Communication is Key
No, this is not your wife speaking. But it's true that to have success in anything you do you need to learn how to successfully communicate - the same holds true in hunting. Whitetail bucks communicate several ways. Grunting is a form of communication, and anyone who has ever seen a confrontation between a dominant and a subordinate buck knows that these critters display very telling body language as another form of communication. But the most common form of communication between bucks is through scents.
Scrapes are a common form of scent communication. During the fall bucks create scrapes by clearing the leaves off an area and urinating down their legs and across the glands on the inside of the mid-leg area. Often, scrapes will also feature a limb, called a licking branch, overhead that bucks rub their heads on to leave scent. The scrape communicates that a buck lives in the area, and that's important to does and other bucks. Many hunters believe that does will mark scrapes with their own urine when they near peak estrous as a signal to the resident bucks.
A common hunting tactic is to create a mock scrape, and Moultrie's Scent Boss is the best way to maintain a mock scrape without contaminating the area with human scent. The Scent Boss is the first battery operated scent dripper. Powered by 2 AAA batteries, the Scent Boss drips urine for sixteen seconds either once or twice a day depending on your preference. The unit holds three ounces of urine, enough for up to two months of use without attention. This allows the hunter to create a mock scrape, fill, set and hang the unit, then get out of there and hunt carefree for nearly the entire season.
Making a mock scrape is easy. Scrape away leaves with a stick (do not use your hands as this will leave human scent). Fill the Scent Boss with your favorite deer urine (we suggest Code Blue because unlike other urines, each bottle of Code Blue contains the urine from a single animal, not a blend of urine from a bunch of deer). Hang the Scent Boss over the cleared area, set to drip once or twice a day, start and get out. It's that simple. The Scent Boss will drip fresh urine into the scrape for the next two months. 
A well placed mock scrape will become a regular stop for resident bucks, and some will begin to use the scrape themselves. This is especially true of dominant bucks. Many scrapes are hit by bucks at night, but this is where a mock scrape maintained by the Scent Boss gives you an advantage.
Bucks during the rut are territorial. A scrape that is continually freshened with urine every day often will prompt a buck to visit the scrape more often in an attempt to catch the trespasser. Still, when hunting a dominant buck, the last hour of shooting light is often best, at least until the peak of the rut.
Creating your mock scrape in a productive area is important. One of the best spots for a scrape is in a funnel area. Funnels are natural or manmade areas that force deer to travel through a small area. Funnels can be areas where two bluffs come together, a creek crossing, a strip of timber connecting two larger blocks, etc.
Instead of creating a mock scrape, if you can locate an old natural scrape you're ahead of the game. In this instance, you already know it is in a productive area.
Once you have your mock scrape created, give some thought to how you'll hunt it. Bucks often approach a scrape from downwind, so make certain your stand is not directly upwind of the scrape. Bow hunters should place their stands within bow range of the scrape; rifle hunters should back off a ways to better their odds.
Don't wait until the season arrives to create your scrape. Knight & Hale Pro Staffer Jack Coad starts his mock scrapes in June or early July. "By the time the season rolls around, at least three or four of the eight or nine scrapes I create have been taken over by resident bucks," he says.
For more information on Moultrie's Scent Boss click here.