I do not believe scrapes have very much if anything to do with the rut. I believe they are mostly, if not totally a simple communication device much like a bulletin board in a super market.
Why then are they used more during the fall and much less as the rut wanes?
I believe it is all travel based. I believe scrapes are "used" as much, maybe more by does than by bucks. And as bucks increase their travel in the fall, looking for does, they hit scrapes and that introduces a strange scent into the area. They do not, in my opinion, ever come to a scrape looking for a doe. They come to leave scent, announcing their presence and to learn new scents for the area they are in. I also believe it may be the accoutrements to scrape that are the real communiction devices.
I am convinced that bucks, at least those above 2.5, do most of their scrape visiting at night. I think maybe 85% of it is nocturnal. I also think, the introduction of the strange, mature buck scent creates more scrapes. Therefor, the more scrapes you have, the more mature bucks you may have in an area.
I am firmly convinced that hunting a scrape to kill a mature buck is about 97.6% a complete waste of time.
I KNOW that any urine is every bit as good as the most expensive commercial product at freshening a scrape simply because, the scrape has nothing to do with a doe in heat. I do not believe a buck has ever come to a scrape, smelled a hot doe, followed her off and bred her. I just don't think that happens.
Now. If I am correct, then, buying any commercial doe-in-heat product is mostly a waste of money. It is even a greater waste if that urine is poured in a scrape and then the scrape is hunted.
I am convinced that creating a mock scrape for any reason other than information and education is a waste of time. Scrapes, for humans and deer alike, are a simple informational tool and are of some limited value once you learn to read them.
Overall, scrape hunting has probably cost hunters more deer than sleeping in.
Can you kill a buck at a scrape...even a mature one? Certainly you can. It has been done many times. Can you kill a buck at a big mudhole in a wodds road...even a mature one? Certainly you can. It has been done more often than at scrapes.
That is just what I think.
Why then are they used more during the fall and much less as the rut wanes?
I believe it is all travel based. I believe scrapes are "used" as much, maybe more by does than by bucks. And as bucks increase their travel in the fall, looking for does, they hit scrapes and that introduces a strange scent into the area. They do not, in my opinion, ever come to a scrape looking for a doe. They come to leave scent, announcing their presence and to learn new scents for the area they are in. I also believe it may be the accoutrements to scrape that are the real communiction devices.
I am convinced that bucks, at least those above 2.5, do most of their scrape visiting at night. I think maybe 85% of it is nocturnal. I also think, the introduction of the strange, mature buck scent creates more scrapes. Therefor, the more scrapes you have, the more mature bucks you may have in an area.
I am firmly convinced that hunting a scrape to kill a mature buck is about 97.6% a complete waste of time.
I KNOW that any urine is every bit as good as the most expensive commercial product at freshening a scrape simply because, the scrape has nothing to do with a doe in heat. I do not believe a buck has ever come to a scrape, smelled a hot doe, followed her off and bred her. I just don't think that happens.
Now. If I am correct, then, buying any commercial doe-in-heat product is mostly a waste of money. It is even a greater waste if that urine is poured in a scrape and then the scrape is hunted.
I am convinced that creating a mock scrape for any reason other than information and education is a waste of time. Scrapes, for humans and deer alike, are a simple informational tool and are of some limited value once you learn to read them.
Overall, scrape hunting has probably cost hunters more deer than sleeping in.
Can you kill a buck at a scrape...even a mature one? Certainly you can. It has been done many times. Can you kill a buck at a big mudhole in a wodds road...even a mature one? Certainly you can. It has been done more often than at scrapes.
That is just what I think.
