1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:10,799 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, and now your host, 3 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:17,799 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. Today's episode of Foundations, which is brought to 4 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:20,840 Speaker 1: you by First Light, is all about scrapes and how 5 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 1: to hunt them correctly. Buck signed, buck signed, buck sign. 6 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:45,599 Speaker 1: The questions roll in by the week, and most of 7 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:48,520 Speaker 1: them center on scouting and how to use buck sign. 8 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: The thing is, most of the buck sign I care 9 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: about comes in the form of rubs and tracks. Scrapes 10 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: don't really get me going a whole lot, at least 11 00:00:57,160 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: until a certain time of year, which is right free 12 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 1: can know if you want to kill a buck on 13 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:05,319 Speaker 1: a scrape. Mid October is your window, as long as 14 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 1: you know which scrapes to hunt and when. Which is 15 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:24,639 Speaker 1: where we are going with this whole episode. I'm guessing 16 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 1: that more than a few of the folks listening to 17 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: this podcast right now are thinking this is a good 18 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:31,280 Speaker 1: time to hunt some wood ducks, or maybe get in 19 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 1: some last nights on the water catching smallmouth before getting 20 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:38,199 Speaker 1: really serious about white tails. Here's the thing, at least 21 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:42,200 Speaker 1: from my experience, mid October is underrated. I'm not going 22 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:44,959 Speaker 1: to pretend it's as exciting as the rut because it's not. 23 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: But it's not a lost cause either, and it's an 24 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:51,200 Speaker 1: opportunity for public land hunters as well as anyone who 25 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: shares the woods with other hunters, to have a last 26 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: week or two kind of to themselves before the rut. 27 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: Hunting army marches into the hardwoods with their brand new 28 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: grunt too and bottles a dopee, ready to post up 29 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:04,040 Speaker 1: on every pinch point and funnel in the forest while 30 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 1: taking sunrise selfies for Instagram and filming themselves dipping donuts 31 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: into their coffee for TikTok. If you want to get 32 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:13,680 Speaker 1: out before that on slot, do it, but do it 33 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:16,840 Speaker 1: in a way that takes advantage of last week's staging 34 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: area advice and something else. Scrapes. This is purely anecdotal 35 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 1: on my part, but let me tell you a few 36 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 1: things I really believe about hunting scrapes. The first is 37 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:30,240 Speaker 1: that when I started bowl hunting, I didn't know anything 38 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 1: about scrapes other than bucks made them, and I wanted 39 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: to sit over them because I knew bucks made them. 40 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:37,639 Speaker 1: I hunted them for years without ever killing a buck 41 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:40,840 Speaker 1: on a scrape, let alone seeing one use one, or 42 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: make one. At least to a young, mostly clueless Minnesota 43 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: bow hunter, they were like crop circles. They just showed 44 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: up in the middle of the night, and that was 45 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 1: at In fact, I don't think I saw a legitimate 46 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:53,239 Speaker 1: buck use the scrape until I was probably in my 47 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:56,640 Speaker 1: early twenties. Then it was a scrapper and it didn't 48 00:02:56,639 --> 00:03:00,080 Speaker 1: register as anything meaningful at all. It wasn't until I 49 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: was on the hunt for a monster buck on public 50 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 1: land in the Twin Cities in two thousand and eleven 51 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:08,079 Speaker 1: that got a real lesson on scrapes. While the really 52 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 1: big boy had disappeared on me, his younger sidekicks suddenly 53 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: showed up right where they had been all summer long. 54 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 1: It was mid October, it was hot, it was windy 55 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:21,359 Speaker 1: and really bad weather for white tails, and the timing 56 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 1: sucked if you believe in that sort of thing. I 57 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 1: was tucked into an overgrown fence row, mostly just watching 58 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: when he popped out of the cat tail slue and 59 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: