This is historically the first one every year at our place. It'll be big as a truck hood by November. I haven't even gotten a pic of a hard horn buck yet
Believe you are spot on. I think they get a little frisky when starting to shed. It's usually hat size scrapes on plot edges that I find.I figure one buck that was getting ready to shed probably made all 3 but that's just a guess.
That scrape is on transition line of pines and a huge hardwood hollow. Twenty feet on other side is loaded with chestnut, white & red oaks.Today, I got a "reminder" of videos taken two years ago when we had out last heavy acorn crop, and it was videos of bucks already checking traditional scrapes (at least working the overhanging limb) on today's date (Sept 12) in 2021. So scrape activity in a good acorn year this early is not unusual.
I'm going to do the same.I guess I'm going to have to go walk our place this weekend and see if there are any traditional scrapes opened up. I'll have to dig a couple cameras out to take with me.