Deer Scrapes

waterfowler · November 25, 2010, 09:58 AM

What do you put in your scrapes? I use regular ammonia and 3 out of 3 scrapes were all tore up.

Uncle Buck · November 25, 2010, 10:20 AM

Never heard of doing that with ammonia.

My nephew (The good one) sprayed the trees this year with Deer Cane, or something like that. He sprayed all around the scrapes and rubs.

He did not want to take a doe and here in Missouri we have an antler restriction (at least four points on one side), All we saw were does and bucks that did not meet the legal requirements. But they went nutz over the stuff.

He also refreshed the mineral salt scrape with deer cane. They really seem to like the stuff.

I have never really been a big fan of these things, although people swear they have good luck when using them.

Rembrandt · November 25, 2010, 10:20 AM

Just scratch away the leaves and whizz in the dirt.....let's the big bucks know who's dominate.

bswiv · November 25, 2010, 12:32 PM

Depends on who's stand it's close to.................

shortwave · November 25, 2010, 12:39 PM

I've never heard of the ammonia trick either. Kind of interesting though.

My brother has many 'Tennessee Fainting' goats. Brother and I use both goat ( buck and doe) urine in scrapes with success. Especially goat doe urine if she's in or coming in season.

I won't tell my brother of the ammonia trick or he'll stop collecting our goat urine.

,

.

BfloBill · November 25, 2010, 01:09 PM

+1 Taking a whiz in it yourself.

hooligan1 · November 25, 2010, 05:56 PM

Hehehehe, now wait a minute, the op's question is a pertinate one. I have never used ammonia, but hell all the big scent companies do,, so why not. If I take time to fix a new scrape, I'll use something like Dominant buck scent or a good doe estrous scent. Having said that, I do not like using scents anymore, and even this year my sons were the only scent using hunters in my party. This is what I've found to be true in my 30 years deer hunting, When I use a scent deer know exactly where it's at.. And usually they know what it is and since I hunt public land, I believe these deer have smelled it before. Now maybe private land is different, and maybe it's perfect if it hasn't been hunted in a long time but when deer smell all these scents, it multiplies their sensibilities. The best thing I have found is just use cover scents, like Fresh Earth dryer sheets, and Dead Down Wind nutrilizer. If you call them , and they don't catch a scent it Will make them position theirselves in many lanes, (as they are going to try to catch scent of the deer calling out to them) and so they move possibly into a favorable shooting lane.

I have spent some big money in the past just because the scent makers swore the product to be the best, when in fact the most productive scent I have found in all my years was freakin DIRT!!!!

a7mmnut · November 26, 2010, 01:05 PM

If you have access to scrapes in areas you don't hunt, take up bags of dirt from them to freshen your scrapes that you are hunting. It doesn't get more real than that. I use the times on my camera setups determine which scrapes I give up first (night only activity, small bucks only, etc.)-7-

Honda4me · November 27, 2010, 10:52 PM

When hunting public land it may be difficult to tell whether it is a mock scrape made by another hunter or the real thing. Mature bucks would be checking the scrape downwind to see if a doe had been or is around. So you need to be crosswind from there so you don't get smelled.

waterfowler · November 28, 2010, 08:02 PM

What I meant to say is what do you put in your mock scrapes?

bamaranger · November 29, 2010, 01:23 AM

I fooled w/ Tinks for awhile, and had a degree of success in the hill country of AR in the Ouchitas, where deer numbers were low. If you found a scrape line, and watched the wind and hunted accordingly, a buck would usually cruise by if you could spend enough time on it.

But here in AL the deer numbers are much higher, as is the degree of buck sign, and hunting scrapes has been no where near as good a tactic for me as it was in AR. Seems to me like a buck did not have to work scrapes as much for some "action". Enough does were concentrated of food sources especially at night, that a visit there (I thought anyhow) would turn up a companion pretty easily. I switched to hunting does (to see bucks) at food sources and trails to and from same, and my success went up dramatically (well till the last two years anyhow)

I got sick and tired of the darn deer stink in my truck, on my clothes etc, as I always seemed to have a bottle leak. I don' miss fooling with the stuff at all!!!!

November 25, 2010, 09:58 AM	#1
waterfowler Senior Member Join Date: January 31, 2010 Posts: 115	Deer Scrapes What do you put in your scrapes? I use regular ammonia and 3 out of 3 scrapes were all tore up. __________________ If guns are outlawed, only the outlaws will have guns

November 25, 2010, 10:20 AM	#2
Uncle Buck Senior Member Join Date: June 21, 2009 Location: West Central Missouri Posts: 2,592	Never heard of doing that with ammonia. My nephew (The good one) sprayed the trees this year with Deer Cane, or something like that. He sprayed all around the scrapes and rubs. He did not want to take a doe and here in Missouri we have an antler restriction (at least four points on one side), All we saw were does and bucks that did not meet the legal requirements. But they went nutz over the stuff. He also refreshed the mineral salt scrape with deer cane. They really seem to like the stuff. I have never really been a big fan of these things, although people swear they have good luck when using them. __________________ Inside Every Bright Idea Is The 50% Probability Of A Disaster Waiting To Happen.

