Early scrapes??

[MI_bowhunter]

I have a question about early season scrapes.  I always see them, but have always wondered about them.  I assume it's the testosterone starting to kick-in and more or less starting to lay claim to certain areas.  I've never seen a scrape re-opened or freshened up this early in the season.  Does anyone have insight to this behavior?  Is it typically an immature buck behavior or the dominate guy of the group?  How do you approach this early season sign?  

[buckhunter21]

My belief is that they are starting to get a pecking order and that's why they do it.  The more bucks you have on the property, the more scrapes you'll have since they have to figure out who's boss.  I've never tried this, but will possibly start this year....But what you can do is put a little doe/buck urine in them, and that should keep them interested in that area for while, coming back to see who it belongs to, even though they aren't ready for the rut yet. 

[Woods Walker]

Just pee in them yourself. All you want to do is to let them know that a strange male is in the area, and that will give you the desired affect. They're territorial markers for the most part.
 
All these early scrapes mean is that there's bucks in the area, which is good. But it's the DOES that determine when, where, and which scrapes will be the "hot" ones, and that's a month away for the most part.

[MI_bowhunter]

I've always heard these were typically made by immature bucks.  Has anyone heard that? 

[69Viking]

ORIGINAL: Woods Walker

Just pee in them yourself. All you want to do is to let them know that a strange male is in the area, and that will give you the desired affect. They're territorial markers for the most part.
 
All these early scrapes mean is that there's bucks in the area, which is good. But it's the DOES that determine when, where, and which scrapes will be the "hot" ones, and that's a month away for the most part.

Exactly, I have to agree with what Woods Walker said!

As far as additional input from me, I've learned in the 6 years that I've been hunting there are only certain scrapes that become main scrapes and keep traffic coming to them all year. I think early in the season your smaller scrapes are just curiosity surveys, pee in them and let him know there's a stranger around and he needs to protect his turf!

To be successful at hunting scrapes I think you need to locate the larger scrapes that deer use not just during hunting season and the rut but also during the offseason. I accidently found a scrape like this at our camp using a trail camera, I left the camera on the scrape after hunting season last year and found out this particular one had activity well into March & April, essentially until my batteries ran out! This scrape was near a tree with linking branches that hang down over the trail, in March and April I had groups of 4 or 5 bucks pictured at the same time near the scrape. There are no feeders or mineral licks in the area of the scrape but it has shown to be used quite regularly over the entire year. The trail this scrape is on leads to a couple of fields in the center of the property. In two weeks I'll be going back to the camp after leaving my camera there with fresh batteries in it for the past 2 months, if my hunch is right this might be where I set up for the bow season. I have well traveled trail on the way to a food source and a scrape used year round. The anxiety to see the most recent pictures is killing me! Bow season can't get here fast enough!