Trad Gang

I've read many posts on this site extolling the virtue of... how shall I say this delicately, in case children are reading...

"going tinkle in scrapes"...    
:rolleyes:    :saywhat:       :rolleyes:    :saywhat:    :rolleyes:    :saywhat:      

Now I can never tell whether those posting are being humorous or not.  So let's get serious.  

Is taking a leak in an active scrape a way to fire up a buck or not?  

As the advertisers often say, "SERIOUS REPLIES ONLY PLEASE!!"

  :campfire:  

BillJ

Works for bucks AND does....seriously.

I don't much buy into relieving my self in scrapes.  There are too many chemicals in the stuff we eat everyday that are not absorbed and are passed out our bodies.  As sensitive as an deers nose is don't you think it would be able to detect those chemicals? I think so. So I either take a pee bottle or dig a hole.

That's 50% for and 50% against - not very conclusive...

A good way to know for sure is to find a real active scrape and whiz in it then see what happens....LOL

I saw video footage of whitetails and their reaction to various OTC scents. The one test scrape with the most hits was freshened with human urine. I wish I could remember who put it out...one of the bigger scent names out there.
I know a guy who shot a very nice seven pointer from twelve yards on the ground....brought him in by peeing in a scrape.
I have had times when a bottle was not available, and still saw deer. I typically use a bottle. I dunno why....

Tried it last season while walking to and from a stand that I hunted hard for a few weeks.  There was a scrape line on the way to my stand and I decided to try what others have been saying about this unorthodox medthod.  Well, I "freshned" the last scrape on the line about 4X's and noticed the size of the scrape increased when compared to the other 5 or 6 scrapes along the scrape line.  I concluded it must not decrease activity and may even increase activity but since I did not observe the buck/doe I can only use the scrape itself for reference.  I'll try it again this season.

I've never tried it, but almost started a scrape last weekend.  Season opener here in Ky and I was hunting a ridge that sees a lot of traffic.  I checked all the old scrape spots but there was no activity.  Just out in front of my stand was a nice low hanging branch.  

I finally decided against it since the deer obviously weren't using scrapes yet.

I may give it a try though.

I saw a documentary on wolves once.  Scientist went to a very remote location to study wolves.  He found that the wolves were watching him closely.  When they would mark their territory, he would mark the opposite side of the tree.  The wolves started coming closer to his camp to mark the other side of his "spots".  

To me it's almost like acknowledging a deer's communication system.

Haven't tried it yet, but I might this year.

I do it, seems to keep them around .

I tried it as well last season and the next time I went hunting on that tract the scrape was alot bigger.  You should have seen my buddy when I told him I was gonna go in that scrape.  That next time out I showed it to him and all he could say was WOW!  It may or may not help but I guess you won't know unless you try.

You guys eat asparagus before you wizz in these scraps?   :)  

Hey - In one of Roger Rothhaar's books, he spoke about the reaction of a buck we once watch at one of his pee spots.

Ryan – Are you out there to fill us in on a little more information?

I shot a buck in a scrape a few years ago at about 9:00 . I peed in that scrape before climbing into my stand before dawn. I have also had numerous scrapes get"hit" after hosing in them!! Believe it or not. Paul

Now that you mention it, my dog can't stay away from my pee line. Might have to try that this hunting season. Most likely on a scrape that Ric O'Shay is hunting. Let him tell me what he thinks. Thats what bud's are for, don't you know. You guys just might be on to something.  :jumper:

I hunt on the ground and normally walk down wind 5 or 6 feet, just enough I don't stand in it. It isn't uncommon at all to find deer using it as a scrape after a couple days.

last year I pee'd on a 4" tree behind an evergreen I was standing by. On the third day a buck tore the heck out of that tree.

The worse thing I've even seen was 2 years ago on a really cold morning. I had gone thru a whole thermos of coffee. I had just set back down on my folding stool and a 3 year old buck pops out of the thicket. He clearly was on his way somewhere and shortcut the trail taking him down wind just about 10 yards. I already shot my buck and we have a one buck rule. I watch thinking this is going to be interesting with that rank coffee smell still strong as ever. As the deer crossed the scent line he stopped dead in his tracks. He looked all around and then changed course which took him about 2 feet from the wet spot and right smack dad in front of me. He milled around and wonder off. I was really expecting him to bolt as much coffee as I drank. It did cause him to change directions and had I been depending on him to follow the trail for a shot it could have cost me a deer. As it played out this time it just would have made it easier.

I've only changed my pee habits by either going somewhere I want to actract them rather than behind me, or going someplace they they can't get to without passing my shooting lane first.

I've been watering the ground around me for 20 years now and if it ever cost me a deer i don't know about it but I can say for sure it has brought them closer.

I have relieved myself from a treestand several times only to arrow an adult deer within a few hours or less.

I "salt" every scrape I come across whenever I'm in the woods. Urine is urine the deer don't know the difference all they know is someone else is using that spot and it keeps their curiosity up. They will make a mental note to check out the area until they can identify who else is around. Don't believe me? Go find a scrape that you have easy access to during your end of season scouting trips and pee in it every 3 days throughout the off season and you'll see that that scrape will grow to tremendous size as long as you do your part not to get busted near it. This is the only aspect of whitetail hunting I am willing to say I am certain of.

I've been doing it for over 30 years!!!!!   :thumbsup:

Simple & serious answer,,,It works for me!

