I've just finished reading a couple of books by John and Chris Eberhardt from Michigan. Both successful bowhunters at taking mature bucks in a state that does not have too many of them! John stated in his book that he still considers scrapes to be the nucleus of his hunting strategy. I'll be honest, I've never had much luck with scrapes. Do any of you guys out there have luck hunting them? I know Gene and Barry and Roger Rothhar pretty much pioneered knowledge about scrapes. I wonder if they still hunt them, or if things have changed over the years? What do you guys think?
I am re-reading that book right now. He isn't just speaking of scrapes, it is the whole picture. Here in MI, we will generally never shoot large bucks unless you do more than hunt via one/two tactics combined. It helps to find dominant scrapes in funnels and heavy cover, all of which is out of the way from other hunter activity, and your entry must go unnoticed....easier said than done. When I hunt Illinois, I find that basic hunting magazine tactics work really well. Not here in MI. I have found that it is really effective to use his tactics in Illinois, and I have killed nice bucks in 2/3 hunts, and the third was just a couple of random days and just missed an opportunity at a nice one. If you implement some of his info, you will probably find it helpful. I must say, by the looks of your avatar, I don't know why you read anything about hunting, it looks like you got things figured out pretty well! :thumbsup:
I think that scrapes and scrape lines do one thing, they show where a buck visits regularly. Not the little scrapes that you find along the edges of woods and fence rows, but the ones that are in or next to heavy cover. John also hunts mostly staging areas that include rubs and scrapes in funnel situations. A lot of people, myself included, hunt scrapes wrong. The prime time to hunt scrapes is in the pre-rut and the key is to find the faint trail in the thick cover that is downwind of the scrape. Hunt the trail cause a buck will use this trail to scent check the scrape from within security cover. Also, hunt all day long and not just the prime morning and night times. I have a slew of tiny Michigan bucks to back my statements up! ;)
I ground hunted next to a fresh new scrape pre rut last year... the best cover was a blow down 5 yrds away...sat 30 minutes before mr buck presented a 5 yrd broadside shot... his upper lip was in a curled position as he approached the scrape and started working the licking branch.... pretty exciting stuff.
I have great luck hunting them since I moved out of Michigan 4 years ago. Honestly I find that from place to place tactics change dramatically and each tactic has its place. For that matter subtle differences in how we employ any given tactic can make the difference between success and failure. When I moved to Iowa I found very few people stand hunt, most prefer to push deer out of cover and shoot at them on the run or wait in escape routes with firearms. Ive even heard of this tactic suggested for archery although Ive never seen it. My tactics work very well here since the deer enter the parcel of land I hunt and are no longer in danger of being pushed out of prime escape cover they stick around. The new comers really like to make a fuss over the new scrapes they find and that really gets the local bucks worked up in a hurry so Ive seen great success hunting over scrapes. That being said I employ several different tactics in my hunting and I think any can be successful given the right circumstances.
I had very good luck hunting scrapes on public land in New York but not much luck on public land in Michigan. I believe in hunting scrapes and I have several nice 8 points taken over scrapes in NY and several missed shots on big bucks but Michigan appears to have more pressure on the deer and I think that their travel becomes more nocturnal.
I had a little success hunting near scrapes but overall, my experience has been like yours. But I have been thinking about ordering "Hunting Pressured Whitetails". Is that the same book your talking about and is it a good read?
99% of the time here, scrapes are worked at night. It tells me where a buck is at night which in turn tells me where he is not in daylight. I try to figure out the puzzle as to where I might can see him in daylight. it usually doesnt work either. lol
Bowhunting Pressured Whitetails is a great read.
I think it's all in the timing. I like to be near a scrape early in the year up to pre rut. During the rut bucks move around too much for them to be used regularly.
I found my buck last year while scouting during a rainy day late October. I saw a nice scrape in a funnel between a cattail marsh and a ridge. I set up the next day and shot that buck.
I have also read John's book and will add that he is a good friend of mine. The most important piece of information I have gotten from him is on scouting. John spends more time in the woods after season- and in the spring scouting than most guys spend hunting. I know he states it in his book- but he spends 75-80% of his time in the woods scouting- and the other 25% actually hunting. 15 years ago I was sitting over a hot scrape, big as a truck hood, and being worked over daily. I talked with John and he told me to move 40 yards downwind of it, do some light rattling and sit all day if possible. I found a suitable tree and set my stand. The next morning-I proceeded to use the light rattling and had one of my most memorable hunts ever. I ended up rattling in 9 different bucks in about 2 hours. Most were the normal Michigan variety 4-6 points, and the best buck I saw was chasing a hot doe- never presenting a shot. Most of them came to the 10 yard circle around my tree- downwind of the scrape and scent checking it. This was either the last day of Oct, first of Nov. This type of activity is very hard to find in Michigan. I feel if you can take bits and pieces of his or any well written books and utilize them in your hunting- you will be a step ahead of the rest.