Know Your Scrapes

World-renowned hunters like Gregg Ritz benefit from a diverse understanding of the behavior of many different types of game. In the world of hunting, "scrapes" refer to the areas scratched away at by a deer's front hooves before marking a tree. This marking behavior is exhibited in a few different species of deer, including the traditional whitetail deer that big-game hunters like Gregg Ritz are experienced with. Scraping is done for communication purposes among the other bucks and does in the area. For hunters, scraping behavior is worth studying because it brings with it a large amount of information about a specific area's deer population. Let's take a look at a few facts about scrapes, as well as how you can use this information to your advantage.



Bucks and Does



Both bucks and does make scrapes. They are distinguishable because of the cleanness of the scrape; buck scrapes are very clean because they are made with the antlers, while those of the doe are usually less well-defined. Scrapes can start to be seen about three weeks before the height of the mating period. Many hunters believe that a larger number of scrapes in a specific area directly relates to the number of deer available, but the opposite is actually true; because of the need to attract and identify more mates, bucks usually leave more scrapes when there are fewer deer within the area they live in.



Professional hunters that actively scout land, such as Gregg Ritz, take care to notice minute details that can help locate a promising trophy. When you're walking through an area that has a large number of scrapes, you might notice that trees of different sizes are scraped. It would make sense to think that the larger the tree being scraped, the larger the buck is;

however, there is actually very little to do between the relationship of tree and buck size. However, there are other ways to use the scrape to figure out a general size of the deer by examining the trees and foliage around the scrape. If there is a significant amount of damage done to stalks and branches around the scraped tree, then you can get a general idea of how large the buck's rack is.



Age of the Buck



Typically, only mature and dominant bucks produce a significant number of scrapes. This behavior occurs most frequently just before their breeding season begins, and to a lesser degree after most of the does have been bred. Many leading biologists, as well as Gregg Ritz and other professional hunters who pay attention to scrapes, believe that these dominant bucks leave their scent in and around scrapes in order to inform lesser bucks that there is a dominant force in the area. With this in mind, you can use these markings during your hunting to figure out where the larger bucks are marking their territory.



If you're interested in using scrapes to benefit your sportsmanship during deer season, a good way to use them is the way hunters like Gregg Ritz employ: as a way to identify travel routes mature bucks are using. With this in mind, be tactful about the types of scrapes you pursue; if your gut tells you that the scrape you're looking at isn't along a plausible travel route for a mature buck, chances are it's not something you need to focus on.



Gregg Ritz is one of the hunting industry’s leading figures in archery and muzzleloading. If you’re interested in learning more about his prolific hunting career or any of his companies, go to GreggRitz.com for more information.