November 25, 2010, 12:39 PM	#5
shortwave Senior Member Join Date: December 17, 2007 Location: SOUTHEAST, OHIO Posts: 5,970	I've never heard of the ammonia trick either. Kind of interesting though. My brother has many 'Tennessee Fainting' goats. Brother and I use both goat ( buck and doe) urine in scrapes with success. Especially goat doe urine if she's in or coming in season. I won't tell my brother of the ammonia trick or he'll stop collecting our goat urine. , . Last edited by shortwave; November 25, 2010 at 12:45 PM.

November 25, 2010, 05:56 PM	#7
hooligan1 Senior Member Join Date: July 18, 2010 Location: Independence Missouri Posts: 4,585	Hehehehe, now wait a minute, the op's question is a pertinate one. I have never used ammonia, but hell all the big scent companies do,, so why not. If I take time to fix a new scrape, I'll use something like Dominant buck scent or a good doe estrous scent. Having said that, I do not like using scents anymore, and even this year my sons were the only scent using hunters in my party. This is what I've found to be true in my 30 years deer hunting, When I use a scent deer know exactly where it's at.. And usually they know what it is and since I hunt public land, I believe these deer have smelled it before. Now maybe private land is different, and maybe it's perfect if it hasn't been hunted in a long time but when deer smell all these scents, it multiplies their sensibilities. The best thing I have found is just use cover scents, like Fresh Earth dryer sheets, and Dead Down Wind nutrilizer. If you call them , and they don't catch a scent it Will make them position theirselves in many lanes, (as they are going to try to catch scent of the deer calling out to them) and so they move possibly into a favorable shooting lane. I have spent some big money in the past just because the scent makers swore the product to be the best, when in fact the most productive scent I have found in all my years was freakin DIRT!!!! __________________ Keep your Axe sharp and your powder dry. Last edited by hooligan1; November 26, 2010 at 03:29 PM.

November 28, 2010, 08:02 PM	#10
waterfowler Senior Member Join Date: January 31, 2010 Posts: 115	What I meant to say is what do you put in your mock scrapes? __________________ If guns are outlawed, only the outlaws will have guns

November 25, 2010, 10:20 AM	#3
Rembrandt Senior Member Join Date: August 10, 2002 Posts: 2,108	Just scratch away the leaves and whizz in the dirt.....let's the big bucks know who's dominate.

November 25, 2010, 12:32 PM	#4
bswiv Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Location: NE FL....... Posts: 1,081	Depends on who's stand it's close to.................

November 25, 2010, 01:09 PM	#6
BfloBill Senior Member Join Date: August 2, 2010 Location: Buffalo, N.Y. Posts: 457	+1 Taking a whiz in it yourself.

November 26, 2010, 01:05 PM	#8
a7mmnut Junior member Join Date: February 27, 2009 Location: NC Foothills Posts: 1,150	If you have access to scrapes in areas you don't hunt, take up bags of dirt from them to freshen your scrapes that you are hunting. It doesn't get more real than that. I use the times on my camera setups determine which scrapes I give up first (night only activity, small bucks only, etc.)-7-

November 27, 2010, 10:52 PM	#9
Honda4me Member Join Date: May 16, 2010 Location: Tulsa, OK. Posts: 41	When hunting public land it may be difficult to tell whether it is a mock scrape made by another hunter or the real thing. Mature bucks would be checking the scrape downwind to see if a doe had been or is around. So you need to be crosswind from there so you don't get smelled.

November 29, 2010, 01:23 AM	#11
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,295	used to I fooled w/ Tinks for awhile, and had a degree of success in the hill country of AR in the Ouchitas, where deer numbers were low. If you found a scrape line, and watched the wind and hunted accordingly, a buck would usually cruise by if you could spend enough time on it. But here in AL the deer numbers are much higher, as is the degree of buck sign, and hunting scrapes has been no where near as good a tactic for me as it was in AR. Seems to me like a buck did not have to work scrapes as much for some "action". Enough does were concentrated of food sources especially at night, that a visit there (I thought anyhow) would turn up a companion pretty easily. I switched to hunting does (to see bucks) at food sources and trails to and from same, and my success went up dramatically (well till the last two years anyhow) I got sick and tired of the darn deer stink in my truck, on my clothes etc, as I always seemed to have a bottle leak. I don' miss fooling with the stuff at all!!!!

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