Trying to predict whitetail behavior can be challenging. Even when using trail cameras, the vital picture and video data received from these many times leaves hunters chasing deer – hunting where a buck was instead of where he will be. This common mistake leaves a hunter guessing at best and wasting precious hunts in an already shorter-than-desired season. The problem with trying to read and react to a deer’s behavior is that you are always a step behind. Chasing whitetail is a low-odds hunting approach because it puts the deer in the driver’s seat, leaving the hunter constantly reacting and seldom connecting. The solution is taking proactive control, and habituating deer to behaviors that benefit you, and to appear at a time and place that benefits you hunting them. Mock scrapes are a great tool to achieve that. So, having a precise kit to help you do this at scale is essential for the serious whitetail hunter. Let’s look at just what that takes.
WHY MOCK SCRAPES:
Whether private or public land hunter, laying down scrapes has many benefits that lead to more success. First, they help determine the potential of an area by allowing you to take inventory of what kind of deer are there, especially if deer are not frequenting fields during daylight for easy summer glassing. This maximizes in-season hunting because you can check areas off the map where bucks you’d like to shoot don’t exist. Second, since mature bucks are territorial, the degree to which a scrape gets “active” will clue you in on the number of these older bucks in the area. I’ve noticed that if multiple mature bucks are in an area, they will aggressively take over scrapes and visit them frequently, even in the summer. Where there is little to no competition (few or no mature bucks), mock scrapes typically sit dormant. Introducing a new buck in the neighborhood adds more competition, and shifts control toward the hunter as now they are visiting a specific location you want them to, and in a reactionary way. Mock scrapes allow you to start manipulating behaviors of the deer instead of them manipulating your behaviors – a key shift. Third, you can make scrapes in an area that allows you to hunt the deer you’re after effectively, which are conducive to daylight visits and with little intrusion. You can start hunting on your terms – a huge benefit to getting quality opportunities. And fourth, they give you a better chance at analyzing buck personalities and your ability to kill them. Aggressive bucks tend to be easier to manipulate, while those that are more laid back aren’t. This allows you to categorize bucks and make vital decisions about which ones to go after and when.
PICKING THE LOCATION:
Where you establish scrapes is critical and depends on your goal – buck inventory, or hunting. If it’s just an inventory location, you can pick easy to access spots like edges of fields, but these should not be confused as areas you will hunt. These are just to collect information on deer in that area with trail cameras. If a hunting location, which I prefer, your mock scrape needs to be in or close to cover where deer feel safe. At the very least, thick cover within a quick bound is needed to create this feeling for a mature buck or they will resort to hitting your scrapes at night – totally defeating the purpose of it being a huntable. Field edges are usually out of the equation unless corn or dense brush surrounds the location and a small open pocket allows for placement of the scrape. Also think about access for you – how you will enter and exit without any deer knowing you are there.
A good private land example of a huntable mock scrape location is along a swale with dense understory next to a woods that meets a field edge planted with corn. Deer already like to make scrapes in areas along edges of habitat, and with three in this scenario you are stacking the odds in your favor. Further, deer will travel these edges and create their own scrapes naturally, which will aid in taking over one you make. Your entry and exit can be along the field edge, and ideally in such a manner that your blind or stand is at the least intrusive point into the deers’ core area or bedding cover to hunt the scrape. Public land areas to look for include thick cover edges or openings in dense cover, like overgrown clearcuts. Finding a small opening within this cover that you can barely enter and hunt minimizes pressure while allowing for the conditions mature bucks need to be active in daylight. And when a spot like this is found, several trails converging in that area helps ensure that the largest number of deer will find your scrape, as this is a numbers game. You don’t want the bucks to have to search to find your scrapes, so high-traffic areas make it easy for them.
