LAST UPDATED: May 8th, 2015
Way back in the spring when I was first putting in my food plots you may remember a small soybean plot I put in at the top of a ridge. It was in one of my early season treestand hanging videos in our video section. Well throughout the course of the summer the beans were growing great, but the local deer population (a few does in particular) absolutely destroyed this plot and ate it down to almost nothing. Being one of my first real food plots that I've planted I was amazed at just how much they ate and how much damage they did! Knowing that this spot wasn't going to produce much for food come fall I decided to broadcast some brassicas into the bean field and see what happend. I was pleasantly surprised when they came up and are growing quite well.
My broadcasted brassicas are really coming up quite well. Much better than even I expected.
Additionally, I went back a week or two later and broadcast some winter wheat into the field as well. Both the wheat and brassicas will generally germinate without too much soil cover so broadcasting is a pretty effective method for planting them. It really helped me save this nice hunting plot, and produce enough food to still draw some deer in come October and November.
Broadcasting seed into a spring plot that didn't grow well or has been eaten out can save your hunting come late season.
After reading Justin's blog post about creating some mock scrapes I figured I'd give it a try as well, so I called up my friend Sam Collora at Mrs. Doe Pee for some advice. Sam sent me some mock scrape scent to try out and I'm anxious to see how it's going to work. Sam has an interesting method for preparing his mock scrapes which involves putting wax paper down underneath the soil to help hold the scent in and prevent it from leaching out when it rains. I have to admit, it's a pretty good idea and Sam is an expert when it comes to how whitetails use scent to communicate.
Here are the instructions that Sam sent over. Try them out if you're interested in creating a mock scrape of your own!
"We recommend you start early to mid August building continuous scrapes, so they will be open and active by September when the bucks rub out of velvet. This is a very productive time for continuous scrapes. The buck's hormone levels are peaking, shutting down antler production, telling the buck to shed their velvet. This testosterone surge is also getting them started int eh sparing mode, figuring out their pecking order and establishing dominance. This is the same time perdio their bachelor groups start breaking down. They will soon be making their own scrapes, marking the territory they have claimed as their own.
Start your scrape with finding a location. Tery to set the scrape in an ara that has a history of scrape activity or is conducive to deer movement. Set it up where the prevelant autumn winds will be favorable. Pick a spot with an overhanging limb (licking branch). Be sure you can set up a treestand or ground blind near or on a travel route to or from the scrape.
The spot I chose for my scrape didn't have a good overhanging limb, so I used some rope to tie a limb down that would work. Then I clared my spot and started to dig my hole.
After locating your scrape site, start by clearing a 2 foot area clear of leaves, grass, and other debris. In the center of teh scrape dig out a bowl shaped area 6 to 8 inches deep and approximately 12 inches across. GBring along a piece of wax paper large enough to cover the hole. Crumple the wax paper then straighten in back out and line the inside of the dirt bowl. Then fill the liner back in with dirt. This acts as a waterproof liner to hold the scent even if it rains. Keep in mind this should all be done while wearing rubber boots and gloves if possible. You want to leave as little human scent behind as you can.
Adding wax paper to your scrape helps keep the scent contained even if it rains.
Finish the scrape off by adding lure directly to the center of the scrape. Use 1-2 ounces per application. Repeat every 5-10 days depending on your circumstances. If you keep your scrape active throughout the entire season, will will continue to draw bucks. Good luck and good hunting!"
Finish it off with yoru favorite scrape scent and you're ready to go!
I spotted this doe while out creating my scrape. She must've known it was still September because she didn't seem too worried about me!
Here's a few great scrape making products that you can try out if you're interested in starting your own mock scrapes.
