Hope I did this right. Theres only 2 cornfields in ths square mile and theres 3 wood lots and 3 soybean fields. Teres the 1st woods then a ways down a little strip of woods then another soybean field down theres another woods hich half of its pretty wooly.. it is seperated from the one cornfield by a bean field and on the edge of the woods therss a scrape line. Im thinking this is a bedding arwa for maybe the buck I hung a stand along the scrape line but back of the edge in the woods. I can enter the stand by going through the woods.Got some good shooting lanes both at the scrape line and the wooly areas.Do you think the buck will ck the scrapes in the am or evening?Its probably the same little 4 pointer I saw last year ad almost had a shot. If im thinig right and hunt with a n/nw wind the deer will have to pass my stand before they could wind me as they should come from the n or nw.Sure would like to get one with recurve.

No matter what 3 and done and regroup. Don't burn this out and don't let them pattern you. You want a buck don't shoot the does in this spot either shoot them somewhere else.

Thanks. Is now a good time to hunt the scrape line. I figure while its fresh is the best time. Am or pm? Thanks

Most likely the buck will check the scrapes at night this time of year. But.....you never know for sure. During the rut, I personally would just about live in that stand if the scrapes stay alive and used. That's what you have to do to kill big deer.

Daryl, if the scrapes are still active when the rut starts, the bucks will be there too. And during the rut they move all day long.

I hunt scrapes right up until they go cold which is normally when the chase phase peaks. I've seen mature bucks ck scrapes morning and evening. Scrapes are visited by many deer but mature deer typically ck at first light and last light. Smaller bucks and does will visit scrapes all hours. Keep in mind some scrapes are only territory marking scrapes and others are communal scrapes.

If you get some rain, I would try to be on those scrapes the first few hours after the rain stops. Bucks will come freshen them up after a good rain. A real prime spot can be shot to hell by over hunting it. Wait for the right wind direction for a perfect approach and leave it alone till the rut is peaking. Sounds like a great place to kill a big buck.

Right now, I think he'll check the scrapes at night.

Bowmania

Am or pm sounds to me like your already going to burn your spots out. You better find several bucks to work on to tell you because your going to screw them all up eventually if you don't kill one whatever you do.

No one should really be sitting stands other than to shoot a deer or for observations to watch where deer are coming out and in then set a stand and shoot one.

Most guys do things totally ass backwards. You can't walk around woods and stink it up or molest these animals they won't stand for it. During the rut you hunt your does not the buck. You can get away with a good bit then. I could tell you some pretty wild story's of hunting ruts that you just would have trouble believing. You don't even need to worry much about sent and can be on ground but you need to be in their rutting woods that another part to learn. Seasons are going to change when leaves are off trees also so you would need to know what trees are best to get in that will hide you so you don't look like a pop sickle.

Theres a numbers of things you need to learn and try to keep a record in a composition book whats happening. Its hard to lead you into a buck like this and your going to get so many opinions.

Don't know how much you know but you can't learn like this you need to be out there with the animals and shooting at them too to be learning what works and don't work.

Find your doe groups and sneak around the woods when you try to get in and out and have alternative ways because they can pattern you. Keep clean and try to get in and out with the least amount of disturbance. If you don't know where your animal groups are your going to run out of opportunity's quick because of your lack of knowledge or molesting the animals.

If one hasn't shot any amount of does what makes one think for one minute they deserve a buck I ask also?

Does are ones education. Just some thoughts I can't tell you everything or can anyone in a couple lines. You have to take what you can learn from others experience and add to it with what you learn by doing it.

Stay clean, keep wind in your face and tell no one what your doing especially where you hunt and what you see or you could be holding hands with someone or getting screwed up more than you already will screw yourself up on naturally until you learn like most of us have that have been at this a long time.

Hunt on and be safe.

Here's the deal, Daryl is getting conflicting information, that is ONLY going to lead to confusing him

First off, he isn't wandering around the woods "stinking stuff up" or burning things out". He doesn't even indicate he has sat in the stand yet. He said he HUNG the stand.

The ONLLY way he is going to be able to tell anything about the scrapes it too WATCH them. Either in person, or with a camera. And, he will HAVE to get in the area to do that. Period. Now, ideally if he could sit 100 yards away and keep an eye on the scrape line to get an idea, that would be advantageous. Depnds on the terrain though. And no, 100 yards isn't too close. You are withing 50-100 yards of deer all the time, and don't even know it if you hunt where they live.

This is obviously an agricultural area. That being the case, there are people, machines, and maybe livestock around all the time. So, the deer are accustomed to human traffic to one degree or another.

You can sit a stand EVERYDAY if you want to. ANd I said before, during the rut, if these are active scrapes, that show promise, you should. You can approach the stand from different directions nearly every time. Your scent trail is going to stay until it disspates, and that's dependent on the weather, so, not much you can do there.

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