6 Best Deer Attractant Scents For Mock Scrapes That Old-Timers Swear By
Learn the 6 best deer attractant scents for mock scrapes. We cover the time-tested glandular and estrus lures that old-timers swear by for success.
You walk the edge of your back forty and see it—a patch of earth torn up under a low-hanging branch, smelling of musk and damp soil. That fresh scrape tells a story of a buck marking his territory, a signpost for every deer in the area. For those of us managing smaller properties, we can’t always wait for that sign to appear where we want it; we have to create the story ourselves with a mock scrape. This isn’t just about pouring some scent on the ground; it’s about understanding deer communication and using the right "language" at the right time.
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The Old-Timer’s Guide to Mock Scrapes
A mock scrape is a hunter-made version of a real scrape. It’s a communication hub you create to attract, pattern, and take inventory of the deer on your land. Think of it as setting up the local gossip spot right where you can watch it. A buck doesn’t just make a scrape to attract does; he’s leaving a business card for other bucks and checking for who else has been in the neighborhood.
To be effective, a mock scrape needs three things. First, an overhanging "licking branch" about chest-high, which deer rub with their preorbital and forehead glands. Second, the bare earth pawed out beneath it. Finally, and most importantly, the right scent to complete the illusion.
The biggest mistake is choosing a poor location. A scrape in the middle of an open field is unnatural and will be ignored. You want to place them along natural travel corridors, field edges, or in staging areas just inside the wood line where a buck feels secure enough to visit during daylight. A well-placed, well-maintained mock scrape can influence deer travel patterns right past your stand.
Tink’s #69: The Legendary Doe-in-Rut Lure
There isn’t a hunter alive who hasn’t seen that iconic bottle with the red cap. Tink’s #69 is legendary for a simple reason: it works. It’s a powerful blend of 100% natural doe estrous urine collected from a single doe at the peak of her cycle, and its unmistakable odor has been pulling in bucks for generations.
This is your go-to lure for the pre-rut and the peak of the rut. When bucks are cruising with their noses to the ground, searching for that one receptive doe, the scent of Tink’s #69 can stop them in their tracks. It screams "hot doe right here, right now," and that’s a message few bucks can ignore. A few drops in your mock scrape during this window can make it an irresistible target.
The tradeoff with such a potent scent is timing. Using it too early in the season can feel out of place and might even make a mature buck suspicious. It’s a high-impact tool best saved for when the woods are electric with rutting activity. Think of it as your finishing move, not your opening play.
Code Blue Grave Digger for All-Season Scrapes
For the hobby farmer or weekend hunter, time is our most limited resource. We can’t always be out there freshening up scrapes every few days. That’s where a product like Code Blue’s Grave Digger shines. It’s not just a liquid scent; it’s a time-release system designed for longevity.
The concept is brilliant in its simplicity. You get a bag of scent-infused soil that you bury directly in your mock scrape. The scent remains dormant until it’s activated by moisture, like rain or even a heavy morning dew. This keeps the scrape smelling fresh and active for weeks on end, working for you even when you’re not there.
Grave Digger is perfect for establishing community scrapes early in the season. You can set it and forget it, allowing deer to become conditioned to visiting that spot long before the rut kicks in. It builds a pattern of behavior that you can capitalize on later when you switch to more aggressive estrous scents.
Wildlife Research Center’s Golden Scrape
A real scrape is rarely visited by just one deer. It’s a community hub where multiple deer leave their mark. Wildlife Research Center’s Golden Scrape is formulated to mimic exactly that—a high-traffic area full of complex messages.
This isn’t just a simple urine-based lure. Golden Scrape is a blend of scents, including key forehead and preorbital gland secretions, along with doe urine. It creates the illusion that several deer have already visited your mock scrape, which can trigger a powerful, competitive response from a dominant buck. When he smells this, his instinct is to investigate and re-mark the scrape as his own.
Because it smells like a whole herd, Golden Scrape is incredibly versatile. It’s effective from the early pre-rut all the way through the late season. It’s less about screaming "estrus" and more about saying, "This is the place to be." That makes it a reliable choice for keeping a scrape active for months.
