Deer scrapes.

[JW_Halverson]

Well today I shoulda stayed in bed.  My dog did.

Strong gusting winds today, I so planned on spot and stalk in heavy timber.  The movement of the trees would disguise my movement.  A cold front moved in and the rut is starting to gear up.  Good, right?  Wrong-oh, moosebreath!

I went to a high meadow I call "Wagonwheel".  It is atop a ridgeline and has small draws and mini-ridgelines radiating out from the central meadow.  I figured this would allow me to pick a draw or two where the wind was in my face.  Wind to cover my movement and the sound of my footsteps, wind to blow my scent away from the deer, I was golden, right?  Wrong-oh, bison-buttocks!

EVERY choice I made was second guessed (gust?) by the wind.  It would swirl around and blow from behind, pushing my scent up the deer's noses like a stink bomb of danger.  I blew more deer out of the woods ahead of me than I have seen in years.  It was like a field of waving white tails saying bye bye sucker!  Time after time, I would stop, climb back up to the meadow and start down another draw with the wind in my face, only to have it switch yet again. 

On flat ground, wind blows fairly straight, but the Black Hills are a series of irregular ridges similar to the ridges of your fingerprint.  As wind blows across, it catches on the tops and swirls up and down the slopes in wild and unpredictable ways. 

About 2:30, my phone starts vibrating and it is the boss.  Tonite's shift is open because a coworker called in sick. He apologizes for calling me, knows I am locked in an epic struggle to feed myself for the winter, but can I come in.  When the going gets tough, the tough get going, right?  A bad day of hunting is better than a good day of working?  Wrong-oh, fishlips! 

This was the excuse I was hoping for and I headed for the Jeep at a dogtrot, showered at home, fed the dog, played with her for a while, and headed in to work.  I got 18 days of season left, after all. 

[Pappy]

Well JW ,you should be in good shape after this if nothing else.
 Pappy

[crooketarrow]

 JW  Are your finger ridges wooded. Because here in WV. they all are.  Through the years. Me and friends have killed umteen mature bucks off down fingher ridges.

  Here you'll have a up finger ridge and a down finger ridge. You can tell by which way the rubs are pointed. MORNING UP RIDGES LOOK UP SEE SHINNY RUBS. YOU HAVE TO LOOK DOWN TO SEE SHINNY DOWN RUBS.

 You hunt evenings.

For a couple reasons. All mature mountain bucks. Bed above and between the up and down finger ridges below the ridge top. SO THEY CAN HOP OVER EITHER FINGER RIDGE OR OVER THE TOP IF NEEDED. There close enough to excape over either 3.

  Plus evenings natural therms come down. So the winter before I scout out every down ridge.  You have to set up a site far enough up the down ridge. So he'll get to you in the day light. Use'lly about 75 to 80% up towards the top.

 By winter mature bucks have went back to being left alone like in SEPT, OCT. before  the ruts gets involed. Closer to the rut less this works. When the bucks start bedding close to the doe's waiting on that first doe to come in heat.

 So I go and scout in the WINTERS snow. Checking above all down ridges to if find buck beds. Look there,there you'll find them.

 So I know how close I can get up the down ridge to the bedded buck. As close as I can. SO HE'LL GET TO ME IN THE DAY LIGHT.

  And if you stay undetedted. Went far enough up the ridge. I pross you I had dozzens of mature bucks. SET UP WITH MY BACK TO THE ON COMEING BUCK. I let him pass he's only worryed about whats below him. He knows it's safe behind him.

  NICE 10,15 YARD QUARTERING SHOT.

 I've arrowed a dozzen like this. And gun killed another dozzen more.  And friends have killed as many.

  Granddadys probley scrarching and shakeing his head at me for telling you'all this.

   My granddady was a gobbler hunter his whole like. As a kid growing up I went to a lot of turkey camps. Old timers then all hunted from turkey camps. He hunted a guy in NC,SC boarder at a place called dark corner.

 Granddadys friend own 32,000 acers.  Grandady had 312 spring gobblers in 92 straight springs. Land his friend had 388 fall and spring hunting. I'd been to 8 or 10 of his turkey camps through the years.

  I guess I was 17,18 he throw me a tape. It was a tape his brother made in the 70's. His brother had more racks that I've ever seen to then period. He killed the all just like this.

  I still have that tape. Of his way of hunting down finger ridges. Through the years I've refinded it to my verson. But basic the same.

   Give it a try what you got to lose but your time.

[sleek]

Please explain to the uninformed, that would be me, what a finger ridge is please?

[JW_Halverson]

Please explain to the uninformed, that would be me, what a finger ridge is please?

Ok, you know what a ridgeline is, right?  Along those ridgelines, smaller ridges fall away to the sides with a ravine or shallow bowl on either side.  Those are finger ridges.

[crooketarrow]

 JW here those small scrapes are 1 boundry scrapes from young 1 ,2 year old bucks. Last year just before the rut doe's run that years buck fawn away stops inbreeding. He has to go find his new click. Very seldom is there room where he's ran away from.

 This is why so many 1 1/2's get shot every year.

 Now a year later he's moved on. Found his own little peice of land where he's not bullyed around to much.  He's made boundry scpapes of his new home range.  Ruts coming he knows he surposed to do something he just dos'nt know what.

  So he go's back to his borndry area and makes more SMALL breeding scrapes. Small plate size scrape's. He makes these when he see's and smells other scrapes made by other bucks. Like I said he knows he's sure pose to do some thing.

 If you covered that much land saw only 3 small rubs from last year. Your either scouting the wrong area of or areas. And saw no sign post rubs FROM LAST RUT AND THIS YEARS RUT.

  If your a buck hunter like me I'd move on.  When I go to a new place I scout in the winter and if theirs mature bucks there. The leave sign from last years rut. If I don't find those 3 foot mateing rubs and those big shinny sign post rubs.

 I DON'T THINK TWICE ABOUT MOVEING ON. I can thing of 4 farms through the years I had total hunting rights after scotuing it never hunted it.

The area where you saw these plate size scrape's were likly these 1 1/2 bucks.

  Mature bucks not your 2 1/2 and 3 1/2's but say 4,5,6,year old bucks don't even make scrapes. O they work scrapes made by other bucks. Just make them into their breeding scrape. The smaller bucks not going to do a thing about it.

  I'm not a scrape hunter anymore exspecially with a bow. But a rifle hunting down wind 75, 100 yards depending on the terain.  In the 90's on up to 05 when I quit gun hunting. Me and friend killed so many off real and home made scrapes. That and ringer ridge kills rifles just got to easy.

  But setting up right on a scrape very unlikey a mature bucks coming right to it unless it's dark. If theres been pressure in the area. But set up 75,100 yards down wind of the foirst trail you finds. Set up down wind. no pressure dead deer. If you've put pressure on the areas mature bucks. Stay home watch football. Because no 4,5,6 year olds going to show up inthe day light.

  BET YOU GIVE YOU ODDS

  I have 4 selfbow, mounts 6 rifle mounts, 3 ML, 2 shot gun. 1 pistol (SW 500). All mounts are from bucks 3 1/2 to 7 1/2, 32 skulls, 52 cut off racks. 100 bucks in all, 40 selfbow bucks. Most mounts came from scrapes or finger ridges.

  But this year WV. oked cross bows. I killed a doe in school in the 70's. STEEL RECURVE BOW 2x2 four seamed like STEEL CABLE. So next year I just might try to kill a mature buck.Then give it to my youngest son BRIER.