What is it with all the scraping?

[BSK]

Don't know what's going on, but I've never seen as much scraping activity this late in the year. Several of my traditional scrapes are just getting hammered, some on a daily basis. Over a 16-day period, one of these scrapes produced 426 videos, mostly bucks working the scrapes, but also does checking them out. The hottest scrapes are those on food plot edges, or very near the plot edge.

 

[FredRog72]

I'm having a similar experience here in Kentucky. I had one regularly visited scrape on the edge of a food plot and zero rubs up until the past 2 weeks. Now, rubs everywhere and several more fresh scrapes. Still all night activity though. I don't have a single daylight deer pic over the past 2 months.

 

[philsanchez76]

Seeing the same. Although no food plots since these are public land scrapes. They are all in or near thick cover. One is getting hit by multiple bucks and does every night still. Few others are still getting hit by at least 1 buck nearly every night. Always night pics too. Oldest deer im getting though are 2.5 years old and younger though.

 

[redblood]

Don't know what's going on, but I've never seen as much scraping activity this late in the year. Several of my traditional scrapes are just getting hammered, some on a daily basis. Over a 16-day period, one of these scrapes produced 426 videos, mostly bucks working the scrapes, but also does checking them out. The hottest scrapes are those on food plot edges, or very near the plot edge.

Yeah. Have had 9 bucks in one night on one scrape. Half of them mature

 

[Creek bottoms]

Don't know what's going on, but I've never seen as much scraping activity this late in the year. Several of my traditional scrapes are just getting hammered, some on a daily basis. Over a 16-day period, one of these scrapes produced 426 videos, mostly bucks working the scrapes, but also does checking them out. The hottest scrapes are those on food plot edges, or very near the plot edge.

Likewise......seems awfully late.

 

[Ski]

Still plenty does yet to breed, so the mating rituals continue. My guess is with the over abundance of nutrition this year, most all doe fawns have reached breedable size. Could be a fawn boon coming this summer.

 

[BSK]

Still plenty does yet to breed, so the mating rituals continue. My guess is with the over abundance of nutrition this year, most all doe fawns have reached breedable size. Could be a fawn boon coming this summer.

Got this interesting video from one of our food plots. The older broken-rack buck sure seems interested in the fawn. I got a whole series of videos of this buck messing with the fawn, pushing it around with his antlers. Now I've noticed fawns show much less fear of older bucks than the adult does do, but this interaction looks like more than just a fearless fawn checking out a buck.

 

[Antler Daddy]

It is amazing that a fawn can be bred in first year. They still have a lot of growing to do.

I would think mostly single fawn births would be the norm for fawns, but probably all nutritional related.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Got this interesting video from one of our food plots. The older broken-rack buck sure seems interested in the fawn. I got a whole series of videos of this buck messing with the fawn, pushing it around with his antlers. Now I've noticed fawns show much less fear of older bucks than the adult does do, but this interaction looks like more than just a fearless fawn checking out a buck.

I'd say that fawn is, or is close to coming into heat. I agree with @Ski - our deer haven't moved and have just been laying around getting fat and healthy (literally no deer sightings since mid-late November). We are just now seeing deer coming into the fields for the first time this year during daylight and everyone around us are reporting the same.

 

[Ski]

Got this interesting video from one of our food plots. The older broken-rack buck sure seems interested in the fawn. I got a whole series of videos of this buck messing with the fawn, pushing it around with his antlers. Now I've noticed fawns show much less fear of older bucks than the adult does do, but this interaction looks like more than just a fearless fawn checking out a buck.

Yeah that's a pretty suggestive video. It's only logical that if doe fawns hit estrus when reaching a certain body weight, then years like this will have a lot of fawns reaching breeding weight early.

 

[BSK]

Yeah that's a pretty suggestive video. It's only logical that if doe fawns hit estrus when reaching a certain body weight, then years like this will have a lot of fawns reaching breeding weight early.

Agree with this. With the huge acorn crop, I expect to see more fawns being bred.

 

[Popcorn]

Yeah that's a pretty suggestive video. It's only logical that if doe fawns hit estrus when reaching a certain body weight, then years like this will have a lot of fawns reaching breeding weight early.

I see this^^ in KY and TN and agree that is what is happening lots of young doe fawns coming in and this could be the best January ever for hunters who have not tagged out

 

[Ski]

Agree with this. With the huge acorn crop, I expect to see more fawns being bred.

Gona make for a bumper crop of fawns this summer. Good for my Ohio place but means I'll probably have to take a few extra does here in TN.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Found a few fresh new scrapes the other day. One just away from one of my cameras, and I got no pictures of the responsible party. Tracks looked fairly good sized though.

 

[BSK]

Sorry for the poor video quality (this is from my oldest video trail-camera, which takes grainy night videos), but this is a scrape in an old log-skidder trail about 30 yards inside the woods from the edge of a food plot. Videos were just the last couple of days. These are our two best bucks left alive. Although they look 2 1/2 in these videos, they are both actually very worn-down 3 1/2 year-olds.

 

[Ski]

Good looking bucks! Looking like they're going to make it to next season too!

 

[backyardtndeer]

Found a few fresh new scrapes the other day. One just away from one of my cameras, and I got no pictures of the responsible party. Tracks looked fairly good sized though.

Think this one is likely who has been hitting the scrape. Had to move the camera back where I had it. Pretty sure I passed this same buck earlier on in the season, and may have several pics of him across our farm.

Real shame I haven't been able to get my son in the stand at the right time. Had daytime pics of him on another cam just 30 yards from the stand I have down the hill in the bottom.

 

[bhud84]

Scrape I opened still getting attention late also...

 

[deerhunter10]

We don't have many scrapes as usual. But the ones we have been hit practically all year since they have been made.

 

[Dodge Man]

In my area bucks are back in bachelor groups and does are back in big groups together.