The weather can significantly impact activity at your scrapes. If you’re experiencing unseasonably warm weather, you may notice that scrape activity occurs more frequently after sunset. Conversely, during dry conditions, you might find that scrape activity decreases due to the lack of moisture in the ground. In hot and dry weather, deer tend to be less active at scrapes.
In Northwest Pennsylvania, we’ve had a dry fall, but temperatures have been below normal. Despite this, I’ve observed a consistent level of deer activity at my scrapes, and I expect it to increase soon.
My Scrape is Not Your Scrape
The young buck in this video came in to work the BuckRope and then bedded down in the scrape. As he was bedded down, other bucks tried to work the scrape, and he wouldn’t let them. I have seen this type of behavior many times before, but it is usually later in the fall during the rut. A well-placed community scrape will attract does that will bed down in the scrape and wait for a buck to come breed them.
Under the Scrape
Young bucks are like adolescent boys; they love pushing each other around to see who’s in charge. After shedding their velvet, young bucks walk around the woods as if they own it, looking for another buck to push around. These two bucks met at the community scrape and decided to have a little tussle. Turn up the volume and listen to the antlers hit each other. The older buck takes a short break to work the licking branch before the younger buck comes at him again. This type of interaction will become more frequent as the deer gear up for the rut.
Picture Perfect
There’s nothing quite like the thrill of watching a young buck work one of my scrapes. Throughout the summer, this young 9-point has consistently hit the BuckRope every time he passed by. Now that his velvet has shed, I can see that he is a beautiful young buck. Mock scrapes can help assess a deer’s age and score, both of which are essential factors in deciding if the buck should make it onto the “Hit List.” I would love to see how this buck develops over the next year.
PreOrbital Gland
When it comes to scrape communication, the preorbital gland is the primary gland used. Muscles situated just below the eye control this gland, allowing the deer to open and close it. This means that deer can regulate the amount of secretion from their preorbital gland that they deposit at the scrape. In the video, a young buck is interacting with the BuckRope using his preorbital gland. You can see him let the rope rest on both sides of his face. This is the type of interaction you want to observe at your scrapes.
Drop Dear Fred is Broken
Drop Dead Fred has been a prominent feature in this column ever since I noticed his unique antlers. Instead of growing straight, the tip of his right main beam curved downward. I was concerned that when he shed his velvet, the tip might break off. Fred went missing for a few days, but he returned to the corner scrape this week. Unfortunately, my prediction came true: he had broken off the tip of his right main beam. It’s interesting to watch Fred come in, work the scrape, and paw at the dirt. Activity is picking up with the cooler temperatures.
Urinating in the Scrape
Although I have observed bucks working on scrapes, I have yet to see one rub-urinate into a scrape. When bucks rub-urinate, they release urine onto their tarsal glands, depositing that scent into the scrape. Older bucks tend to rub-urinate into scrapes frequently during the rut, leaving their unique scent to signal to other bucks that they are in the area. Before long, bucks will start rub-urinating in scrapes when they visit them.
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