Scrape trees or licking post

[Dukslayr]

I’ve been deer hunting for about 30 years and while I’ve killed a lot of deer and fallen prey to about every deer hunting fad or trick I can think of, one thing I’ve never done is artificially create a licking branch/rope/post/etc. This year I’ve got several new tower blinds up a property I bought last year that I think might be in prime position to take advantage of such a setup. While handing some stands last weekend I took a look around the field edges and found plenty of trees I could potentially modify to make into a prime branch. All my tower blinds are placed in CRP fields looking back towards timber and prime bedding. The field edges are mostly downwind of doe bedding areas, secluded, and generally have good enough cover to allow bucks to feel comfortable cruising the field edges during daylight hours.

All of that being said, how many of you have created your own scrapes/community scent spots using either natural or artificial means? Ideally I’m talking about something that deer would use for years, and not your typical one-time mock scrape setup. Can you share your experiences, methods, pics, site selection suggestions, etc? Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Suburbhunter]

Steve Bartylla has a lot of info out there on them. I use his style, and often freshen up ones deer make naturally and have had pretty good success, at least photo wise...I also tried the Ted Miller horizontal limb/post in a high density buck area, with no luck.

 

[Bill]

Tie those branches down and hit the scrape area with total vegetation killer, then walk away. The sooner the better. You won’t be sorry.

If you have any stands on the edge of a field put a “turd” out in front of it. Cut a cedar, de-limb it except for what is shoulder height and stick it in the ground with a post hole digger. If you find a licking branch somewhere that’s not of use to you where it is, cut it off and wire it to your turd.

Turd is a reference to Steve Bartylla’s “turd in a punch bowl” do a search on that, something should come up.

Most but not all of my trail cams have a man made rubbing post in the frame.

 

[Bill]

Also Tap turned me on to tying grape vines to the rubbing post limb. They seem to like the vines at my place.

 

[Peplin Creek]

Anyone had luck with tying rope and leaving it dangle? I tend to make mock scrapes on field edges in early August in all the spots they normally show up. Seems to get the resident bucks on camera started a little earlier it seems.

 

[Mortenson]

I placed a walnut rubbing tree with attached rope next to a placed cedar rubbing tree. Thousands of pics showed that the deer much preferred the cedar to the rope. Just my single case.

 

[Mortenson]

They scraped under the cedar, but not the rope. Occasionally, they'd sniff the rope a little.

 

[Peplin Creek]

I placed a walnut rubbing tree with attached rope next to a placed cedar rubbing tree. Thousands of pics showed that the deer much preferred the cedar to the rope. Just my single case.

I have heard the rope isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be but I figured this was the place to ask and get real feed back.

 

[BuckSutherland]

 

[Booner21]

I placed a walnut rubbing tree with attached rope next to a placed cedar rubbing tree. Thousands of pics showed that the deer much preferred the cedar to the rope. Just my single case.

I have heard the rope isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be but I figured this was the place to ask and get real feed back.

I have used ropes in several places and it takes them a little while to get used to it but if they are in a decent spot they use them. I would say takes 4 or 5 months wirh the rope i used seems like it only takes 1 deer to hit it just like a fire hydrant then every deer thst comes close hits them. I had 1 on a food plot late season. Had a bachelor group of bucks come out on the other side of the field over the course of an hour 8 bucks all in that group came and put their nose in that rope 1 after the other. No shooters on that night.

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[MN Slick]

I've had good luck with turds like Bill refernces above in food plots. I use shingle oaks but plan to convert to a cedar post and attach limbs to it so I don't have to "plant" trees every other year.

In the timber I've had great action on limbs zip tied vertically to wire. These allow them to get right up under the limbs.

 

[indiana boy]

Been making mock scrapes for a long time. They go within bow range of my stands not in random places just to put a camera on. Cedar branches hanging or vines around and an inch tied up.

 

[Dukslayr]

Looks like I’ll be taking a dump in a couple of my fields. I have plenty of cedars to go around! Good stuff. Thanks guys.

 

[Tap]

Also Tap turned me on to tying grape vines to the rubbing post limb. They seem to like the vines at my place.View attachment 25326

Bill, On July 3rd, I did an experiment with a rope hung right beside my vine. This is the same scrape Ive done cam survey for over 10 years. This scrape often gets over 300 pics per week. It is gold for getting pics.
Well, over the course of July, I got over 2,300 pics! They seem to slightly favor to rope rather than the vine, but both are getting used.
And its only August. This will hit its peak in October.

 

[Bill]

Bill, On July 3rd, I did an experiment with a rope hung right beside my vine. This is the same scrape Ive done cam survey for over 10 years. This scrape often gets over 300 pics per week. It is gold for getting pics.
Well, over the course of July, I got over 2,300 pics! They seem to slightly favor to rope rather than the vine, but both are getting used.
And its only August. This will hit its peak in October.

Ha! I had a rope at first but when it finally fell down I used your vine idea. They liked the rope but it took a few months for them to start.. I think the type of rope matters. It was an old natural fiber rope that was probably in my barn for 50 plus years. Probably had to let the mouse smell air out before they used it.

I swear I was going to tie a ball to it just to see if they would play with it.

Here is the old rope

 

[Tap]

Bill, On July 3rd, I did an experiment with a rope hung right beside my vine. This is the same scrape Ive done cam survey for over 10 years. This scrape often gets over 300 pics per week. It is gold for getting pics.
Well, over the course of July, I got over 2,300 pics! They seem to slightly favor to rope rather than the vine, but both are getting used.
And its only August. This will hit its peak in October.

Ha! I had a rope at first but when it finally fell down I used your vine idea. They liked the rope but it took a few months for them to start.. I think the type of rope matters. It was an old natural fiber rope that was probably in my barn for 50 plus years. Probably had to let the mouse smell air out before they used it.

I swear I was going to tie a ball to it just to see if they would play with it.

Here is the old rope

Here's my new rope hanging by the old vine.
The rope is a 2"dia natural fiber rope that I had laying around for years. I put 2 zip ties a few inches from the end so it wouldn't get frayed.

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[Bill]

I’m going to have to try a nerf ball. I bet they would smack it..

 

[Tap]

I’m going to have to try a nerf ball. I bet they would smack it..

I wouldn't be surprised. You may actually be on to something. Any type of foam like a nerf ball would probably hold deer scent more effectively.
I hang strips cut from a plastic grocery bag in as a wind monitor and I've watched deer pick and pull at it. No doubt, deer are curious critters.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I wouldn't be surprised. You may actually be on to something. Any type of foam like a nerf ball would probably hold deer scent more effectively.
I hang strips cut from a plastic grocery bag in as a wind monitor and I've watched deer pick and pull at it. No doubt, deer are curious critters.

A guy I know swears by putting a white "flag" of some sort on a stick out in the open in front of his tree stand for an easy doe harvest.