worked his way down a woodline. That nine pointer. He 60 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 1: didn't make it too far before a smaller eight pointer 61 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 1: stepped out. They squared off, but didn't fight. Instead, they 62 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: stood ten yards apart and both made scrapes in the dry, 63 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: sandy soil. It looked like a whole digging contest from 64 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:47,680 Speaker 1: my vantage point. The bigger buck worked his antlers into 65 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,760 Speaker 1: an overhanging pine bow, took a leak on his tarslo glands, 66 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: and then made his way back to the cat tails 67 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:56,120 Speaker 1: and out of sight. The following day, it got hotter, 68 00:03:56,480 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: it got windier, and less likely that anyone else would 69 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: go in there to hunt, so I grabbed a stand 70 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 1: in some sticks and I hiked in. I set up 71 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: seven yards from his scrape in the best tree I 72 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:08,920 Speaker 1: could find, and settled in to sway in the thirty 73 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 1: mile per hour wind. It wasn't all that much later 74 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:13,840 Speaker 1: when a doe came out, which got my attention because 75 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 1: I was hunting hungry and I had ant los tags. 76 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 1: I also thought the odds of the nine point returning 77 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:22,160 Speaker 1: were very low. As she fed closer, I looked around 78 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:24,560 Speaker 1: and saw times coming out of the cat tails, which 79 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:27,920 Speaker 1: meant my focus shifted in a hurry. The wind meant 80 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:29,839 Speaker 1: that calling was out of the question, so I just 81 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: had to cross my fingers and hoped the buck returned 82 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,599 Speaker 1: to a scrape. When I lost sight of him. I 83 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:38,039 Speaker 1: figured that wasn't going to happen, but it did. With 84 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: fifteen minutes of shooting, light left and at the shot 85 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:43,880 Speaker 1: he took off cartoon level fast, and although I didn't 86 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:45,880 Speaker 1: see it, ended up dying in the middle of a 87 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 1: pond that was deep enough to make me nearly swim 88 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:50,159 Speaker 1: to retrieve him. Killing a really good buck in those 89 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:53,800 Speaker 1: conditions on public land on a scrape left the mark 90 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 1: on me. It changed how I looked at hunting at scrapes, 91 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 1: which was further solidified a few weeks later when I 92 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:01,080 Speaker 1: aarrowed a great ten inner as he worked a scrape 93 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 1: in Illinois. That buck, traveling after a five days stretch 94 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:08,839 Speaker 1: of rainy, nasty weather that finally blew out, was working 95 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:11,360 Speaker 1: a scrape when he was supposed to in the morning 96 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: after the rain during the rut. Together, the two bucks 97 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 1: made me realize that I was looking at scrapes as 98 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:20,479 Speaker 1: fools gold. Yet in a span of three weeks, I 99 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:22,560 Speaker 1: turned a clunker of a season into one that looked 100 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:26,680 Speaker 1: pretty good, all because of scrapes. Since then, I've spent 101 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 1: a lot of time thinking about and hunting scrapes, and 102 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:32,520 Speaker 1: I really believe this is the time when most white 103 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:36,120 Speaker 1: tail communication happens with them, but not all scrapes are 104 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,839 Speaker 1: created equal. Just like the field edge rub, a scrape 105 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:41,920 Speaker 1: on the edge of the soybean field is probably not 106 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: your best friend. It was probably made at night, probably 107 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 1: gets visited at night, and probably doesn't do you much 108 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:50,880 Speaker 1: good as a hunter. Now, if you're in a secluded 109 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:53,599 Speaker 1: spot with low hunting pressure, this might be worth setting 110 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 1: up over. It could really concentrate any movement you're likely 111 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 1: to see during shooting hours, and since you're already hunting 112 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 1: over food, you might as well get in a downwind 113 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: position to shoot the scrape just in case. A scrape 114 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 1: in the woods might be a different story. Might might 115 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:12,880 Speaker 1: be a different story, especially a good size scrape, because 116 