RE: how will the moon affect elk?
Good information here.
The moon WON" T affect the rut. After two years of elk research I can tell you that neither the gravitational pull of the moon, or the amount of moon light appear to affect the rut.
A full moon (without clouds) often causes elk to leave open areas earlier in the morning than normal, and come out later in the evening than normal (because of the amount of moon LIGHT).
Cloud cover often causes elk to come out earlier in the evening than normal, and stay out longer than normal in the morning.
Tha same things hold true for whitetails, mule deer and moose. No matter what the ' theorists' say.