When I gotta pee I gotta pee.  Ain't got time to look for no stinkin' scrape.    :rolleyes: ...Van

I agree with Deadsmple.  Fred Trost did a segment on Michigan-out-of-Doors several years ago with a bottle of human urine, "lure", and a bottle of ammonia....the deer were quite keen to check out the human urine.....the "straight" ammonia seemed offensive...probably too much ammonia.  I don't worry about where I urinate while hunting (well, not in my hood, on my boots, on someone's head, etc.).
homebru

A few years ago an outdoor television personality in Michigan did a segment on the doe in heat / buck in rut type pee products on the market.  To be precise it was the Buck Stop products made in Entrican, Michigan which were "collected at the peak of estrus/rut" .  Most of them explain how you should make a mock scrape and where (low hanging licking branch, soft earth, edge area etc) and this guy maintained that a well placed mock scrape had more to do with the sucess of the product than the actual product.  To test it he also used a bit of fresh squeezed pee of his own making versus the bottled stuff.  He did the scrapes and also poured about a quart of his own pee on a doe decoy.  Even using a full quart (morning fresh by his description) of pee on that decoy didnt phase the local herd.  Incidentally as I recall the host did get sued over his claims that human pee worked as well as the expensive bottled pee.

Basically I pee with purpose now when I hunt scrapes after seeing his results and my results mirror his.  Also a little trick I like is if you hunt more than one area (different buck populations) I collect samples of dirt out of scrapes and take them to other areas to seed them.  Im convinced it works.

I don't want to chance spooking a buck.  I try to be as scent free as possible.  No lures, no pee, no wafers.  I always have my gatorade bottle with me.  Makes a pretty good hand warmer if needed.

Treeman said it for me!
Whatever gives ya confidence to sit that xtra 30 min..........

QuoteOriginally posted by Zbone:
[QB] You guys eat asparagus before you wizz in these scraps?    :)  


No but a little rice, barley and hops..  :jumper:

Diluted ammonia. Find an active scrape, and start another very nearby. This seems to piss them off,
and they open your fake scrape up larger and often start another. I have had very good luck this way. If they catch your scent there...its over and you will have to move. Personally, I think the diluted ammonia gives them just enough scent to make them work to figure out who it was.
I think a bucks nose is just too sensitive not to detect something in human urine, at least some of the time.

With my scouting cameras, I have also found that 90+% of all scrape activity occurs in the dark.
(where I am anyway). That being said, for mature bucks, scrapes are where its at.

I have come to believe it (urine is urine concept), from all I've heard and read about it over recent years. However I, personally, can't seem to whizz out of my treestand without getting it all over the stand, or some part of my gear, - especially if it is the least bit chilly -      :D   So .... I still carry and use a bottle in the tree stand. I do whizz in scrapes, and I don't worry about where I go, when on the ground, near as much as I used to. My penny and a half worth.

This has been a very informative thread.  Thanks to all who chimed in.

At least it has made me feel a bit better about drinking my normal multiple cups of coffee before heading into the woods!  I won't be so worried about it now.

BillJ

QuoteOriginally posted by ber643: However I, personally, can't seem to whizz out of my treestand without getting it all over the stand, or some part of my gear, - especially if it is the least bit chilly -    :biglaugh:

Ahhhh - sad but true -   :saywhat:    :p

Rascal
(QUOTE),I collect samples of dirt out of scrapes and take them to other areas to seed them. Im convinced it works.

Thanks for the reminder. I've been thinking about trying that. Need to carry some baggies. I'll have to experiment with peeing in scrapes this year too. Interesting!

Yes like Deadsimple said, Urine is urine and the scent of urine changes over time until it is just ammonia and uria. fresh urine carrys more scent that communicate information to the deer. I've seen bucks run to the sound of a doe urinating, finding her and then hounding her to get a whiff. I have seen scrapes I urinating in be just tore up soon after by at least one and possibly several deer.

I don't ever pee on scrapes, but I've gotta say that I've never had much luck hunting over scrapes either.  Maybe Gene or Barry can help with this one, but I think the tactic of scrape hunting works better in areas where the deer population is still growing, and where sex ratios are closer. Might still be some places in Canada like that.  Also, we have put alot of trail cameras over scrapes and while we have alot of pics of deer, I have yet to get a picture of a big one during daylight hours.  
    Having said that, I did miss a big buck over a scrape 6 or 7 years ago, but that was the only decent buck I have ever had come to one.

I urinate from my treestand, I don't think it spooks deer. Plenty of them come in afterwards. I have never had a MONSTER come in to my urine though, so who knows?

I think much of the organic matter in urine dissapates pretty quickly, and the remaining by-product, ammonia, is all that is left.

1st, I have noted no harm from human urine smell when deer hunting, and plainly pee near my stands. 2nd, I have urinated in scrapes and had 'em torn to heck the next day. 3rd, I rarely hunt over scrapes so don't "freshen" scapes where I hunt.

Lastly, a tale: I once co-owned a section of land, I leased 200A of it to some friends to hunt. Knowing they were coming to look at it one day, I made a large mock scrape, with rubs & "licking branch" near a trail I knew they'd be on. I rubbed "tine marks" all over the tree with my house key. I then "christened" the scrape & left.  

I later met them for coffee to see how they liked the property. They were all excited and when I asked, "Did you see any fresh sign, scrapes or anything?" they looked at each other like they shouldn't tell. Finally, after I assured them I wasn't hunting on their lease, they told me about this "huge scrape" they'd found, right by the trail...and they knew it was fresh because they got down on their hands & knees and smelled it.

I asked a few questions about it that showed I knew exactly where & what it was, then asked them what type of rack made those multiple & vigorous rubs. While they were deciding, I pulled out my key ring, held up my house key & said "maybe this one?". They'd been had but were good boys & enjoyed it.

They took a few bucks outta there, but never the monster that made that scrape.

I'm old. I pee anytime, anywhere. Deer don't seem to mind.

LOL - yeah, that too, John.