Don Higgins is a well-known whitetail hunter who hosts a popular YouTube channel called “Chasing Giants With Higgins.” In the 11-minute video below, Don provides six steps to a successful rope scrape.
Not surprisingly, the location of the rope scrape is the most important factor, but I think you’ll be surprised by a couple of Don’s other tips. When it comes to placing scent on the rope, he relies on products from Smokey's Deer Lures; his favorite is called Wicked Wicks.
For whitetail hunters who are interested in experimenting with rope scrapes but don’t want to buy all the components separately, Wildlife Research Center offers its Golden Rope Scent Kit. It contains three 30-inch ropes, three cable ties for securing the ropes to tree branches, 4 ounces of Golden Rope Scent Concentrate, and a resealable container for mixing and dipping. (Click here to watch a 2-minute how-to video from Melissa Bachman on using setting up a Golden Rope scrape.)
In the past, I’ve had great success using vine scrapes, but I can see the advantages of using rope vs. vine for applying and holding scent. I think I’ll give rope scrapes a try next whitetail season. According to Higgins, the best time to set them up is late winter.