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:15,480 Speaker 1: this often indicates you're in a travel hub. If the 117 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:18,560 Speaker 1: scrape has a licking branch, then you're in business. If 118 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: it doesn't, forget it. It's worthless. If you don't know 119 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 1: what a licking branches, walk up to a scrape and 120 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:27,040 Speaker 1: all hell, just google it. But when you're on the 121 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: woods and you find a scrape, look at the ground, 122 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:31,680 Speaker 1: then look up four or five six ft in the 123 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:34,680 Speaker 1: air and there will be a branch that was chewed 124 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: on and it looks like it's expertly twisted to hang 125 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:42,279 Speaker 1: right over the scrape. That's real important. Now, A dished 126 00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:45,640 Speaker 1: out scrape in this scenario is one that is worth 127 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:49,599 Speaker 1: thinking about. Usually it will be in a place where 128 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: dear end up as they travel through and stage, and 129 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: it will be communications central the licking branch, which is 130 00:06:56,920 --> 00:07:00,160 Speaker 1: more important than any amount of exposed dirt provide. It's 131 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:02,560 Speaker 1: a spot for all bucks to leave their calling card 132 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:06,800 Speaker 1: via the preorbital glands on their forehead. In both in 133 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 1: person observation and after running trail cameras on video mode 134 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:13,080 Speaker 1: over scrapes. I've never seen a buck work of scrape 135 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: that didn't rub his face on the licking branch. It 136 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:19,240 Speaker 1: seems to happen every time, actually pawing out the dirt 137 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: and peeing down their hawks to carry the scent away 138 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: from their tarso glands. That's another story. Sometimes they do this, 139 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:29,160 Speaker 1: sometimes they don't. You might ask why, which is a 140 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:32,200 Speaker 1: good question, and I don't know the answer. I also 141 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 1: don't know why you occasionally see a buck walking through 142 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 1: the woods making what looks like random scrapes along the route, 143 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:41,920 Speaker 1: you know, every Maybe it's just a natural inclination that 144 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:44,440 Speaker 1: allows them to saturate the area with his scent. But 145 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: it's a different behavior than visiting a community scrape and 146 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:50,840 Speaker 1: adding to the matrix of scent deposited there by visiting 147 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:54,440 Speaker 1: bucks and does And that's right. The ladies use scrapes 148 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:57,320 Speaker 1: sometimes too, but it seems like they are almost always 149 00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:59,680 Speaker 1: interested in the licking branch and not the piste soaked 150 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 1: dirt to white tails live by their noses, and scrapes 151 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: sure seem to be away for them to check in 152 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: with daily updates, sort of like the dear version of 153 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,320 Speaker 1: social media, without all the ads or selfies or humble 154 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 1: briggs or other bullshit. The key takeaway here is that, dear, 155 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:17,320 Speaker 1: do visit scrapes at night and sometimes in the day, 156 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:19,680 Speaker 1: and if you find one that is ripe, you might 157 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:21,480 Speaker 1: kill a buck on it. But how do you know. 158 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 1: You know by location and through trail cameras. I'll get 159 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 1: to location in a second, but let me first dive 160 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:32,960 Speaker 1: into monitoring scrapes with trail cameras. It's fascinating. It's also 161 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:36,920 Speaker 1: dangerous because this is often a here this week but 162 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:39,720 Speaker 1: gone the next week's strategy. If you have a cell 163 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: camera and they're legal to use, setting one up over 164 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: a scrape in October will tell you a lot. If 165 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:48,760 Speaker 1: you're on a traditional camera or three, you can learn 166 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:50,640 Speaker 1: a lot from them too, but you have to go 167 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 1: in to check them, which means more intrusion in the woods. Obviously, 168 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 1: when I'm in this position, I tend to slip in 169 00:08:56,679 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: as if I'm going to hunt. Then I check the camera, 170 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:02,440 Speaker 1: and if it's some daylight visitors, I actually probably will 171 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,360 