The last two years on public land I had success hunting over scrapes, one that I created and one that I found already in use. Both of these had secure cover for the deer nearby, and both had half a dozen or more older bucks hitting them in the summer – well before season. Not all your mock scrapes will produce, so having a wide variety of locations to monitor throughout the summer and during the fall is important. Some mock scrapes may take off in the early season, and some may heat up as the hunting season progresses, so having an established kit you can pull out any time that has the correct components makes this an easy practice to maintain. I like to start mine in July, and only make or visit them at midday to decrease the likelihood that a buck will be bumped, but that is always possible in heavy cover so visits should be kept to a minimum. For example, if I make a scrape in July and place a trail camera over it, I will only check it once before hunting season, probably the week prior. I will do this when heavy winds or rain allow me to disguise my presence and always practice scent control. Other than that I leave them be, and will only check them during season when I’m hunting or at midday with minimal intrusion.
THE SCRAPE KIT
My kit is simple, always stays in my truck, and includes everything I need to make a scrape all in one place. To start, buy or assign a backpack to be specifically used only for this role. It does not have to be fancy or expensive to do the job, but this job should be all it’s used for. A critical component of making an effective mock scrape is not leaving any trace of a human – scent being one – which can kill your chances of a buck or multiple bucks taking it over.
And don’t believe the videos on YouTube that show bare-handed manipulation of licking branches and zero scent precautions, because in high-pressure areas this will uield poor results. Wash the backpack to remove any human scent, and keep it in a garbage back to eliminate contamination while stored. Include either disposable rubber gloves, or heavy duty ones you will wash after each use. Never touch any branches with your clothes or skin, especially licking branches. A small spade, folding shovel, or similar tool that can fit in the backpack allows you to prepare the dirt under the scrape effectively. Avoid using boots for clearing a scrape, and always have clean rubber boots or even hip waders to keep scent in the area to a minimum. The spade also should not be touched by your skin, especially the business end. Prepare a 3-4 foot diameter area cleared of all debris down to dirt, and make it big and noticeable in a flat area.
Deer use their nose, but also eyes for finding scrapes, so put that to work for you, as well. For the scrape specifically use interdigital scent, and for the licking branch a separate scent that is preorbital – these are different glands on a whitetail. To just use one scent for both is not how it works in the wild and not reality to a deer, and our goal is to make it as realistic as possible. The licking branch (¼ – ¾ inches ideal diameter) should only be touched with clean rubber gloves, be waist to chest high and include a broken dangling end of a few inches. Oak seems to work best due to its durable nature, and can be transported to your chosen location if needed and secured with string or zip ties (also in your kit) at the trunk or on an overhanging limb several feet from the licking end.
Consider this option for prime locations you want deer to visit but that lack overhanging limbs. Just bring your own and fasten to a tree at the correct height (zip ties work well). Even taking an established licking branch from another area that already has deer scent on it is a good option that may not require you to add any scent to it. Although vertical vines and ropes have become popular and may work sometimes, from my experience these are not hit as often as a horizontal branch. Again, realism is an important criteria for bucks to take it over as you don’t want to give them any reason to object to your setup.
The last thing to include in your scrape kit is a couple cameras, batteries, spare batteries, and several SD cards that you know work in those cameras. I’ve had cameras fail many times due to bad batteries or corrupted SD cards, so do not overlook testing these before putting them in your kit. If the scrape is in an area that you can easily access you don’t need a camera, but ideally this is the best way to monitor activity and see what is actually hitting your mock scrape. It is best practice to only visit and touch the scrape area one time – when you make it. After that the closest you should come is to swap an SD card or look at it from a distance to see tracks and activity if necessary. And here’s a word of caution: if you set the camera in such a way that it’s detectable, older bucks may avoid that area, so hide it well. Place cameras at least head high and the furthest distance from your scrape that can still produce good nighttime pictures to avoid the trap of “reverse surveillance” many hunters fall into (the deer observing you).
Once this kit is in place all you have to do is keep it stocked with supplies and ready to go. Then it is easy to just grab and go without thinking, and allows you to prep dozens of mock scrapes easily in a short amount of time and in a wide variety of locations. Whether for collecting vital intel, or for habituating deer to show in a location you can more effectively hunt them, a mock scrape kit is an essential tool to help any hunter to increase their chances at a good fall buck.