Mrs. Doe Pee’s Estrus: The Fresh Advantage
In the world of deer scents, freshness is king. Urine begins to break down and change composition the moment it leaves the deer, and an old, ammonia-heavy scent can be a dead giveaway to a wary buck. This is where Mrs. Doe Pee’s has built its reputation: delivering fresh, premium urine.
The company focuses on collecting, bottling, and shipping its products quickly, often with "fresh" or "use by" dates. This ensures the complex pheromones and chemical signals that trigger a buck’s response are as potent and natural as possible. When you use a truly fresh estrous scent, the realism is unmatched.
Of course, this premium quality comes with tradeoffs. It’s generally more expensive, and you have to pay attention to its shelf life. You can’t just buy a bottle in August and expect it to be prime in mid-November. This is the scent you buy right before a big hunt during the peak rut, when you need every possible advantage to lure in a mature, cautious buck.
James Valley Scents Full Rut Collection
Sometimes, telling a simple story isn’t enough; you need to write a whole chapter. James Valley Scents encourages this by offering collections that allow you to create a complex, believable scenario at your mock scrape. Instead of one bottle, you might get dominant buck urine, doe estrous, and tarsal gland scent.
This system approach lets you paint a detailed picture. For example, you can place doe estrous scent in the pawed-out earth, then use a bit of dominant buck urine on the overhanging licking branch. This tells an incoming buck that a rival is already here tending a hot doe, a challenge that can provoke an immediate and aggressive response.
Using a scent system requires a bit more thought than just pouring from a single bottle. You have to understand what each scent communicates. But for the hunter who enjoys the chess match of the whitetail woods, it provides an incredible set of tools to manipulate deer behavior and create highly specific, compelling setups.
ConQuest EverCalm: The Calming Herd Scent
Not all effective scents are attractants. ConQuest EverCalm is a perfect example; it’s a "calming" scent, not a lure. It’s made from the collected bedding scents of a whole herd of deer—bucks, does, and fawns. It doesn’t signal danger or breeding; it signals safety and normalcy.
So, how do you use this at a mock scrape? You use it as a complementary scent to put deer at ease. Apply some EverCalm on the approach trail to your scrape or on the surrounding foliage. When a deer comes to investigate the primary lure (like an estrous scent), the familiar smell of a relaxed herd in the air lowers its guard and makes it less likely to be spooked by a foreign odor.
Think of it as setting the mood. The estrous lure is the main event, but the EverCalm is the background music that makes the whole scene more believable. For pressured deer on small properties, creating this bubble of safety around your scrape can be the difference between a buck checking it from a distance and one that walks right in.
Scent Placement and Timing for Best Results
Having the best scent in the world won’t help if you use it improperly. Placement and timing are everything. When applying scent, less is more. A few drops on the licking branch (to mimic glandular deposits) and a small amount in the bare earth is all you need. Always wear rubber boots and scent-free gloves to avoid contaminating the area with human odor.
Timing your scent strategy to the phases of the rut is critical for success.
- Early Season (September – Early October): Focus on curiosity and communication. Use non-estrous, all-season lures like Golden Scrape or Grave Digger to establish your mock scrapes as community hubs.
- Pre-Rut (Late October – Early November): Bucks are now actively checking scrapes. Start introducing estrous scents like Tink’s #69. This is when the excitement begins to build.
- Peak Rut (Mid-November): This is the time for your most potent, fresh estrous scents like Mrs. Doe Pee’s. Bucks are actively searching for receptive does, and a powerful estrous lure can be the most effective tool in your arsenal.
Finally, consider using a scent drag to your stand, but be smart about it. Use a non-estrous scent on your walk in to avoid leaving a trail that a buck might follow from the wrong direction. Then, switch to an estrous lure for a short drag leading directly past your shooting lane and to your mock scrape. This creates a clear path for an interested buck to follow.
At the end of the day, these scents are tools, not magic potions. The real art lies in using them to tell a believable story in the right location at the right time of year. By understanding what each scent communicates and matching it to the deer’s natural behavior, you can transform a patch of dirt into a powerful magnet that draws deer in and gives you a front-row seat to their world.
