Shooting Scrapes?

[ricky racer]

I don't know if anyone else does this or not so I thought I'd share it in case it might help others. Often times if I'm setting up a spot, I look at the where I'm going to set up my ambush spot and take note of the area that I expect deer to travel through. Once I've determined where I think the most likely travel path will likely be, I try to think of where would be the perfect spot to shoot a buck. I picture it like this. If I had a 3D deer target and I wanted to place it to be in the perfect spot, the perfect distance from my stand for the shot for the current or expected wind directions, where would I place it.

When that has been determined I make what I call a shooting scrape on the ground at that location. A shooting scrape is not a mock scrape. There needs to be no overhead branch and I don't add any scent to it. It's just a bare spot on the ground that looks like a scrape. Any deer, buck or doe passing by will usually always stop and check it out if they see it. I try to make them where they are very visible or place them directly on trails. I may make several different ones in different areas around my stand location if there are more then one likely area a deer will pass.

A lot of guys will grunt to stop a deer to give them a standing shot. Stopping a deer with a grunt from a tree may work well on the TV shows and maybe it works for you but the grunt automatically puts the deer on high alert. Shooting scrapes don't do that and it actually takes the deer's attention away for a few moments while they sniff the scrape allowing you a few moments to make the shot.

I've made shooting scrapes several different ways. One is just scraping away the leaves with my boot although I don't like doing that because you will be leaving scent. It will work and the deer will still stop but may get nervous. I've picked up a stick and cleared the leaves and dug into the dirt with it. My preferred method is using a small 3 fingered garden rake like you'd use in a flower pot. I removed the short handle and attached it to a longer section of a broom handle to it. That allows me to stay off to the side of the scrape so I don't leave any scent close to it.

Last night this little guy was walking past my stand location and stopped to check it out. I was surprised to see him pee in the scrape. I made this scrape about 2 weeks ago once most of the leaves were down. I hadn't touched it since. This technique works pretty good until the does are coming into estrus.

 

[Wirrex]

Sweet little tip!

I tried stoping a deer once. He stopped but was faster than the 180fps arrow coming at him. It’s not a good idea with a trad bow.

 

[Deltahuntr]

The mock scrape is an interesting idea that I will have to try. On the grunt call to stop a deer, remember hunting shows are just advertisements for sponsors. If the deer are moving I generally just whistle or yell to stop them.

 

[Harleycharlie]

That’s a great tip !!!! Just in my opinion stopping deer with a noise of any type usually ends up with them taking off at warp speed. That is what has happened just about every time I have tried it. Unless they are young, which I’m not wanting to shoot anyway. I have learned anything I see on most hunting shows don’t try. Unless you want to spook deer. Lol

 

[MathewsShooter7]

I don't know if anyone else does this or not so I thought I'd share it in case it might help others. Often times if I'm setting up a spot, I look at the where I'm going to set up my ambush spot and take note of the area that I expect deer to travel through. Once I've determined where I think the most likely travel path will likely be, I try to think of where would be the perfect spot to shoot a buck. I picture it like this. If I had a 3D deer target and I wanted to place it to be in the perfect spot, the perfect distance from my stand for the shot for the current or expected wind directions, where would I place it.

When that has been determined I make what I call a shooting scrape on the ground at that location. A shooting scrape is not a mock scrape. There needs to be no overhead branch and I don't add any scent to it. It's just a bare spot on the ground that looks like a scrape. Any deer, buck or doe passing by will usually always stop and check it out if they see it. I try to make them where they are very visible or place them directly on trails. I may make several different ones in different areas around my stand location if there are more then one likely area a deer will pass.

A lot of guys will grunt to stop a deer to give them a standing shot. Stopping a deer with a grunt from a tree may work well on the TV shows and maybe it works for you but the grunt automatically puts the deer on high alert. Shooting scrapes don't do that and it actually takes the deer's attention away for a few moments while they sniff the scrape allowing you a few moments to make the shot.

I've made shooting scrapes several different ways. One is just scraping away the leaves with my boot although I don't like doing that because you will be leaving scent. It will work and the deer will still stop but may get nervous. I've picked up a stick and cleared the leaves and dug into the dirt with it. My preferred method is using a small 3 fingered garden rake like you'd use in a flower pot. I removed the short handle and attached it to a longer section of a broom handle to it. That allows me to stay off to the side of the scrape so I don't leave any scent close to it.

Last night this little guy was walking past my stand location and stopped to check it out. I was surprised to see him pee in the scrape. I made this scrape about 2 weeks ago once most of the leaves were down. I hadn't touched it since. This technique works pretty good until the does are coming into estrus.

i have def seen scrapes before with no licking branch so it stands to reason this would work also.

