early scrapes

[NYarcher]

What is the earliest anyone has found an active scrape in the woods here in NY? I recently discovered one in my woods that ive hunted in for 22 years and it was only the second week of september. I just happened to be setting out the trail cam for another round when i found it so i set it up 15 feet from the scrape. When i went back 2 weeks later to retrieve the cam the scrape looked inactive but boy did the 72 pictures tell a different story. almost every deer including a difinitive 8 different bucks visited that scrape and went right to the licking branches. Even does. never seen so much activity so early. and without the cam would never have witnesed it. anyone else seen such a thing so early?

[vipermann7]

I live in Wisconsin, but have seen the same thing. I read about early scrapes once. What I read was that most early scrapes are usually made around food sources, and that they are generally made by very young bucks. as soon as they shed velvet, their hormones start to get flowing. being young, some of their rutting instincts kick in. they know they are supposed to scrape, but they dont know why or when. same reason young bucks will fight right away too, but not older ones. the young ones start to feel like fighting, but dont know why or what to do, where as age has told the older ones its not time to fight yet. so with the scrapes, likely what happened is a young buck started it. but once a deer leaves scent and sign around licking branches and scrapes, other deer will also stop at it even if it is early. scrapes and licking branches are a major communication tool for deer, deer use pheromones for a ton of their communication. so what im guessing you have is a young buck started it, not really knowing why, and when other deer come by they smell the fresh scent and add their own, as is what deer are programed to do. im sure you could find an archived D&DH article somewhere about the early scrape activity and what it means, and it probably explains it better than i can. but theres my two cents.

[msbadger]

NYarcher ...I always find both rubs and scrapes late here ...but this year I decided to try an experiment ...early Sept I made 6 scrapes 3 in tinks New Power scrape and 3 in my goats urine (Buck)...well from the start the goat scrapes have been tore up...the Tinks...and mind you I like there products....Nothing...just a foot print in one and fox tracks.....BUT now I have fresh deer scrapes and rubs in the last week or so on the side of the road the goat scrapes are....so I think their attraction to my "billy" is what got things started early[;)]

[NYarcher]

thanks for the post fellas. it just seemed unusual to me because of the date. i always find rubs in sept. but never scrapes. I visited a local deer farm right after i set the cam out on the scrape and asked that same Q about an imature buck making that scrape. the owners had told me that it very well could have been a mature buck as they have witnessed it in their pens before and that unless you witness it its impossible to tell. seeing the pics after, the law of averages would sway towards an imature buck but I also captured a couple 2 1/2 yr olds as well as 1 bruiser. needless to say i wont be very far from that spot come pre-rut! like the rest of you, i just want to understand things better. thanks

[JOEL]

the last week of september i found a small scrape with a rub and licking branch in the adirondacks

[msbadger]

Just talked to Terry over at Tinks....good ppl there....He said that they are getting reports from all over the country that the deer seem to be making scrapes early this year....going to try putting the power scrape in a drip bottle and see what happens...saw first buck 6pt in months in new food plot......almost dark so I'll try to get some earlier movement 4 more days guys[:D]....Oh scared a bear coming into my pork chops last night...Ya son thought my flying through the door with a chop on the end of the grill fork was funny......until I told him if he wanted to stay and eat he had to go out there and get the rest of them [;)]...He sent my shepherd out first