MSU Deer Study

[The_Real_TCIII]

This is a great follow

 

[2BuckBizCT]

I love a good scrape cam. I think most bucks I had in one fall was 7 different bucks use it. Some only once, and others more often.

[Robhuntandfish]

This past year I had an area that was maybe 90 yards of trail with 9 HUGE scrapes on it.  These scrapes were just large and tore right up.  Never seen that many before that size.  

But our best spot is the Scrapetree stand and every year it gets action.  Usually 7-8 bucks visit it and does as well.  Perfect licking branch there.  

[2BuckBizCT]

The new fad is a grapevine licking branch, but I haven't read enough into it yet

[dbHunterNY]

1 hour ago, 2BuckBizCT said:

The new fad is a grapevine licking branch, but I haven't read enough into it yet

long before it was a fad i've used them. if you own property you hate grape vines. they work their way up nearby trees and can kill the tree due to a number of reasons. sometimes really nice and straight hardwood tree. I'd take a machete and pull them down or hack them where they climb the trunk. you're usually left with something hanging that takes a while to dry out. i've only used it for inventory. i'd never hunt over them solely because they're there. most scape activity occurs at night.

[dbHunterNY]

Dr Steve Demarais and MSU deer lab put out great educational content

[Robhuntandfish]

58 minutes ago, dbHunterNY said:

long before it was a fad i've used them. if you own property you hate grape vines. they work their way up nearby trees and can kill the tree due to a number of reasons. sometimes really nice and straight hardwood tree. I'd take a machete and pull them down or hack them where they climb the trunk. you're usually left with something hanging that takes a while to dry out. i've only used it for inventory. i'd never hunt over them solely because they're there. most scape activity occurs at night.

I made one this year at a new area I cut.  Used a vine hanging from an apple tree but they never used. They actually put down a scrape across the trail from it.  Thought for sure it was gonna get hit a lot

[dbHunterNY]

16 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

I made one this year at a new area I cut.  Used a vine hanging from an apple tree but they never used. They actually put down a scrape across the trail from it.  Thought for sure it was gonna get hit a lot

deer are finicky when it comes to that stuff and when in the season they truly use it. many hunters will setup a mock scrape only to get a pile of activity within 24hrs and it falls off. it's like if your wife put something new in the livingroom. you check it out as soon as you notice but thats the end of it if it doesn't involve your day to day routine.

[Bucksnbows]

3 hours ago, 2BuckBizCT said:

The new fad is a grapevine licking branch, but I haven't read enough into it yet

I use them all the time. We call them the Voodoo Scrape.  Easy to make and hang and very effective. 

[grampy]

2 hours ago, dbHunterNY said:

long before it was a fad i've used them. if you own property you hate grape vines. they work their way up nearby trees and can kill the tree due to a number of reasons. sometimes really nice and straight hardwood tree. I'd take a machete and pull them down or hack them where they climb the trunk. you're usually left with something hanging that takes a while to dry out. i've only used it for inventory. i'd never hunt over them solely because they're there. most scape activity occurs at night.

I want to try a grapevine scrape this year. Have a couple good places in mind, close to a large bedding area, that we don't go into. Want to have it up by mid summer. Will put a cam close by, to just monitor what may or may not use it. Will NOT have a stand close by though. As we leave that area alone. Mainly hunt the trails to and from food sources to this large bedding.

[Bucksnbows]

17 minutes ago, grampy said:

I want to try a grapevine scrape this year. Have a couple good places in mind, close to a large bedding area, that we don't go into. Want to have it up by mid summer. Will put a cam close by, to just monitor what may or may not use it. Will NOT have a stand close by though. As we leave that area alone. Mainly hunt the trails to and from food sources to this large bedding.

Make a bundle using zip ties, hang from a branch where normal licking branches would be, kick out a scrape with your boot, and pee in it. Couldn’t be easier. Just remember to carry plenty of water if you have to hike in far. 

[dbHunterNY]

41 minutes ago, grampy said:

I want to try a grapevine scrape this year. Have a couple good places in mind, close to a large bedding area, that we don't go into. Want to have it up by mid summer. Will put a cam close by, to just monitor what may or may not use it. Will NOT have a stand close by though. As we leave that area alone. Mainly hunt the trails to and from food sources to this large bedding.

 

21 minutes ago, Bucksnbows said:

Make a bundle using zip ties, hang from a branch where normal licking branches would be, kick out a scrape with your boot, and pee in it. Couldn’t be easier. Just remember to carry plenty of water if you have to hike in far. 

I've only used them because they're robust and can take any abuse. plus they're something natural that's there unlike say a hemp rope. branches get chewed and worked over to the point they break or deer can no longer reach them easily enough. i keep them long versus hang a bundle or piece off a rope. it's easier for the deer to work it with the weight and similar to a branch. where i think a lot of hunters go wrong with any habitat or thing the deer interact with is  they deer to do or alter what they're already doing. it's best to continue an existing scrape line, keep it on the same path, etc. deer are efficient and choose a path for a reason. if you expect them to go check out your mock scrape in a random location they aren't passing by they're probably making some sorta of sacrifice to do so. more often than not they that doesn't fly with them. activity then falls off. it's a social function. a single deer won't keep using it if other deer aren't.

[Ogee]

3 hours ago, dbHunterNY said:

Dr Steve Demarais and MSU deer lab put out great educational content

MSU has a terrific animal sciences dept. across the board.

I have been following Hyena studies they are doing in the Mara(Kenya) for many years.