Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Serious Deer Talk Forum how do y'all hunt scrape lines?

if at all?
i've always figured they indicate the occasional presence of buck(s), but mostly at night. i've not ever killed one visiting a scrape ...

Follow the scrape line until you bump a buck from one of them. Climb and wait until he comes back.
Bucks will bed close to one of their scrapes and it's just a matter of finding it.

I've killed two following a scrape line, but not directly on it. I would hunt 100 or so yards down wind from them. Both bucks I killed was walking through and would stock their head up and appear to sniff every so often. They would come between me and the scrape.

thanks, y'all ...

I simply don’t. Most mature bucks are actively breeding while younger bucks work scrapes. I’ve killed a few with scrapes in the area, but never hunted an area because of scrapes. I focus more on travel routes to and from thick bedding cover with a cluster of big rubs. If I find a cluster of big rubs all headed the same direction, odds are he’s bedding close on some days.

Not worth the time. they will just walk out in front of you if you sit there with the right conditions and time. Scrapes are fun to see and I like the presence of them but so many different deer use the scrapes there is no telling how frequently the deer you are after will visit a scrape line.

i hunt chambers county. about an inch of rain expected friday and and all day saturday. i figure scrape freshening will be due sunday. may try it anyhow sunday. thanks again for all the advice. one of the scrapes in the line i am thinking about is the size of a hot tub, under a privet licking branch ...

Bingo!!! Never had any luck on mature bucks hunting a scrape line. I have had younger bucks visit them quite often. Especially after a rain during the pre rut.

I’ve killed some good deer working scrapes over the years. However, it’s too random of visitation for me to spend much time on them, especially past the pre rut phase. I’ve been placing trail cameras(in video mode) on scrapes for the last several years and have seen mature bucks working/visiting scrapes in areas that I would’ve thought would only been visited at night. It’s been a fun and informative research project for myself. During this time, I’ve also placed cameras on nearby beds, that I figured to be buck beds. They were indeed buck beds and was able to capture some cool videos from them.

Yes! The best place to keep cams pre rut and post rut is on active scrapes. It will tell you a lot about who’s coming through. There’s a LOT of bucks that will visit an individual scrape.

Scrapes hav always been hit or miss with me and more miss than hit

My fields all hav scrapes in them now - some extensive

Every buck no matter what size works the liking branch
, larger bucks paw the ground and hook the limbs more, button bucks just rub their face on the limb, does pee and crap in scrapes. I left a camera on a large scrape under a holly tree from Oct until March, I identified 37 different deer used that scrape over that time. Does will pee in a scrape and stand around and wait for a buck. I have scrape hunted a lot and kill ed some working scrapes. Scrapes don't belong to just one buck.

thanks to more of y'all ...

Scrapes are not all created equal. Scrape lines are hit and miss. However, if you find a large scrape - like the size of a truck hood - with other buck sign around, it is worth hunting.

I dont necessarily hunt scrapes but they are in the areas that I hunt and usually a few within sight. I like to put cams and hunt on saddles where there are clusters of big scrapes/rubs and the same with places where multiple drainages meet with the same type of sign. I’ll hunt those areas as they are just good overall funnels for rutting bucks and the scrapes just happen to be there too. Especially if it’s relatively thick all around.

My history with scrapes says that once the first does in the area start going in heat, the mature bucks will abandon them completely. Young bucks will continue to mess with them but the big deer will be tending or searching for receptive does. Prior to that, it’s hit or miss hunting scrapes.

A post rut scrape that has been opened back up is worth a sit or two.

thanks again for all advice ...

Not all scrapes are created equal. A lot of them are made at night... visited irregularly... etc. This year I found one in the prerut that was different than the norm for me. It was in a place where a community scrape typically appears every year, but the difference this year was the size - it was the size of a truck hood. I put a camera on it and checked it after a week. I had 8-9 different bucks on camera with just about all of them making daylight appearances. Between three mature bucks, two 5+ and one 4 YO, there was usually one at that scrape every afternoon. Second time I pulled the card, about a week later, noted the same thing with even more frequent visits in the daylight. The following week, I killed one of the big boys - a 212 lb. 8 point that came to the scrape. Buy you several cheap Tasco cams - the ones that go for about $30 at WalMart and take 4 AA batteries. During November/early December, put them on scrapes that seem to be "hot"... check them every week or so and you might find one that's worth hunting over.