 

[swimmer]

Another thought on the killing spot. I've notice many times after trimming shooting lanes for tree stands deer will come over and eat the leaves off the branches that were trimmed. Has anyone placed leafy limbs intentionally to stop deer in the perfect spot to shoot.

 

[SaddleUpPartner!]

The mock scrape is an interesting idea that I will have to try. On the grunt call to stop a deer, remember hunting shows are just advertisements for sponsors. If the deer are moving I generally just whistle or yell to stop them.

I usually do a "Hey!" and they stop. I try to shoot them when they stop naturally though, it's a lot easier because they aren't on high alert as stated.

 

[huck72412]

@ricky racer
Do you live in the North Pole?
How is it snowing on you already???

 

[ricky racer]

@ricky racer
Do you live in the North Pole?
How is it snowing on you already???

It doesn't start snowing here until the end of August but the snow is mostly gone by the end of May.

 

[dalton916]

Oh, well that ain’t so bad then.....

I lived in two places before I jinxed the Navy, Puerto Rico and South Carolina. After boot camp and Nuke School in Orlando I went to Saratoga, NY for prototype.......in February.......it was damn awful. Thought I was gonna die. Was certain of it

I lived on the lake. But the dang lake was frozen. I’ve never seen so much snow in my life.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

I don't know if anyone else does this or not so I thought I'd share it in case it might help others. Often times if I'm setting up a spot, I look at the where I'm going to set up my ambush spot and take note of the area that I expect deer to travel through. Once I've determined where I think the most likely travel path will likely be, I try to think of where would be the perfect spot to shoot a buck. I picture it like this. If I had a 3D deer target and I wanted to place it to be in the perfect spot, the perfect distance from my stand for the shot for the current or expected wind directions, where would I place it.

When that has been determined I make what I call a shooting scrape on the ground at that location. A shooting scrape is not a mock scrape. There needs to be no overhead branch and I don't add any scent to it. It's just a bare spot on the ground that looks like a scrape. Any deer, buck or doe passing by will usually always stop and check it out if they see it. I try to make them where they are very visible or place them directly on trails. I may make several different ones in different areas around my stand location if there are more then one likely area a deer will pass.

A lot of guys will grunt to stop a deer to give them a standing shot. Stopping a deer with a grunt from a tree may work well on the TV shows and maybe it works for you but the grunt automatically puts the deer on high alert. Shooting scrapes don't do that and it actually takes the deer's attention away for a few moments while they sniff the scrape allowing you a few moments to make the shot.

I've made shooting scrapes several different ways. One is just scraping away the leaves with my boot although I don't like doing that because you will be leaving scent. It will work and the deer will still stop but may get nervous. I've picked up a stick and cleared the leaves and dug into the dirt with it. My preferred method is using a small 3 fingered garden rake like you'd use in a flower pot. I removed the short handle and attached it to a longer section of a broom handle to it. That allows me to stay off to the side of the scrape so I don't leave any scent close to it.

Last night this little guy was walking past my stand location and stopped to check it out. I was surprised to see him pee in the scrape. I made this scrape about 2 weeks ago once most of the leaves were down. I hadn't touched it since. This technique works pretty good until the does are coming into estrus.

That is a great tactic, but there isn't always anything to hang a licking branch so it hangs exactly where we need it for a shot.
When I toured Neil and Craig Dougherty's property, they had set-ups made similarly. And when there was no tree in the exact spot to hang a branch from, they ran a cable between 2 adjacent trees and then they hung the branch off the cable in the shooting lane exactly where they needed it.

 

[Hebeskibe]

I'll give it a try

 

[Kurt]

I don't know if anyone else does this or not so I thought I'd share it in case it might help others. Often times if I'm setting up a spot, I look at the where I'm going to set up my ambush spot and take note of the area that I expect deer to travel through. Once I've determined where I think the most likely travel path will likely be, I try to think of where would be the perfect spot to shoot a buck. I picture it like this. If I had a 3D deer target and I wanted to place it to be in the perfect spot, the perfect distance from my stand for the shot for the current or expected wind directions, where would I place it.

When that has been determined I make what I call a shooting scrape on the ground at that location. A shooting scrape is not a mock scrape. There needs to be no overhead branch and I don't add any scent to it. It's just a bare spot on the ground that looks like a scrape. Any deer, buck or doe passing by will usually always stop and check it out if they see it. I try to make them where they are very visible or place them directly on trails. I may make several different ones in different areas around my stand location if there are more then one likely area a deer will pass.

A lot of guys will grunt to stop a deer to give them a standing shot. Stopping a deer with a grunt from a tree may work well on the TV shows and maybe it works for you but the grunt automatically puts the deer on high alert. Shooting scrapes don't do that and it actually takes the deer's attention away for a few moments while they sniff the scrape allowing you a few moments to make the shot.

