ORIGINAL: Pops423
Greg,
I read the same article and wondered the same thing. Your statement on human pressure is very true and can even slow the rut or make it nocturnal activity (as I experienced this year.)
Your chart on the average conception date was interesting because it shows approximately the 14th as the best date. PA recently did a study and came up with the same dates. So with that said, does that mean the Moon really has nothing to do with it?
I'm still up in the air with what role the moon plays. I believe that the deer basically come into heat within 3-4 days of the same time every year. I do think that it can change some of their rutting activity to be later in the evening and into the night. This year I noticed that after November 7th, most of my sightings were during the last 15 minutes of shooting light.