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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Freshening the scrape line leading up to my bow stand. |