Speaker 1: hunt if the setup is right. If not, it's time 172 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 1: to slip out and head somewhere else, or back off 173 00:09:07,559 --> 00:09:10,120 Speaker 1: and just observe the area. Now, as far as good 174 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:13,360 Speaker 1: scrape locations go, they have to be where the deer 175 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:17,319 Speaker 1: want to walk first and foremost. It doesn't matter if 176 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,520 Speaker 1: you find scrapes where you want to hunt. If it's 177 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:22,720 Speaker 1: not where the deer are likely to walk during the 178 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:26,200 Speaker 1: daylight hours. What happens there is that they visit at 179 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:28,480 Speaker 1: three in the morning, and that's totally worthless to you. 180 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:32,480 Speaker 1: Scrapes on wooded ridges, deep in the swamps, where three 181 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:35,560 Speaker 1: fingers a slightly higher ground meet next to the lowlands, 182 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: or where a hardwood point next down to feed into 183 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:42,240 Speaker 1: distant egg fields are all spots where a scrape could 184 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: really round out your hunting plan. Now, don't just get 185 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:48,680 Speaker 1: excited when you find a car hood sized scrape with 186 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 1: a licking branch hanging over it, because it has to 187 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:53,520 Speaker 1: be in a great spot and you have to be 188 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:56,199 Speaker 1: able to hunt it. This is trickier than it sounds 189 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 1: because it's so easy to find a scrape and decided 190 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:00,880 Speaker 1: to climb up ten yards away so that you can 191 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:05,040 Speaker 1: arrow any heavy beam visitors who are surely coming. Because 192 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:07,839 Speaker 1: you're hunting in middle to late October, you've got to 193 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:10,520 Speaker 1: consider the cover. Consider the reason for a buck to 194 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:13,319 Speaker 1: be in the area and moving in daylight. Is their 195 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: security cover around? Are you fairly close to some known 196 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 1: or suspected betting areas? Does he have to put himself 197 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:22,480 Speaker 1: in any real danger to get there, like by traveling 198 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:25,760 Speaker 1: through openings or simply covering a lot of ground. If 199 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:27,640 Speaker 1: he can get up in the late afternoon and work 200 00:10:27,679 --> 00:10:30,080 Speaker 1: his way to the scrape without getting into trouble, you're 201 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:32,360 Speaker 1: onto something. But now you gotta think about the wind. 202 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:35,160 Speaker 1: This is a big one because you want to be 203 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:38,440 Speaker 1: down wind, but so does he. Most bucks I've seen 204 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:41,920 Speaker 1: approach a scrape to work it, and they just come 205 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:44,240 Speaker 1: in from downwind, it's just how it happens. This is 206 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:46,679 Speaker 1: where a lot of hunters get into trouble because they 207 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:49,160 Speaker 1: think they have to be within easy shooting distance of 208 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: the actual scrape. If you can get that and play 209 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:54,280 Speaker 1: some type of train feature like a steep drop off 210 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:56,719 Speaker 1: or a lake that simply won't allow a buck to 211 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:59,120 Speaker 1: get down wind of view, then by all means hunt 212 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 1: that sucker that way. But if you can't, which is 213 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 1: really common in flatter areas like you'll find in many 214 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:07,960 Speaker 1: plain states, or when you're dealing with big woods bucks 215 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:10,240 Speaker 1: in a pile of different regions, you might want to 216 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:13,080 Speaker 1: back up. This is a hard thing to do, but 217 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:15,800 Speaker 1: instead of planning to shoot the scrape, I sometimes set 218 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:18,800 Speaker 1: up fourty or fifty yards down wind. This might sound 219 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:20,920 Speaker 1: like I know that bucks will always approach from twenty 220 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:23,440 Speaker 1: five yards down wind, and therefore I've played chest to 221 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:26,520 Speaker 1: their checkers. That's not the case. What I'm doing is 222 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:29,079 Speaker 1: just playing it safe, and I know that the bucks 223 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:33,200 Speaker 1: that visit scrapes are often in a staging mood. They 224 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:36,280 Speaker 1: often mill around and are highly collable when they're in 225 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:39,160 Speaker 1: a comfortable spot. If a buck walks right into a 226 