I found an active scrape.  How far from it should I put a ground blind?  The season starts in two weeks.  I can get clear line of sight out to 50 feet.

Little early for scrapes. Are you positive?

To me, 50' is less than 20 yards so I would just get as far as possible to avoid detection.  A 17 yard shot is just fine.  I would also consider other runways / features in this area where you might have a shot opportunity - this might change the placement a bit.  Also, consider the prevailing wind direction in the area during hunting season.  You want to be downwind of the scrape you want to hunt.  If that means being a bit closer, the wind is more important than the distance.
 

One scrape this time of year is not something I would hunt.

Look around that area for a line of scrapes or rubs. If you can find a line of rubs and or scrapes, then follow that line in both directions to see where they go.

Look for a thick cover area that can be used for bedding on one end and a food source on the other. If you can find those, then you have an active travel corridor and hunting a funnel along that would be good. If no funnel, then just outside the bedding area in the morning or just outside the food area in the evening along the travel corridor would be good to hunt.


If the area has multiple scrapes with several around the same tree or several  very close together at a trail junction, then that is probably a primary scrape area and is a destination of it's own. Hunt that.


But a lone scrape may not be visited again. It may or may not be part of a travel corridor.

Good luck.


ETA. You don't want to be upwind of the likely area the buck will show up, but you also do not want to be downwind.  You want to be cross wind and 20+ yards off his corridor or away from his primary scrape area.  A buck will approach from the down wind so the wind is in his face which means as he approaches, you will be upwind of him if you are down wind of his corridor or scrape area. The ideal is to be cross wind with a small quatering away so your scent is cartied slightly away from his direction of approach which will be from the down wind. He will want to smell the area as he approaches.

Good advice here.

"Little early for scrapes"

Yes, but I saw several this weekend during our treestand maintenance day(9 stands).

Can you get up into a tree near that scrape? 17 yards away from a treestand would be perfect IMO.

Sat about 20 yards from the scrape all weekend and never saw a deer.  I've got a trail cam out now and I'm looking for a better spot.  Thanks for all the comments.

Sitting on an area this time of year for 2 days may leave enough scent to pressure a buck to change his pattern or go nocturnal or both.

Look for heavy use deer trails. These will be doe trails.

Follow the trails looking for feeding areas and thick cover for bedding. Don't go into the bedding areas.

If you are hunting wooded areas, look at any kind of edge you can find. Fences, streams, between ponds, just inside dirt roads, edge between old growth and new growth, edge between pine and hardwood, marsh and forest, natural low spots between higher spots, 1/3 rd the way up small ridges, field and forest, or any other type of natural distinction between terrain or vegetation you can find.

Find a junction of trails leading to or from those areas or a natural funnel between the areas. Hunt that early in the season.

Young bucks will follow the doe trails, Mature bucks will follow the doe trails offset and parallel or intersecting to be downwind of the trails and will check them from a distance while in heavy cover.

Look for rubs and scrapes in a line. This will be a bucks travel corridor. Along the buck's travel corridor find small open areas that are surronded by good cover. Those are potential prime scrape areas. Old scrapes may be visible to confirm this. Hunt this end of Oct through nov.

. Always de-scent and wear rubber boats when scouting. Try not to touch anything.

If you leave too much scent, they will change their routines and or go nocturnal.

Keep us posted. If you want to read a very informative book, read Bow Hunting Pressured Whitetails. Eberhart

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