-: Scrapes.
They're the white tail Tinder hookup site
for the white tail ages.
But the problem with scrapes is
they're not always conveniently located
where your ambush site is going to be.
No worries.
You can make a mock scrape.
And that's the topic of this rut crash course.
(guitar music)
Research study after research study confirms
that white tails, well, they'll scrape year round.
But it really starts to tick up
with the decreasing amounts of daylight
and the surge of testosterone.
And what do scrapes tell other deer?
Well, they tell other bucks, this is my territory.
I'm here, maybe you shouldn't be here.
And it also invites does as they begin to come into estrus
to leave their mark at the scrape,
so bucks can find them quick
in that short window of breeding opportunity.
When should you make your mock scrape?
Well, you can do it anytime in the pre-season,
August, September.
You can even do it on the fly in October and November,
but the big key is placement.
White tails scrape everywhere,
in the timber, on the field edges.
So, figure out where they're traveling,
where you want your ambush spot to be
and find an ideal tree.
Now, what's the best tree?
Just look around
and remember from your past hunting experiences,
where do the white tails scrape the most?
And look for that tree.
You may or may not be able to find it,
but I've got a little trick if you can't.
Just go to a tree similar to what they like,
clip a branch off
and overhang that from another tree in the spot you want.
Now, how do you find that exact spot?
Think of predominant winds.
So, you want the wind blowing from the scrape
back to you where you're hidden
and a travel corridor in between.
So the deer comes down that trail or down a funnel
and he stops at the mock scrape
and you're up here in your tree stand
or down here in your ground blind
with the wind blowing at you
and the deer busy, broad side at your mock scrape.
Tools to make a mock scrape?
Hey, just bring a shovel along.
If you don't have a shovel,
pick up a big stick in the woods
and you can use that to scrape out.
And if the soil is soft enough
and your boots are sprayed down and scent free,
you can just kick it out with your boots.
It's that simple.
Remember that comment about
clipping a branch off a branch
that could be their favorite tree to scrape under?
Well, that's a licking branch
and you need that directly over the pawed out dirt
because bucks want to rub their preorbital glands
and their forehead glands on that branch and lick it,
leaving more scent for others to know
that they've been there.
You found the right location.
You found the right tree.
But how big should this scrape be?
Well, think back to your past hunting experiences
and the other scrapes you've seen in the area.
Because white tails,
they make a lot of little scrapes,
just real quick and fast and furious,
but they make big primary scrapes,
and that's what you're looking for.
Look for those bigger ones
where there's a lot of effort in it.
And if you can't find one of those,
think of a garbage can lid, about this bag.
And that's the perfect size.
Once you've closed down the construction site
at your mock scrape,
it's time to put some scent there.
The easy way to do it is to use a dripper.
In the pre-rut, fill that dripper up
with a buck lure or doe urine,
just something naturally casual
that a deer is going to walk by and want to smell.
But when does start coming into estrus,
then switch to something like Wildlife Research Center's
Golden Estrus to really keep a buck occupied
at that mock scrape.
Mock scrapes.
They're the hookup site for white tail deer,
and they might be the hookup site
for your next white tail buck.
And that's the rut crash course.