July 28, 2025 – Javin Mullet: Creating a Killer Scrape Location in Illinois

What’s up guys, Javin Mullet here. It’s July 28th and I’m over in Illinois doing some trail work and cleanup. Ben and I had pulled an old ladder stand in this area, and we’re planning to hang a Novix nearby. There’s already a Stealth Cam watching a main trail coming up out of the timber and crossing into the field—tons of natural movement through here.

This spot is right where a ditch makes a head and everything converges, giving us great access from below. There’s also a clearing in the middle that looked perfect for a mock scrape, but no low-hanging limbs nearby like I usually use. After scanning around, I found a couple young beech trees—my favorite trees for mock scrapes. Bucks love rubbing them for whatever reason.

So I grabbed the tractor, cleared out some junk logs and brush, and I’m going to mow it down with the bush hog. Once that’s cleaned up, we’ll throw some Black Widow on that licking branch in a few weeks and monitor it with a cam. I’d bet money this turns into a solid spot—great visibility, good access, and lots of traffic.

Quick tip: If there’s no perfect scrape tree where you want one, don’t give up. Look nearby and use what tools you’ve got to make it work. A chainsaw, weed eater, or in my case today, a tractor can go a long way in dialing it in.

Hoping we’ll catch a shooter cruising through and maybe get a shot opportunity from a Novix from the edge of the ditch.

Before ..

After