After 10 years of whiteail research, and just starting another 3 year research project; and guiding whitetail hunterrs since 1989, I can tell you at least two things.

1. The phase of the moon does not dictate when peak rut will occur - so dont worry about it.

2. In at least 2 studies I know of, deer were most active during daylight hours when the moon was in the Full or Last Quarter Phase, and that includes trophy class bucks.

BUT - the effects of the moon on deer behavior can be, and regularly are, overridden by the amount of cloud cover, the temperature, storms, forage availability, the rut, hunting pressure, human behavior, predarory behavior and preccipitation (which you cannot predict much ahead of time). In short - almost anything can override the nmoon. So - don't worry about the moon.

If you want to hunt when bucks act stupid and my be active all day long, hunt the 2-3 weeks when most of the does are in estrus (Google Peak Whitetal Rut, to find out when the rut occurs in your area, or call the state deer researcher and ask them).

If you wnt to hunt when bucks are the most predictable (as to when and where they move), hunt the 2-3 weeks before peak breeding, which is during peak scraping.

God bless,

T.R>