I know it's early to be asking, but I figured why not. Anyone ever put thought into bucks making scrapes in a j-hook? I've heard about this a few times but never really found any evidence of it. In a general sense, how do you hunt a scrape line? Thanks in advance.

By J hook you mean individual scrapes are J shaped or a bucks entire scrape line is J shaped? I guess I'm confused because either way it sounds like total BS to me.

I've seen places you could stand in one spot and see 12 to 15 scrapes all around you.

keyword Michigan, lets see this guy come to Alabama and deploy this "J" tactic

I been "rodeoin'" a long time, didn't know there was a name for it . My stand would have been due W or WNW of the scrapes as far as I could get and still shoot to them. But a lot of that scent checking , hunting the wind goes out the window in hills and hollers, especially if those scrapes are in super thick stuff. So yes, I buy into this fellows strategy, it'll work.

As far as when to hunt scrapes, only when they are smokin' hot, if you aren't careful you'll be late to the party and the buck is breeding and not scraping. It's easy to miss the best part of season on cold scrapes. Been there done that, but never again if I can help it!

I've had zero luck watching scrape lines.

I've kinda figured it to be BS but then I'll hear somebody bring it up again. Makes me think I'm just not hunting them right or something. I tend not to bother with scrapes. Just curious about what others have seen. Alabama deer never follow a script though.

You are correct, in Alabama it's not as easy and successful as the magazines and horn porn TV make it sound. If you'll notice the guy in the vid talks about pressured bucks. As stated above you can be late to the party and miss the prime time hunting behind a buck on cold scrapes. You can be on time , hunting smokin' scrapes and still miss the party because they are worked at night. Pressure is the wild card.

If possible I like to find where a buck is bedding and hunt the closest , hot scrapes to the bedding area. If you kill him it'll be first light many times. Don't fall in love with scrapes, even hot ones. Do your home work, hunt smart and give them about 2 days in a row, if it don't happen, move on. You can still hunt the same buck in the same area just make a move an adjustment if you will.

I've heard the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. Don't think there's any truer words that apply to hunting mature bucks.

There's only two things that have given me an edge on hunting scrapes is this.....hunt a scrape that's worked every year(before it's opened that year) and hunting a hot scrape immediately after a good rain.


The first one is a timing issue that I never seem to be able to figure out.

The second one I've found that you have to be sitting in the rain waiting on it to stop.

I've never heard the rain thing but it's something to think about if the weather and timing comes together. I imagine all of those factors being hard to come by at once though.

Wonder why the rain seems to make a difference?

Because the rain dilutes the strength of the the scrape. If it has rained over a period of time the bucks will be up and on their feet the minute it stops raining freshening their active scrapes.

I think a lot of people make the mistake of hunting scrapes that are on a night time travel route. I only hunt scrapes next to a bedding area. I love hunting rutting zones but I've only found a handful of em in my lifetime.

Hey, I got an idea...go hunting, do your best to be smart about it and enjoy yourself!

Of course.
I knew that, now that I think of it that way. I was trying to make it more complicted than I should have been. I was thinking N2TYKRS was suggesting that rain enhanced the scrape somehow, making it more attractive. So I got confused. My bad!

I have killed 2 of my best bucks during the rut,sitting on a scrape-rubline while waiting out a thunderstorm.Both times I was soakin arse wet and sitting in a tree but it was worth it.

Well dang looks like I'm gonna get wet.

Killed my last two on the way to their scrapes ( after I put some doe in heat in the day before) .