I've made shooting scrapes several different ways. One is just scraping away the leaves with my boot although I don't like doing that because you will be leaving scent. It will work and the deer will still stop but may get nervous. I've picked up a stick and cleared the leaves and dug into the dirt with it. My preferred method is using a small 3 fingered garden rake like you'd use in a flower pot. I removed the short handle and attached it to a longer section of a broom handle to it. That allows me to stay off to the side of the scrape so I don't leave any scent close to it.

Last night this little guy was walking past my stand location and stopped to check it out. I was surprised to see him pee in the scrape. I made this scrape about 2 weeks ago once most of the leaves were down. I hadn't touched it since. This technique works pretty good until the does are coming into estrus.

I'm going to try this. I've never had much of a problem stopping deer for a shot. I can see how it could be a problem as yardage increases. If I manage to hunt with the recurve this year I have the perfect place for a set up that would bring the deer pretty close, and this would be a great way to get them stopped where I need to.

 

[Hebeskibe]

Another thought on the killing spot. I've notice many times after trimming shooting lanes for tree stands deer will come over and eat the leaves off the branches that were trimmed. Has anyone placed leafy limbs intentionally to stop deer in the perfect spot to shoot.

Yes and it's worth while I was climbing a tree on Saturday and cut off a few maple branches and let them fall to the ground 30 minutes later three does came in directly to the branches right under me and we're eating them

 

[ricky racer]

That is a great tactic, but there isn't always anything to hang a licking branch so it hangs exactly where we need it for a shot.
When I toured Neil and Craig Dougherty's property, they had set-ups made similarly. And when there was no tree in the exact spot to hang a branch from, they ran a cable between 2 adjacent trees and then they hung the branch off the cable in the shooting lane exactly where they needed it.

Tom, for a shooting scrape, no overhead branch is necessary. This isn't a mock scrape. If a deer sees the scrape, they'll almost always come over to check it out. The one I showed in the video has not overhanging branch. To test this, next time you come in from a hunt, quickly make a bare spot on the ground in a location that deer will likely see it and I'll almost guarantee it, when you come back out to hunt a day or two later, there will be deer tracks in it because if a deer sees it, they're going to check it out.

 

[EricS]

That’s interesting. I know it would work but haven’t ever thought about doing it to stop a deer. I’ve never really had a problem stopping a deer but it is definitely a more relaxed way to stop them.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Tom, for a shooting scrape, no overhead branch is necessary. This isn't a mock scrape. If a deer sees the scrape, they'll almost always come over to check it out. The one I showed in the video has not overhanging branch. To test this, next time you come in from a hunt, quickly make a bare spot on the ground in a location that deer will likely see it and I'll almost guarantee it, when you come back out to hunt a day or two later, there will be deer tracks in it because if a deer sees it, they're going to check it out.

I understand that what you are creating is a point of interest that will make deer stop where you want them. Just because there are tracks in the bare spot doesnt mean that the deer actually stopped there, they may have continued to walk thru that spot, it could be that the bare soil just shows a deer walked there.
Hey, if you are trying to make a focal point to attract the attention of a buck, why not add an overhanging branch?

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[EricS]

I understand that what you are creating is a point of interest that will make deer stop where you want them. Just because there are tracks in the bare spot doesnt mean that the deer actually stopped there, they may have continued to walk thru that spot, it could be that the bare soil just shows a deer walked there.
Hey, if you are trying to make a focal point to attract the attention of a buck, why not add an overhanging branch?

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I would think a new bare spot would get a deer to stop. Maybe not in it and for me a mature deer would probably walk around it (just my luck). The addition of a licking branch would add an attractant. So maybe if you’re going in blind to a spot scratch a spot out that would offer you a good shot but if you’re making a preset go ahead and put in a vine or something as a licking branch. Then bucks may go out of their way to check it vs just stopping if they happen to walk near it. Something about freshly worked soil attracts deer attention.

 

[ImThere]

I think the deer smell the fresh turned dirt and will come to it the first day more than the next. IMHO I’ve shot a lot of deer this way but I always just called it a mock scrape and peed in it. With or with out a licking branch. Just where I needed it.


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[ricky racer]

I understand that what you are creating is a point of interest that will make deer stop where you want them. Just because there are tracks in the bare spot doesnt mean that the deer actually stopped there, they may have continued to walk thru that spot, it could be that the bare soil just shows a deer walked there.
Hey, if you are trying to make a focal point to attract the attention of a buck, why not add an overhanging branch?

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Tom, if an over hanging branch happens to be right where you want the buck to stop, that would be fine. If there's not one, don't worry about it. Again, these are not mock scrapes, they only exist to stop and deer exactly where you want them to stop for a shot. Also, with an overhanging branch, the bucks head will be up if he's tending the branch making it harder to remain undetected while making a shot. If there no branch, his attention will be on the scrape, at least in my experience.