Scrapes

[BuckNazty]

About when do you all start seeing scrapes start opening up. At my place in Hardeman county I would say mid October but I honestly year in and year out get the most daytime scrape photos on October 31. I don't see good rutting from muture Bucks until around thanksgiving into the first of December but if a rain shower with a cold front is the forecast around Halloween day then I'm hunting scrapes.

 

[puppy]

After season ended this year I was thinking of ways to increase the probability of a encounter with a mature buck other than just taking off 3 months in the fall to hunt so I looked at 5 years worth of mature buck pictures that I have saved. Two things jumped out at me very quickly, #1 starting around October 25th I see a surge in mature buck movement for about a week and most of my cameras are hung over traditional scrape locations at this time even if they haven't been worked since the year before. #2 I will see another surge in mature buck pictures around December 10th for about a week to 10 days and normally these will be cruising through food plots or along travel corridors. not a scientific study by any means but it helped me schedule my limited number of vacation days that I can devote to hunting for the upcoming season. What area of the state are you in, I am as far east as you can go along the NC boarder.

 

[BuckNazty]

I am as far south as you can (4 miles from the Mississippi state line) and Two counties from the Mississippi River (Hardeman/Fayette county line). Basically complete opposite from you.

 

[BSK]

I will see a few random scrapes appear as early as late September. However, heavy scraping doesn't begin until mid-October, and usually peaks from Oct. 25th through Nov. 10.

This is in an area with a mid-November peak breeding.

 

[BSK]

After season ended this year I was thinking of ways to increase the probability of a encounter with a mature buck other than just taking off 3 months in the fall to hunt so I looked at 5 years worth of mature buck pictures that I have saved. Two things jumped out at me very quickly, #1 starting around October 25th I see a surge in mature buck movement for about a week and most of my cameras are hung over traditional scrape locations at this time even if they haven't been worked since the year before. #2 I will see another surge in mature buck pictures around December 10th for about a week to 10 days and normally these will be cruising through food plots or along travel corridors. not a scientific study by any means but it helped me schedule my limited number of vacation days that I can devote to hunting for the upcoming season. What area of the state are you in, I am as far east as you can go along the NC boarder.

Although the dates are a bit different in my area, I see the exact same double peak in scraping that you discussed puppy. I will see the biggest surge of scraping just before peak breeding, and that surge is usually Oct 25th through Nov. 10. My second surge--at the end of the breeding cycle--is usually the first week of December, peaking around Dec. 5-7.

 

[huntforme7909]

After season ended this year I was thinking of ways to increase the probability of a encounter with a mature buck other than just taking off 3 months in the fall to hunt so I looked at 5 years worth of mature buck pictures that I have saved. Two things jumped out at me very quickly, #1 starting around October 25th I see a surge in mature buck movement for about a week and most of my cameras are hung over traditional scrape locations at this time even if they haven't been worked since the year before. #2 I will see another surge in mature buck pictures around December 10th for about a week to 10 days and normally these will be cruising through food plots or along travel corridors. not a scientific study by any means but it helped me schedule my limited number of vacation days that I can devote to hunting for the upcoming season. What area of the state are you in, I am as far east as you can go along the NC boarder.

I like this...

 

[puppy]

Like I said it wasn't a scientific study by any means but just by looking at all those saved pictures the two spikes were easily recognizable, I might even sit down and graph it out if get a free hour some day. Although there is no substitute for hard work, hunting the wind and knowing the terrain I will always try to increase my probability of success using any tool available and trail cam pictures can be a great tool if used properly.

 

[BSK]

Like I said it wasn't a scientific study by any means but just by looking at all those saved pictures the two spikes were easily recognizable, I might even sit down and graph it out if get a free hour some day. Although there is no substitute for hard work, hunting the wind and knowing the terrain I will always try to increase my probability of success using any tool available and trail cam pictures can be a great tool if used properly.

No surprise, but I've been graphing that type of data for years on individual properties, and hunters who have limited time to hunt can greatly benefit from hunting particular peak camera activities. The link between peaks in scraping activity on camera and daylight movement by mature bucks is VERY strong.