Understanding Scrapes

            When bowhunting the fall, it is important to be observant about deer sign in the woods and what it means.  A scrape, in short, is a buck’s way of establishing his breeding territory. Somewhere around 85% of scrapes are made by mature bucks (3.5+). Every scrape has a few main characteristics: overhanging branch, moist soil, and are made in high-traffic areas (intersection of trails, edge of cornfield, etc.)  Most scrapes are made at night when patterns are mainly nocturnal.  Initially, the buck will urinate on the scrape, but not directly; rather he will mix it with his tarsal glands on the inside of his knees and let it trickle down, creating a strong odor.

Notice the fresh hoof prints in the middle of the scrape, as well as the overhanging lick branch.

When a buck makes a scrape, he is basically making a "checkpoint" for any doe in the area that is ready to be bred to come by and put her scent there. When she does, she'll put her hoof print in the center of the scrape, both marking her track and also releasing scent from glands in between the split of her hoof. The doe will also urinate in the middle of the scrape to leave her estrus for the buck to pick up on.

            If you ever come across a scrape that looks wet, like a doe might have just been there, there’s a good chance that the buck will be bedded close by downwind, so find a spot within the traveled area and get ready, because a buck will be by shortly. Also don’t linger in the area too long or make much noise, because the doe that just freshened the scrape will be bedded close by also, waiting her turn to get bred.  

Once checked, the buck will scrape the area again to make a fresh canvas so he can keep track of active does.  During the peak of the rut, bucks check their scrapes 5-6 times a day hoping to catch that doe as she marks it. This is the time that hunters sometimes take bucks at noon or 3 in the afternoon.  

Very fresh scrape on Sept. 22.

The buck also chews, rubs, and breaks the branch that hangs over the scrape so he can add his saliva to it.  He has scent glands in his cheeks and the corners of his eyes that help mark his territory.  This tells other bucks that come along and check out his scrape that those are HIS does and they need to move on. When a new buck doesn’t move on, that’s when fighting and sparring occurs.  Hunting a scrape line is a great time to use grunt calls and rattling horns for this very reason.

            Though rain is not a bowhunter’s friend for tracking, rain can be a good thing when it comes to hunting over a scrape line.  Bucks know that after a rain, they need to go freshen their scrapes so as to mark their territory again before another buck moves in, or before the does lose interest and leave the area.  It is a good rule of thumb to hunt over a scrape line during a rain and wait it out because a buck will be by within a couple hours afterwards.

            Whether hunting over your own mock scrapes or a natural scrape line created by a buck, one of the keys is keeping the scent constant and heavy.  Using a combination of doe estrus, buck urine, and tarsal gland scent will keep the does frequenting the scrape line as well as cause the bucks to stick around to defend their territory.  

Freshening the scrape line leading up to my bow stand.