Mottz

Anyone really go by these? If so could you explain why these seem to be so important. I've read about them but I just don't understand too much of it. I watch the barometric pressure alot more than the moon. Just wondering how this really affects the deer?

AF Hunter

As I understand it, the gravitational pull of the moon affects wildlife. I didn't put much weight into it at first but in an attempt to prove it was a bunch of bunk for fishing, I actually ended up proving to myself it is effective.I have a friend who told me that he didn't know about moon phases, but if the cattle were laying down, it wasa good time to fish. I also noticed when the peak times were predicted, cattle would be laying down. I then gave it a try with small game and once again it was right on target. I have not looked at it with deer hunting basically because during the hunting season, I am out there every chance I get to fill my tags. I watch the barometer too. Don't know if that helps you or not, but it can't hurt to check when you see a lot of deer against the lunar tables and see whether or not it is accurate.

OKbowhunter20

That is new to me. I might have to look in to that.

SouthernStrut56

Ever since I can remember I've heard my grandparents and parents say if the cattle are lying down it's going to rain soon, and it's true about 90% of the time. Older folks are much wiser, listen to your elders! Therefore, we all know before a front moves in is a great time to fish, so I would say this is true. I watch the barometric pressureduring turkey season, as higher pressure usually results in a great day for loud excited gobbling, but wild animals aren't 100% predictable. I also somewhat plan my deer huntingaround moon phases, have for the last 3 years and have been much more successful. I've seen more deer and I've taken 2 nice bucks the last two seasons, 11 point and 13 point. I have a basspro king of bucks calendar that has predicted deer activity by moon phases for each day during hunting seasons (developed by some guy named Allen "Horntagger" Morris), and it gives you a great idea as to what time the deer will likely be moving and if there will be heavy or slow activity that day. The activity levels are in percentages as follows: LOW is 19% and under (doesn't go less than around 14%), MEDIUM is 20%-25%, HIGH 26%-29%, and HIGHEST is 30%-36% (36 is highest it shows on here). It also tells what time of day the most activity is predicted. Of course many other factors play into deer activity on your own land, hunting pressure, urban activity, weather, amount of rain or lack thereof, buck-doe ratio, your own skills as a hunter (scent control, scouting, etc.), probably many more. I'm not an expert by any means, I'm just going by what the calendar says and things I've learned from other people and my own experiences.Going by the calendar,the best times to hunt are historically 1st quarter and last quarter moons, 1st quarter being the highest. During full moons activity is actually at its lowest of the month, followed closely by the new moon. As for times of the day, 1st quarter is highest and any time of day holds a good chance of seeing deer, moving into the full moon activity starts to drop and mornings are the best time to hunt. Moving into the last quarter phase activity picks back up each day and mid-day is the best time to see activity. As the phase moves to the new moon, activity drops again and any time of day holds an equal chance of seeing deer. Then it keeps repeating. On the day I killed mybig buckthis past January, the calendar says MEDIUM activity of 25% with no time of day specified. I killed him at 7:30 AM in heavy fog, not chasing any does, but working a serious rubline where I pinpointed him at. Down here they don't rut until about the second or third week of January most of the time, so that has a huge affect of course. Again, I'm no expert, I just use this calendar to kind of give me an idea of how the moon affects deer movement, and I've found it very useful.

thehairlessone!

i never paid much attention to it before but I amgoingto give it a try and see what I think. I cant plan my hunting around it for the most part though. When I got time to go hunting, I go.

rick

kwilson16

Exactly!

RobinAim Low

I have posted some detailed info not long ago in two different threads about how I use the moon in hunting. Rather than regurgitate it, you can do a search, or check my posts under my profile, if you are interested. Basically, sureI hunt when I can, but I do use moon position to help me make choices on stand position and time in the woods.

BTW, catttle are going to lay down part of every day...so, no, it is not 90% correct that it will rain if they are laying down. Think about it...they would sure get tired of standing during a drought, LOL.

SouthernStrut56

That's not the only damn time they lay down, that's ignorant. Cattle tend to lay down for no aparent reason before a front moves through, even if they aren't tired. Let me say it another way. About 90% of the time, cattle are lying down before it rains. Make sense now?