What kind of scrapes get you excited?

[iccyman001]

First and foremost, do scrapes get you excited?
If so....

What kind do you look for?
Give me details on what kind or scrapes make you excited.....

 

[iccyman001]

I think scrapes are very important things for people to learn for one very big reason.......

to eliminate 90% of them as being important......


I think too many hunters get hung up on a fresh, small scrape, and then ruin time trying to hunt it.
Or they just see any scrape and think the deer has to come back at some point, so they waste even more time on it.


When I am out hunting for sign, there are 3 types of scrapes I look for.

Primary scrapes, scrapes with a licking branch over it, or areas with multiple scrapes right on top of each other.

Primary scrapes to me are giant and extremely active scrapes. These areas are gold mines during the rut....
I usually find them on extremely active trails or funnels that get hit hard during the rut. They are also not common in areas with lower buck populations, but where I hunt.... we have bucks!!!!! They are not always easy to find, but once you do.... :dance2:

I love scrapes with licking branches over it because they seem to be extremely active to me before, during, and post rut.
I killed my first buck over one last year during the rut. He came in fast on a hot doe, but stopped DEAD in his tracks, freshened up the scrape and branch, then got shot

The third ones ties into the whole licking branch and multiple scrapes. Last year I found an absolute UTOPIA.....
Two scrapes with licking branches over it and 5 additional scrapes, all within a 40 yard radius.... GOLD MINE!!!!!!!

I saw 3 different bucks run through the area in 4 hours..... BIG BUCKS.



Now, don\'t get my wrong, when I am finding sign I pay attention to EVERY scrape I see it often helps me tell a story with deer movement when I tie it into everything else, but BOY am I searching for those top 3

 

[timberland]

Multiple scrapes on a field edge might key me to buck use, but take it to the next level. Bucks will scent check the downwind side of a field, keeping inside the cover. Find a scrape line inside the cover with a couple big scrapes and you could be golden in pre-rut.

 

[EmbryOklahoma]

Scrapes that are in the same location every year and I\'ve documented through game camera photos that multiple big bucks are hitting it during the daylight. :shock: