Tyler Adsit

There are so many factors that come into play that can cause the rut to be dead or active in your area to specify that it is simply due to moon phase is inaccurate. I agree with Oldtimr somewhat that daylight vs darkness assists with triggering some of the rut activity but do not feel that is not the sole factor. Temperature does play a part in regards to how active deer are going to be. The rut may be on but if it is 80+ degrees out deer are not going to travel as far from their current location regardless if a doe is being pushed or not by a buck. Daylight also plays a role that if there is a full moon currently nighttime activity will typically be greater than daytime activity. Each one of these are not hard set rules though as it greatly depends if you also have does that are in estrus in your area. Studies that I have read show that moon phase and weather conditions do not play a role at all in when a doe comes into estrus but is more is based on when the deer is born, health and normal life cycle. Some does start coming into estrus in October as well as some spring fawns will come into estrus later that fall the year they were born. Depending on deer density in your area will play a large role in if you have a lot of activity or not. The rut can be on and you may have a hot doe 80 acres away that has 5 bucks trailing her but you may never see her or the bucks and think the rut is non-existent in your area. Best bet is to be in the stand as much as you can be near the end of October through the first two weeks of November in the Midwest. Good luck to you this year.