Is this a scrape?

[Goolahg]

Curious

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[WhatToHunt]

It could be, looks like a deer track in it? Hard to tell, but could be turkeys scratching too. Most scrapes I see have the scrape in the ground in conjunction with a branch or shrub of some kind above it which they mess with or rake their antlers on. Then again deer make random scrapes here and there, have seen it when they're fired up and posturing to another buck.

 

[Goolahg]

Im also curious what kind of call I should be making this time a year if I know the buck is in the area. I only got him running away after I broke a branch coming in. Im certain he didnt hear me and wind was in my favor.

There are a lot of bedding areas around. Like 4 to be exact. All within like 50 to 70 yards of eachother.

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[Drenalin]

Hard to tell from the picture. Without seeing a track or hoof marks in it, and without a licking branch, I would probably ignore it. Instead of hunting over that bare spot, hunt in between those bedding areas.

 

[WhatToHunt]

Im also curious what kind of call I should be making this time a year if I know the buck is in the area. I only got him running away after I broke a branch coming in. Im certain he didnt hear me and wind was in my favor.

There are a lot of bedding areas around. Like 4 to be exact. All within like 50 to 70 yards of eachother.

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I've had mixed results with calling. My preference is to start quiet and work my way up to louder stuff, although that can depend how windy it is and how far away the buck is. Around this time of the rut a couple years ago I had called in (and shot) a buck I could see checking does. He was within 80 yards and walking away so I hit a estrus can call twice and grunted softly twice (directly away from him, not toward him). He came in on a string. But the next buck might not care at all or worse, take off running. Ha! Rattling can be effective, but I don't like to start with it because I think it's really aggressive. Plus if you happen to not notice a deer nearby, they could get freaked out by it. I think it depends on the particular deer and his demeanor in the moment as well as his personality overall. Some are more receptive to calling than others, I think. More often than not, I like to see if the buck will naturally make his way to me. Sometimes it's just the reminder that I need to be patient and see what happens. If he's going the other way and it's a last ditch effort, I'll get to calling and sometimes throw it all at him. I haven't tried a snort wheeze, but people have luck with it of course.

 

[Rich M]

I don't call.

Likewise, have seen little scrapes like that done by overzealous bucks on an almost ready doe or something. If hunting scrapes, find one you can smell 10-15 feet away w rubs near it.