and when the time is right they'll be back to mark their territory. The key is to make sure you're there waiting for them.
Yea I have never really had any success with early season mocks, was thinking it was things companies put out to just increase sales revenue lol. Figured I'd try it for myself though. Thanks a lot for the insight JZ, much appreciated!
I only start mine on my property up north when I am hunting. I just spray a good amount of buck bomb on it. It seems to wok well.
I started using stuff from Smokey's last year. Smokey's Deer Lure - Home of the Original Preorbital Gland Lure! It is my understanding that you can start using the preorbital scent earlier in the year and then closer to the rut you'll want to start making the scrapes. From what I remember reading, deer will start using a licking branch in the summer as a way of letting the other deer know they're around, but not necessarily make a scrape until they start gearing up for the rut.
Ill be using land mines made by mrs. Doe pee. Sam Collara is awesome to do business with and he is local for me. His shop is only 35 mins from me so I am there several times a month just hanging around and picking his brain. He told me to start a mine around the middle of August so I'm gonna try it. See how it goes.
My trail cameras are set-up on fringe locations that are not in the best travel route spots. I am maintaining food plots that are closer to their core areas, but are not on top of them. In my opinion, I just don't want the added pressure. Maybe I could set something up close to the food plots or trail cameras, but I just don't think those locations are worth my time. If I see consistent proof this tactic is working, I would give it a try next year.
I've got a particular scrape on my property that deer are still using from last year, not for the "leave your mark for mating" reason but they are still tearing up the dirt and using the licking branch. I was amazed to find it with bare ground and prints all over it. I will probably just do the same trick I do every year.
I usually start around the first of October. I start 2-3 mock scrapes and within a week or two they will be taken over by the buck (bucks) in the area. Once that happens I usually will not touch it unless I see a decrease in activity on camera. Most of my mock scrapes turn into community scrapes located on travel corridors and edges of bedding areas. I hunt the trails leading to the scrapes, not over them.
1 part vanilla extract 3 parts amonia. Start in august. Also use it on licking branches. Use a spray bottle.
I usually just do a couple of mock scrapes for inventory. Where I hunt you're wasting your time thinking you'll catch a deer, much less a mature buck, hitting a scrape during the day. I rake out some leaves in an area deer frequent often (doesn't have to be a trail), and apply some ConQuest Scent's Deer Herd in a Stick to the licking branch, then let the deer do their thing. This year I'm going to try their Rutting Buck and see what happens.
Mock scrapes have proven to be a great way to inventory the bucks on a property during the rut using a trail camera. Here is a couple of tips to make it easier. First I go out this time of year with a small spray bottle of Round-up herbicide and spray the area where I will later make the scrape. This kills at the vegetation and makes it very easy to rake away when you come back in October to make the scrape. When I do so, I wear rubber boots and rubber gloves to keep the area as free of scent as possible. I use a garden rake to clean the bare spot under the branch and then tie a short piece of cord around the overhanging branch for scent (see attached photo). Then when I come back to re-scent the scrape all I have to do is open the scent bottle and dip the ends of the cord in it, never touching a thing. Not sure it works? The buck below was photographed on the very same scrape as the photo of me refreshing the scent (both attached photos were taken at same scrape). He was killed by a neighbor and was officially scored at 199 5/8 at the Illinois Deer Classic last winter.
I've had very good results with mock scrapes in my area. I agree its a great way to get inventory on bucks but they're a hit or miss to hunt over. I usually start mine the second week of September, a couple weeks before the opener.
I normally start in Late August. Last year I used Mock Scrape Starter and it did pretty good. I will be trying something new this year. Still researching!
