Scrape "Juice" Recipe

[bigbendmarine]

Ok... FIRST off, FULLY appreciate that human urine ALONE can be used to start/freshen up a scrape... so with that said, this share's more for kicks and giggles than believing it's out of ANY necessity, and all of this coming from a guy who tends to use as few gimmicky commercial products as possible when hunting... not just to save cash, but also to keep from spooking deer with things that actually tend to strike them as unnatural to their enviornment.

So with above shared, on another forum (and one primarily focusing on deep south hunting and fishing) someone shared a scrape "juice" recipe they attributed to one of y'all northeast fellas. So here's the shared recipe... puree 2 apples and put the pulp in a gallon milk jug, add 1cup of plain household ammonia, twinkle in the jug till its 3/4 full, leave loosely covered for a week, then it's ready to use.

Now, when you reach the age of 50 no matter how healthy, and I've been blessedly so, you get used to being asked to collect various samples... so gathering pee in a jug with absolute zero financial investment (no costly lab fees!) struck me as worthy of an amusing experiment. Reading through the 21 pages of comments I modified my batch ever so slightly by cutting the ammonia added to just half a cup (appreciating that ammonia naturally breaks down out of urea anyway) and threw in a handful of mashed frozen grapes in addition to the apple pulp since we don't have tons of apples in our deep south area.

Interestingly, for about the first week as I made contributions to the gallon container I only picked up a fairly strong ammonia scent. But as I finished filling the jug and it aged I was surprised to pick up an increasingly stronger scent that MUCH reminded me of the odor of urine-stained tarsal glands. Plan on adding just an ounce or two of the "juice" to a couple of specific mock scrapes I've set up that have drawn limited attention (one or two very junior bucks). On a scientific note, let me add that unfortunately even if a herd of brusier bucks instantly run to it I won't see the results as conclusive for it being a lure attraction, but WILL at least see it as not eliciting negative reactions. I say this as time-wise I'm only about a week away from the same annual time-period I go from seeing light natural scrape activity to having bucks laying heavy scrape lines down on my place.

Just curious... since the "recipe" was attributed to a northeast origin... any of y'all familiar with it? Anybody feel strongly that it's a better lure than plain human pee? Even though I appreciate game camera hits I get will be somewhat anecdotal in nature, I'll share as a follow-up to this post when I can.

 

[bigbendmarine]

And for anybody with some time on their hand looking for a laugh, few really funny contributions to the original thread I referenced above...
http://forum.gon.com/threads/mock-scrape-bucks.44237/

 

[Native Hunter]

You have caught my attention, and I am following with great anticipation......

 

[yoderjac]

This reminds me of the "what to plant" discussions where guys are trying to make their plot more attractive to deer. I had an old boss years ago that had a phrase for this when folks focus on second and third order factors. He called it "polishing a turd". When you start with a turd, you can polish it all you want but it will never shine and it is still a turd. Having a food plot in a good location with any kind of quality deer food where deer feel safe and don't feel hunting pressure is 98% of attraction. The particulars of the crop one plants is probably no more than 1%.

I look at this similarly. Where is the scrape relative to deer movement? Does it have a good licking branch for orbital scent deposit? If one is making a mock scrape, they have to be there to use it, so human intrusion is just part of making a mock scrape. Taking a leak in the scrape, isn't magic. Deer are in tune with what they smell and see. When they catch that scent when urine is mixed with fresh soil at night when it is safe, they check it out. If it has the visible characteristics of a scrape, a deer will use it. Now, it is no longer a mock scrape, it is a scrape. It has everything necessary for the next deer to use it.

I had a biologist friend years ago who did a somewhat controlled camera study with mock scrapes. He used a variety of stuff in them: Buck urine, Doe urine, predator urine, human urine, doe in heat urine, etc. As I recall, there was a slight reduction in use with predator urine but not with human urine.

Keep in mind that deer are unique creatures. We describe their behavior statistically as a group. At any given time with any given deer, they can break all the rules and assumptions. In general, I think what you are doing is a fun project. I always enjoy watching interesting behavior on camera.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[bigbendmarine]

Only seeing exactly as that, Jack, a fun project... scrapes are in spots I've been running cameras for several years, spots I use for census versus actually hunting, and won't require more intrusion than what I've already been putting there during strict noontime camera card pulls spaced weeks apart when conditions aren't favorable for deer traffic (hades hot sunny days). Both spots are in decent travel areas with grape vines hung weeks ago for orbital scent deposit and in fairness to the guy who posted the recipe on the other forum even he said he only used it to start use / didnt keep adding once scrapes are being heavily used. Hope my original post made clear, sharing more for kicks and giggles than anything else... though again, couldn't help but be curious if any fellas in the Northeast area were familiar with the "recipe" since it was attributed to the area.

 

[bigbendmarine]

And on funny note would add that the linked post has a few recipe changes that made me TRULY laugh out loud... any fella on this forum who can talk their better-half into capturing her own "in heat" juice during a certain time of the month?!?!

 

[Bill]

I usually skip fermentation with apples.
Just add a few rum and cokes before peeing and it comes out just right....

 

[Buckly]

I’m trying to figure out why the apples. I guess the mixture is stinky enough but, I’m a believer in fresh is best. I know this is not in the formula but last year I started rubbing a few of the branches over the scrape with my forehead. The oils on your forehead and behind your ears have a glandular aura to them. Impossibly faint to the human nose but they tear my licking branches apart , usually the first night. By the way, it was mentioned about human scent around the scrape when being made. I make all mine in my gym shoes and whatever I’m wearing. cut all the branches bare handed and zip tie together. I’ve never had one not hit that night and then thereafter. After they rip them apart and I fix them they will be easier on them but, once in a while later on , one will get ripped apart. I never miss an opportunity while checking cams to refresh. my bladder can only handle so much. It takes me a couple weeks to refresh but doesn’t seem to matter. I’ve tried not refreshing after initially making them but I think they work better over time if they’re refreshed.

 

[davidhelmly]

BB, I’ve used this recipe years ago and had good luck with it, not to say it’s any better than straight human urine but it did work fine.

 

[j-bird]

I use whatever comes out naturally and typically a cut section of grapevine. The sap in the vine has a scent and the deer like it and it's sticky. I think location is far more important. I have to avoid some products as baiting here is illegal.

 

[ghilliehunter]

That is an interesting scent recipe. I'd like to try it. I stopped buying scents and doe urine several years ago only because I'm cheap. Every couple years I steep several dozen acorns in a pan with a quart of water. When the concoction cools, I strain the liquid off and add 2 tablespoons of real vanilla. This works great as a cover and curiosity scent.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I dont make mock scrapes and just hang cameras on known annual scrape hotspots. I hang my cameras in early october and dont check them again until mid to late November. I want to take a buck census and dont need the intel for hunting. One of the scrapes seems to get more attention in the mornings and the other in the evenings. The evening scrape site i do have a stand near by.

I generally don't put out scent because it is expensive and now illegal in my area. By far and away the best scent I have ever used was several years ago. I shot a buck in december one year and bottled the urine from it. I left that container in my hot garage all summer long and on October 4 I put it in a dripper. I couldn't believe how many different bucks I had on camera in just the first couple of days after putting it out. The scent was absolutely nasty and must have been able to be smelt from a long distance. I will try it again the next time I harvest a buck. (haven't done that in many years) Harvest a buck that is.