Scrapes and Rubs

[The Engineer]

I need some help. All week all I saw was 2 does and a spike buck on the side of the road when I was leaving to go home. Only 10' from me for 10 seconds. If I was in the passenger seat I could have choked it to death. (Like my wife said for the ride home forget he be there next year)

Any way, this week was cold in 4P. So after the morning hunt walking out I decided to follow some tracks in the snow. The first day I jumped something all I saw was the tail about 30 yards away go over the hill and disappear. I think it was a buck as I got right on top of him before he bolted.

What I did notice was 3 scrapes on the ground all with in 40' of each other. The day before when I walked out of the woods I noticed just 1 about 75' from these new ones. These 3 were made in 1 night. the place is loaded with tracks and some really big ones too.

My question is simple is this area the bedding area?

is this his center of area?

or a borderline of his area?

All I know I will be moving my stand next year.

Before anyone says I should have hunted that area I did.

Because some of my goofy neighbors decided to shoot all week before I got there, the deer were only moving at night time.

If I can convince my wife to let me go this weekend I will sit not far from there in a chair.

Let me know thanks,

[Hunter1]

I'm in 4p 4g hunted all bow season saw my first scrape & rub thanksgiving morning . 2 more on friday an more over the weekend. Also first time this season seen a spike chasing a doe friday. Very odd SLOW season.

[WingNut]

I hunt 4A and found the first set of scrapes opening weekend.  Took a nice doe opening day and have seen one deer since.  I did find an enormous active rub this yesterday in the middle of 4 beds.

All trail cam pictures are at night, but every one of them seems "Casual" as if nothing was going on.

[Hock3y24]

Scrapes seem to be less active here now in 7s, peak scrape activity was probably the last week of bow, the does I saw this week were in a group of 3 just eating and nothing following.

[the blur]

I see does yarding up at the side of major highways, eating grass.    The cars don't seem to bother them at all.

Edited December 4, 2013 by the blur

[Doc]

The last few years, there seems to have been some kind of covert rut in our area. Rubs and scrapes are few and far between. And yet personal sightings and camera results show that there are plenty of bucks of all sizes around. It doesn't make a lot of sense, but that is what I have been seeing.