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:41,360 Speaker 1: scrape and doesn't give me a shot. It might be 227 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:43,560 Speaker 1: a matter of a couple of soft grunts or bleeds 228 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:45,920 Speaker 1: to get him into range, or I might just see 229 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,760 Speaker 1: something to work with for the following day's hunt. What 230 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:50,839 Speaker 1: I don't want to do is blow them out of 231 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:53,000 Speaker 1: there by crowding right into this scrape if I can't 232 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:57,240 Speaker 1: get away with it. Sometimes this cautious approach absolutely burns me, 233 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:00,640 Speaker 1: because they do just march right in and work it 234 00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:04,200 Speaker 1: without thinking too hard about wind direction. That seems to 235 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:07,040 Speaker 1: be mostly a young buck move, however, and not as 236 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:09,360 Speaker 1: common with older deer, So I just play the odds, 237 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:12,160 Speaker 1: and you probably should too. You should also pay close 238 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:16,079 Speaker 1: attention to the weather when you're building a scrape hunting plant. Now, 239 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:17,800 Speaker 1: this didn't come from me. It's been in the deer 240 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:21,000 Speaker 1: hunting zeitgeist for a long long time, but it's worth repeating. 241 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:24,440 Speaker 1: It seems that bucks are interested in freshening up scrapes 242 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:27,760 Speaker 1: after a rain. That Illinois buck I mentioned earlier, he 243 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:30,440 Speaker 1: was absolutely on that program when I airrowed him. I've 244 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:32,640 Speaker 1: seen other bucks do this as well, and since they 245 00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:35,880 Speaker 1: live off their noses and olfactory communication is huge in 246 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:38,240 Speaker 1: the white tails world, it just kind of seems to 247 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:42,439 Speaker 1: make sense. It might also be bs, but that's okay. 248 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:45,240 Speaker 1: Deer move when it rains, and they move when fronts 249 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:48,600 Speaker 1: blow through. Now, even if they don't think, holy cow, 250 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: that rainstorm last night probably removed all my sweet glandular 251 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,240 Speaker 1: calling cards they left for the ladies, or the thinly 252 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 1: veiled threats of violence from my rivals. They're out there, 253 00:12:57,400 --> 00:12:59,440 Speaker 1: moving around when the rain is falling and after the 254 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 1: rain is quit it. You should hunt those conditions, whether 255 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:05,800 Speaker 1: you're on private land, public land, clued into giant community scrapes, 256 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:08,079 Speaker 1: or couldn't reliably tell a scrape from a spot where 257 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:10,720 Speaker 1: a fox squirrel dug up a walnut. Now, I have 258 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:13,800 Speaker 1: to say this as a disclaimer, Scrapes aren't the answer 259 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:16,120 Speaker 1: to all of our deer hunting problems, even if you 260 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 1: time it right, hunt when the conditions are favorable and 261 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:23,240 Speaker 1: identify a perfect scrape in the perfect spot. Scrapes are 262 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:27,000 Speaker 1: primarily used at night. They're far from sure things. When 263 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:30,280 Speaker 1: you're stuck hunting between first and last light, they can 264 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:33,040 Speaker 1: be the ticket, but more importantly, usually just show you 265 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:36,280 Speaker 1: where lots of deer travel throughout the day and night. Now, 266 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:38,680 Speaker 1: even if you're in a low density situation, like on 267 00:13:38,679 --> 00:13:40,960 Speaker 1: a big woods up north type of hunt, the right 268 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:43,280 Speaker 1: scrape can clue you into a spot where deer like 269 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:45,199 Speaker 1: to be at some point in the week. This is 270 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:47,280 Speaker 1: good news and can allow you to either focus on 271 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:49,719 Speaker 1: the spot or use it as a starting point to 272 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 1: backtrack from, kind of like when you find a monster 273 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:55,120 Speaker 1: buckbed tucked into a small island in the swamp. Clues 274 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:58,120 Speaker 1: they are important. Maybe you won't arrow a buck on 275 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:01,240 Speaker 1: a community scrape, but given its location, it will give 276 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:03,280 Speaker 1: you an idea of direction to travel, and that will 277 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:05,560 Speaker 1: lead you to a softer edge deeper in the woods, 278 00:14:05,679 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 1: or a benjy hillside where he sleeps away the midday hours. 