Late Breeding

[freedomrules3]

I went turkey scouting yesterday and went by a scrape that i knew was there from the season. low and behold the scrape was still being used and was freshened up just recently, maybe that morning. seems every year they are breeding later and later which turns into a catch 22. does bred late drop later and these fawns will in turn come into heat after the normal rutting season. any bucks still in hard horns will still have a slight urge to breed these late fawns. i also saw a buck coming home from work on friday that still had horns

[ncboman]

I saw this explanation last week and thought it makes perfect sense.

web page

[ncboman]

So one wants to be tad careful and take that into account before leaping to conclusions and staking the area out next year. Bear in mind that deer can smell a scrape for well over a year, so that an old scrape lights up is no surprise.

How do they know a deer can do that- because they dug up the soil in a scrape and moved it. The deer moved with it. Had they not moved they'd have known it was position not scent.

Now, does this info issue possibilities? ;D

[penaltybox]

Saw a 4pt. cross the street in my neighborhood on the way to work this morning.

[freedomrules3]

I didnt agree tottaly with his idea that the late scrapers would be smaller bucks but who knows for sure.without a trailcam its hard to tell whats making what out there. putting out trailcams on some frequently used public land is just asking for it to get stolen though. (first i need one though lol )
I have seen scrapes time and time again in the same places as years before so the scent thing makes sense.so basically i should stop by the scrape areas and keep them scented up as to direct the bucks into reusing the same scrapes. i'll have to do some experimenting with that theory .

[ncboman]

I find myself in agreement with almost everything Herne posts about deer behavior.

My thoughts run along the line of digging dirt from a fresh used scrape in one area and 'setting it out' at a precise spot around my stand on hunt day. I think such a scrape would draw the attention of any resident buck passing by into offering the perfect shot.

A 'used' licking branch tied into overhanging limbs would probably make it a permanent item.

Games like that are fun I guess but when I'm seriously after the big boy, I prefer not to disturb anything.

[freedomrules3]

i'm thinking a late summer quick trip to ohio to dig in a few scrapes and scent them up with doe piss. although early it may just lure them into a particular area once things start to heat up. i know you know how i feel about next year . even now that damn buck is all i think about

[ncboman]

You just make sure you jack with him on your ridge only and not the rest.



;D

[freedomrules3]

i always leave the buckbomb overnight . it just so happened i never got a chance to return to that ridge to pick it up .I knew i would return someday anyway

i really think the key to that place is how you enter it. the easy way i believe you get busted everytime. when i entered via the cliff by the creek which was a real joy to climb i always saw something up there. once i started taking the easy route i saw nothing. i'd love to be able to go up there sometime in august just to take a look during "showtime season" and drive around some

[ARO]

heres a point to ponder. a couple buddies and i were talking about why deer make scrapes, and the more we thought about it, the more we agreed, that scrapes are more of a territorial marker then a breeding marker.
put a camera on a scrape and see how many doe's you get on film using the scrape, i had a hot scrape under the watchful eye of the trusty trailcam, for about 3 weeks last year, the camera captured 7 different bucks using this scrape, but not a single doe. i have had buddies put doe scent in scrapes, only to have the scrape close up.
switch things up one time, and put some dominant buck urine in a scrape, if theres a big boy around, once he smells the intruder, he will frequent the area to banish this mighty foe.
just something to think about

[freedomrules3]

you make a very good point there, sometimes the opposite is the way to go . that makes good sense , i mean does piss at will and their scent is throughout the woods, but a dominant buck simply wont allow another dominant buck to persistently wander in "their" teritory. i like what you say and now it makes perfect sense to me ( i need a lightbulb smiley here )

[ncboman]

well, gotta figure that buck's had 4 months to ponder that buckbomb and I bet that's not the first time he's seen it either.

I figure if I were a mature buck, everytime I got a wiff of 'foreign leg', I'd be taking turns ducking and looking up until I got into a secure area and wait for dark there. I think a lot of buck lure has an effect opposite of the desired on some deer.