As soon as the velvet started coming off this year - I noticed where deer had tended licking branches and stood in old scrape locations. I put the camera on one of these licking branches - and got several deer, a few bucks - and one working the licking branch during the week the camera was out.

Not a Big buck - but nice to see just the same.



FH

Always great to see trail cam pics! Thanks for sharing.

Very cool pic.

I found six large fresh scrapes the other day. Isn't it kinda early to be finding scrapes, or is this normal. I can'tever recall finding an area like this all scraped up this early in the season. Is it likely the buck is mature, young, or any age? What do early scrapes signify? Form of communication(like dogs peeing on trees), or are they looking for receptive does this early in the season?

I've seen where bucks will vist scrape locations - in the middle of the summer - but they usually don't scrape the ground - sometimes they just lick the branches or urinate.

When Scrapes like you just found pop up overnite this early - its usually a bachelor group that is showing off for each other more than anything else - same with concentrated early rubs. You find these alot early on field edges and in stage areas near food.

I don't think age has a lot to do with early scrapes (lone big rubs are another story though in my book)

FH

awesome!! ill be waiting for a buck that makes a scrape and rubline in the same spots every year here at school next week. he frequents a corner of a small clearing..kinda like a crp field..there is an edge of a thicket and a maturing forest where he runs..ill be waiting in that corner....see alot of deer there every year. although i got winded there last year walking on the SGL trail to another spot..we will see..ill be waitin if i can sneak in there...thanx for the heads up..i wasnt even going to look for a few weeks

Nice pic, I like seeing pics of buck on scrapes, I found one a few days ago under the same branch as the last two years, last year I ofund it the first week of Oct, and kept a camera on it all fall until Jauary, and bucks continued hitting that scrape at least every other day for the entire time, I got pics of ever 20 different bucks on that one scrape, must be some type of community or territory scrape, I need to put my cam on it and see what I get. Thanks for sharing.

Saw my first scrape on Sat. It was about 15 yards behind my Cuddeback. So close!!!

Angus; Where are you at in Missouri? Just curious!!

mofireman Im in southeast central mo.. and you where you hunting in MO?