Tips & Tactics

Mock Scrape Super Tip

Mock Scrape Super Tip

By Paul Odem

Photo: The use of a doe-in-heat or buck-in-rut scent bomb along with a urine-based dripper only adds to the effect.

One of my favorite tactics for luring local bucks to my trail cameras or my treestand locations is using mock scrapes.

To create a mock scrape, you must have a limb that hangs about head-high to a deer, which is approximately naval- to chest-high on an adult male human.

This limb will have several inches of the tip bent downward and pointing toward the ground. So, when constructing your mock scrape, don’t forget to bend the tip downward.

Bucks use this broken limb tip to rub their faces and forehead against. Their facial glands secrete personal calling card odors for other deer to determine who is visiting.

For creating the fake scrape, you’ll want to stand away from the spot, using a long-handled gardening tool or stick to claw a bare circle on the ground—preferably not your hands or feet.

In fact, I recommend using rubber boots to minimize human odor and standing as far from the bare spot as possible.

Hang your scent dripper on the limb where the lure will drip directly into the scrape, and work some urine-based lure into the dirt.

The addition of a doe-in-heat or buck-in-rut scent-bomb on the same limb adds to the effect.

Mock Scrape Super TipNow here’s a tip that should help you whenever you find the perfect place to create a mock scrape but there isn’t a suitable overhanging limb.

Create your own limb!

At the base of a sturdy tree, attach an adjustable, wall-mount flagpole holder. I either screw it into the tree or use a ratchet strap to secure it.

Cut a suitable limb and push the base into the flagpole holder, then adjust the angle to where the limb hangs naturally over your mock scrape.

Flagpole holders are simple and inexpensive. Now you can have the perfect limb in the perfect place.

Editor’s Note: If you have a unique or special tip you’d like to share with Buckmasters fans, please email it to huntingtips@buckmasters.com and, if chosen, we will send you a cap signed by Jackie Bushman, along with a knife!

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