I have read articles that deer will use scrapes the same way dogs use hydrants. Just marking their spot. Not necessarily using them for rutting activity.They won't be as big and there won't be as many brokenlimbs and stuff around it. I've found active scrapes in bow season and they were still being used on through turkeyseason on our place. Thats what prompted me to look to see why. We don't see rutting activity until late Jan.