What is the Scraping phase of the rut?

Updated October 20, 2026

Scraping is the second phase of the rut in StagSense, two to three weeks before peak breeding, when bucks are working scrapes as scraping nears its peak.

When it happens

In StagSense, Scraping covers the 21 to 15 days before your area's peak. Where a source shows a wider breeding window, the phases stretch. A University of Georgia deer researcher told American Hunter that peak scraping is always about two weeks before peak breeding, and that scraping drops once breeding starts.

What deer are doing

Most scrape visits happen at night. In a camera study of scrape visits reported by American Hunter, 85% of buck visits and 75% of doe visits came after dark.

Bucks do most of the work at a scrape. In a 2024 study of 107 scrape sites, bucks made 73% of the visits where a deer interacted with the scrape, does 23% and fawns 4%.

That study also recorded more scraping by yearling bucks, and more in daylight, than earlier studies had.

How hunters approach it

If you plan to hunt over scrapes, hunt them in the weeks before breeding, not after. In that camera study, about half of all scrape visits came in a single week, and the University of Georgia researcher says scraping falls off once breeding begins.

In StagSense

The rut phase card shows the phase you are in today and its intensity, free. Premium adds phase-based rut strategy: tactical guidance for every stage of the rut. See what each tier shows.