hardcorehunter

What do you guys do with the moon and prerut, rut, and postrut hunting. I watched a guy talk about the moons effect on deerin November and he said that the 3 days before a full moon through three days after the full moon is the peak of bucks on the prowl looking for does in the midwest. I have done this for the last two seasons and have noticed a lot of deer activity during this time wheneverI can get out. I am self-employed and usually just too damn busy to just take off and hunt.This year it shows the full moon on nov 5th so I am going to take off and hunt the 2nd through the 8th and live in a treestand and just say to hell with work. Any of you use the moon or just go a certain day or week of the month? Here is a moon chart too. http://www.hotspotfishing.com/learn/moon.asp
HCH



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kevin1

It's also the peak of their photoperiodism , which has a far greater effect than the full moon ever will .

lemoyne

Yes, I hunt from the half moon before the full moon through the full moon in Nov. I save one tag just for this.Lee

huntingson

Honestly, the peak of buck movement here in Ohio is from the 4th to the 15th every year except one when it was about 80 degrees at that time. I don't know if it postponed the rut or if they were just too dang hot to run around in the daytime. Every other year you see bucks roaming around starting on the 4th and then they peak about the 11th and after the 15th it starts to dwindle off. It would seem as though the moon has little to no effect at least by my observations. Iread in an article in American Hunter last yearto make sure you are in a stand the 9-13 of November. Sounded about right to me no matter what phase the moon is in.

Antler Eater

I would never argue with anybody over the phase of the moon and buck movement, all of us have our own ideas and idiosycrasies.I have kept journals on my personal experiencesspending hundreds of hours in the stand each year, some years hunting at least a portion ofeveryday from the end of October to the end of November and nothing jumps out at me concerning moon phase and buck movement; nothing. As much respect and admiration that I have for Charles Alsheimer I can't agree with him 100 % on his views concerning the moon phase...but then what do I know, I am a nobody.

The biggest buck I ever drew down on (a booner that I couldn't close the deal on)wasn't anywhere near the rut (Oct. 7th). If a fella is planning a trip for whitetails in the midwest I certainly would pick the month of Novemberfor obvious reasons. However, if you are just picking days to go hunting; then a guy should hunt every opportunity that he has a chance too if he wants to be successful. The besttime to hunt isevery chanceyou can.

On more than one occasion I have been in the position where time on stand was scarce. I can think of times when by the time I got ready and got to my stand I would have less than 30 minutes to sit until dark. More than once I was dragging a buck out of the woods under those conditions.

There is a school of thought that believes a full moon is detrimental to hunting. The idea being that the extra amount of light reflected at night causes more nightime movement which reduces daytime movement due to energy loss. Again I think there are too many variables in the life of a mature buck in any given area to make any kind of a blanket statement either way.

Hardcore I think your plan is a good one but in my little pea brain way of thinkingit doesn't have anything to do with the phase of the moon. Time of the year, and this statement "so I am going to take off and hunt the 2nd through the 8th and live in a treestand " lead me to believe you have good odds at being successful.

Good luck, and be sure and show us the pics....

njbuck22

I have mixed feelings on this subject. First of all i am a firm believer that there is never a bad time to be in a tree, afterall, you got to be in it to win it. Every minute you spend in the woods is going increase your chances of success.That being said, there are surely better times that others. My own personal records from last season shows that deer movement in general went way down in morning hunts there was a full moon. Afternoon hunts i still saw activity, but not as much as normal. This past year though i didnt see as much activity as in past years though, which i thinkwas caused by a banner acorn crop. There were acorns EVERYWHERE where i hunt and i just dont think the deer had to move at all. Any time in November is a great time to be in the stand no matter what phase of the moon. Like antlereater said, dont forget the camera!

kevin1

If I'm betting a tag on it I prefer about two weeks before the peak of the rut while they're chasing the heaviest where i live , I see more deer during that timeframe than at any other time , and you gotta see 'em to shoot 'em . Once the rut peaks most of the bucks are on a doe's back almost continuously , especially if he lucks into a herd situation where the majority of them are coming into season . Would you move around , especially during the day , if you had that kind of luck ?

hardcorehunter

The IA DNR always has said that the peak is the 2nd week in november. I would say that the 3 days before the full moon till 3 days after than is perfect than.
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Greg / MO

There is much wisdom in what Antler Eater writes, and I concur completely.

I hunt Southern Illinois each year, and every season someone will come out and say "This year, the rut will kick in ______." You fill in the blank; it seems to change each year depending upon myriad conditions. I can tell you with some authority, based upon years of experience and paying some pretty hefty taxidermy bills, that I don't care what anyone says, don't try to find me the week leading up to Nov. 11th, no matter what's going on. That's the magic week for our area, and I don't care what phase the moon is in.

BowBuilder

I'd say hunt the first week of November, regardless of moon phase. Here in Virginia, the deer go nuts during that week. If it is the same way in Iowa, deer will be very active.
The only thing I might consider as far as moon phases istime of dayto hunt. I know during dark moon, deer stir more during dawn and dusk. I've read on one of the other threads on HNI that deer stir more midday during full moon. 'Course if you hunt all day it really doesn't matter either way .