I think that Charlie's moon phases are a good guideline, but the only way to know when the activity is hot is to be out there. For example, on one property the activity was going ape s--- from around Nov. 1- Nov. 9. About 10 miles away I saw zero rut activity during that time. About Nov. 13 bucks were chasing like crazy on that property 10 miles away. On still another property, I saw a ton of chasing activity from Nov. 14-Nov. 25.

Now those dates aren't that far off, but if you're trying to plan a week vacation those variations can become critical and only one of those examples fell within Charlie's moon phase dates. So, do your homework, go by what you see, and trust your gut while using the experts' information as a guideline. Charlie's good, but it's not gospel.