279 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:10,720 Speaker 1: Or maybe just finding one scrape that checks a bunch 280 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:12,400 Speaker 1: of boxes will get you into the woods when the 281 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:14,960 Speaker 1: rest of your hunting competition is home watching football and 282 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,360 Speaker 1: thinking that there is no real reason to hunt when 283 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 1: it will be on fire in a couple of weeks. 284 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:21,160 Speaker 1: That might be the best reason of all to get 285 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:23,040 Speaker 1: into the woods and set up well down wind of 286 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:25,800 Speaker 1: a scrape, So go do that. Just kill one before 287 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:28,240 Speaker 1: the red base hunter parade shows up and changes everything, 288 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:32,040 Speaker 1: or you'll just get clued into the buck concentration. Like 289 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:35,600 Speaker 1: I said, this is something just worth repeating and always 290 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:38,560 Speaker 1: paying attention to, whether you hunt private ground or public 291 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:41,600 Speaker 1: A place with a well used scrape, like I said, 292 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,760 Speaker 1: usually where deer concentrate and where the odds are high 293 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:49,840 Speaker 1: that multiple deer will travel through there. Otherwise what's the 294 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:52,360 Speaker 1: point of I'm trying to communicate with one another. This 295 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:54,440 Speaker 1: means that instead of thinking of just sitting over that 296 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:57,400 Speaker 1: scrape as a strategy, that that pot up dirt with 297 00:14:57,400 --> 00:14:59,600 Speaker 1: a well used looking branch might just be giving you 298 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 1: a peak into dear behavior in the moment. The bucks 299 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:05,960 Speaker 1: that got blown out of the swamp on duck opener, 300 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:08,840 Speaker 1: they might relocate to a deep woods basin where they'll 301 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:12,720 Speaker 1: established scrapes. Right now, fresh well used scrapes indicate you're 302 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 1: probably in a good area, but that require a little 303 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:18,320 Speaker 1: fine tuning. This is why I always bring in the 304 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:21,440 Speaker 1: prospect of observation stands. You've heard me preach this over 305 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:23,920 Speaker 1: and over again. If you find a scrape that checks 306 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:26,120 Speaker 1: all the boxes, but you sit over and it doesn't produce, 307 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 1: what does that mean? Or if you find an area 308 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:30,920 Speaker 1: where there are several scrapes in a point of woods 309 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:33,960 Speaker 1: that leads out eventually to a pickcornfield. What does that mean. 310 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:37,480 Speaker 1: It means you know something about deer concentrations right now 311 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:42,240 Speaker 1: and likely your travel roads. That's not nothing, even if 312 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:44,040 Speaker 1: it might be disappointed to think that you could just 313 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:45,960 Speaker 1: find the right scrape, sit over and fill your tag. 314 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:48,240 Speaker 1: The white tail woods are too fickle for that to 315 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:51,680 Speaker 1: be a totally consistent season to season strategy, especially if 316 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 1: you hunt in public land. But it can happen, and 317 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:57,360 Speaker 1: if it doesn't, you'll probably learn quite a bit about 318 00:15:57,400 --> 00:15:59,080 Speaker 1: how to use the knowledge of scrapes to keep the 319 00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:02,240 Speaker 1: hunting fire burning and the action going. That's a sweet 320 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:05,920 Speaker 1: consolation prize. Now, next week I'll start to dive into 321 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:08,160 Speaker 1: the very first stages of the pre rod where this 322 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:11,040 Speaker 1: scrape strategy might hold out or it might die. It's 323 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 1: okay either way, because you're going to get a lot 324 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:15,760 Speaker 1: more options when it comes to killing a buck simply 325 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:20,320 Speaker 1: due to the dates on the old calendar. That's it 326 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:22,560 Speaker 1: for this week, my friends. As always, thank you so 327 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:24,840 Speaker 1: much for listening. I'm Tony Peterson and this has been 328 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,520 Speaker 1: the Wire to Hunt Foundations podcast. Please head on over 329 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:29,640 Speaker 1: to our Wire to Hunt YouTube channel to check out 330 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:31,920 Speaker 1: our weekly how to videos. And take a look at 331 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:35,040 Speaker 1: the meat eater dot com slash wired to browse through 332 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,080 Speaker 1: a huge selection of deer hunting articles.