Deer movement
 

I have been out driving around my house the past few days and have seen little deer activities in the fields. Normally I will drive around and see 30-60 deer per night. I was wondering if the new moon has any effect on their movement. Most of the deer i did see were small bucks and a really small fawn by itself that couldn't be more than a few days old. Has anyone noticed this trend in their area in the past few days? I live outside of philadelphia if that helps. thanks

RE: Deer movement
 

I think you will find several studies indicating that deer are affected by moon phase...including new. Personally I have been seeing quite a bit of deer activity over the last few days...especially preceeding these thunder-boomers we have been getting in the afternoon. In a related issue, when I pulled the film from my game cam this past weekend it recorded 83 "events" in the 6 days I had it out. I consider that pretty significant for the area I hunt.

RE: Deer movement
 

Probably because you have been driving around a few days. Give em a little break, they will be back.

RE: Deer movement
 

we drive around on the roads and glass them in the fields.....these deer are normally pretty predictable and even continue these summer habits all the way into feb because lack of hunting pressure.....PAbowhntr......what times were most of your pictures on your camera? i still have been seeing some deer but not the numbers we have seen in the past......i found it odd too that almost all of the deer were small bucks....i read hunting whitetails by the moon and they were saying that 1/4 and 3/4 were the best time to hunt.....here is my deer log from the same areas last time....maybe they still aren't heading out yet:

Deer Log

Sunday May 16, 2004:
7:45-8:35pm
Temp. 67-71 degrees
Pressure: 30.27 Rising
Moon: Last quarter
Winds: 3 mph NW
Humidity: 61%
Notes: Only 15 deer seen, most closer to dark, no nice bucks, mainly does and one or two small bucks.
Conclusion: Moon phase and rising barometer means the deer won’t be moving until night fall.

Monday May 24, 2004
7:45-8:30pm
Temp.81-83 degrees
Pressure: 29.76 rising
Moon: First quarter
Winds: 9 mph SSW
Humidity: 56%
Notes: Only 12 deer seen, most after 8, no nice bucks, 2 young bucks at 7:50
Conclusion: Not quite sure what was going on, with storms in the area, would have though they would be moving but not really

Wednesday May 26, 2004
7:45-8:35 pm
Temp. 67-68 degrees
Pressure: 29.74 steady
Moon: First quarter
Winds: 5 mph ENE
Humidity: 87%
Notes: 28 deer seen, 8 buck seen, 2 could be nice out of bachelor group of 4, saw equal amount at times, some early, some later.
Conclusions: Storms to the north and cooler temps have caused the deer to move earlier. Most and biggest deer seen this year today. Could sense it was going to be good.

June 1, 2004
7:55-8:45 pm
Temp. 58-64 degrees
Pressure: 29.76 rising
Moon: Full Moon
Winds: 6 mph WSW
Humidity: 61%
Notes: 15 deer seen, not many until 5 in abbey, only like 3 bucks seen, like all deer are 1.5 or less years old, saw the first real fawn of the year
Conclusion: Thunderstorms are going to be here any minute but I think that the moon phase is affecting them from moving. Full moon equals hunting closer to the beds instead of closer to the fields

June 7, 2004
7:45-8:45pm
Temp. 70-78 degrees
Pressure: 30.15 steady
Moon: Getting closer to ¾
Winds: Calm
Humidity: 62%
Notes: 37 deer seen, at least 9 of them were bucks, still no older bigger bucks yet, saw one with a floppy ear, place by ajay’s house saw 15 deer with at least 6 bucks,
Conclusion: Wednesday a warm front will be moving through the area, could have some impact on the deer movement, mostly single deer seen early, then small herds of deer here and there at the end, and would have been a good day for hunting

June 22, 2004
8:15-8:45 pm
Temp: 69-71 degrees
Pressure: 29.83 rising
Moon: First quarter
Winds: Calm
Humidity: 96%
Notes: not a long drive but saw at least 17 deer and 9 were bucks, one nicer probably 8-10 point, saw 4 different foxes in the abby
Conclusion: severe thunderstorms just went through our area and this had the deer on the move, seems as though they like the wet grass a little better, could have seen more deer but didn’t drive to far

June 27, 2004
7:30-9:00 pm
Temp: 68-76 degrees
Pressure: 30.09 rising
Moon: 3 quarters
Winds: Calm
Humidity: 61%
Notes: long drive today produced a lot of deer, 24 bucks out of 54 deer seen and a couple of real nice bucks too, saw a doe with 2 fawns, also saw some deer bedded in the fields
Conclusions: perfect day to be hunting, as it got cooler, more and more deer seen, first time I have seen a couple of nice bucks with one at least being a 10, probably a 12. All the bucks were in bachelor groups with at least 3 or 4 other bucks. As summer goes on, the bucks will be more and more relaxed

June 28, 2004
7:30-8:30pm
Temp: 70-72 degrees
Pressure: 30.01 steady
Moon: 3 quarters
Winds: Calm
Humidity: 64%
Notes: saw 38 deer, only 10 or less bucks and nothing of any size, all does, fawns and yearlings out
Conclusions: Storms are headed for tonight and I would have thought there would have been a lot more deer out. The barometer is steady though for some reason so they are on their normal schedule I guess.

July 15, 2004
7:40-8:40 pm
Temp: 70-73 degrees
Pressure: 29.70 rising
Moon: Last Quarter
Winds: WSW 6mph
Humidity: 61%
Notes: saw 50 deer but only 6 of them were bucks. Most were yearling, does and fawns. Saw one huge 8-10 in the cove and another 8 or so at the farm we can now hunt. Also, saw about 4-5 deer bedded in the fields
Conclusion: for some reason, I couldn’t find any bachelor groups tonight. All the bucks were singles for some reason. A little out of the norm for this time of year, normally see a couple groups of bucks

July 24, 2004
7:40-8:45 pm
Temp: 69-73 degrees
Pressure: 30.23 rising
Moon: Half
Winds: Calm
Humidity: 87%
Notes: saw 60 deer, with about 17 bucks including 2 monsters and a lot of nicer bucks. Saw a bachelor group of like 5 bucks near the farm. Lots of does and yearlings as well.
Conclusion: a couple bachelor groups tonight. With lower than normal temps, I think the deer were out and moving because with summer coats it was probably a little cool. The two monsters were almost like twin brothers and didn’t care what was going on. Hunting at the farms corner might look like the best place for us come hunting season.

July 25, 2004
7:30-8:35
Temp: 71-72 degrees
Pressure: 30.24 rising
Moon: Half
Winds: NNE 5mph
Humidity: 76%
Notes: saw 65 deer, with 18 bucks but all of the deer were young ones. Only found like 2 bachelor groups. Not sure why tonight was not as good for big bucks because last night was a good one
Conclusions: lots of deer but no old ones. Can’t figure out why

August 8, 2004
Time: 7:30- 8:45 pm
Temp: 67-79 degrees
Pressure: 30.10 steady
Moon: Half
Winds: SSW 3mph
Humidity: 21%
Notes: didn’t even need to count the number of deer tonight. One word, tons! Lots of deer everywhere with at least 11 nice to huge deer. Every deer pretty much that we know of is out and about before the sunset tonight.
Conclusions: There was a chill on the air that I know was going to get the deer moving. This was one of those nights where you know that you are going to see deer. The older deer were moving early as well. The low humidity, along with the half moon and the falling temps set up the perfect combo for the perfect evening hunt. WOW, I wish I could be hunting right now!

RE: Deer movement
 

Well done on the logs!

It was the hottest day in 2 1/2 years here the othe day. I think that was the reason.