Do moon phases really impact deer hunting?? I know in a full moon deer tend to stay out and feed throughout the night but does that have any impact on their movement in the early mornings or late evenings??

Yes it does,It changes some for each set of circumstances. If you check your feeding areas with a good trail cam and compare the times to the phase of the moon you can see what I mean. Lee

I believe that statistics show that a full moon produces more successful hunts then other phases. That said, I have always had areal tough time hunting in the morning after a full moon.

Moon phases do have an effect on the deer movement, but the one that really gets me is that guy who has made who knows how much money writing books, etc about the rut and the moon phases. I am going to write a book on predicting the rut in the Midwest, and it will consist of, "The pre-rut will be in early November and the peak of the rut will be in mid-November". That is free to all hutningnet members. If you want an autograph just let me know

You might be interested in Moonbeams, a DVD that explores this topic.

--FLIX

not that im against the studies but i use to buy that moon dial thing every year till i figured out that there was a pattern. it always seemed that on the 5th day after a full moon the guide said it was good activity. so now i keep my money. another way to look at it is JUST GO HUNTING WHENEVER YOU CAN AND SCREW THE VOODOO

The only thing I've noticed is that if a full moon is out at night.....No need getting to your stand before about 9 am. They move more mid day. Other than that........I have no idea.

I myself am a firm believer in hunting the "T" during the full moon. Deer tend to move more between Ten am and Two pm when the moon is full. I still get to my blind well befor sun up and stay till too dark to shoot. Might be that the Big Guy Hasn't seen all the articals that tell when deer are suppose to move.

Actually, I have found my most productive hunting to be around the new (dark) moon, especially if the pre-rut (first week of Nov for me) falls during this time. The two best seasons I have ever had occured when it wasa new moon on the first week of Nov. But the trend holdstrue for me throughout thehunting season. Once the full moon is in, I am hard pressed to see anything. However, I do most of my huntingduring dawn and dusk...so that may be the difference. I'll have to try the rule of T mentioned early in this thread during the 2006 season on a full moon and see what happens.

Over the years, I've seen nearly zero deer on the morning hunt following a full moon. Heavy cloudcover can negate this to a degree though. On one of the very few experiences I had were I did see a deer, it was during the rut and the doe was nice enough to bring the 8 point right past me. He went about 40 yards.