The Rut: Believe it, or Not?
 

How many of you believe in thetheory that the Moon triggers the Rut?

For those of you who aren't familiar with what I am talking about. The Rut kicks off when the 2nd full moon after the fall equinox. (in theory)

Do you think it is myth, or fact?

RE: The Rut: Believe it, or Not?
 

I'm not sure what to believe when it comes to the moon and hunting lol. I've had great days when "experts" said it'd suck, and I've had horrible days when they said it'd be great. And vice versa

RE: The Rut: Believe it, or Not?
 

I've seen a lot of info on it and I'm not sold on it. I have been hunting 30+ years and the rut seems to time out the same every year. I think the way to test it would be to compare conception dates against the full moon info for many years and see if there is a pattern.

RE: The Rut: Believe it, or Not?
 

To me the rut start when I see them chasing the doe and start fighting with other bucks!! The moon does do some freaky things though!

RE: The Rut: Believe it, or Not?
 

I believe it.

RE: The Rut: Believe it, or Not?
 

Nope, our rut starts about the second week in January and they will chase does and scrape till later March. I don't see how that would add up to the "moon theory".

RE: The Rut: Believe it, or Not?
 

i believe its a fact, where do you guys look at for the best hunting times? (moon charts)

RE: The Rut: Believe it, or Not?
 

Absolutely believe it, read Hunting Whitetails by Moon by Charlie Alsheimer or something else along these lines and you'll believe it to once you hear about his 15000 data points and 20-year on going study;)

RE: The Rut: Believe it, or Not?
 

I honestly don't believe that the moon has anything to do with my hunting. Like Rory, I've had good days when they say that I wont see deer.

RE: The Rut: Believe it, or Not?
 

Obviously when an 'expert' forecasts a good day it does not mean that every hunter in the woods is going to tag a monster buck, and when they predict a lull that doesnt mean all big bucks hole up.

The three phases of the rut, seek, chase, and breed, all over lap one another and that is where the biggest hurdle comes into play for 'non-believers'. When you look at Alsheimer and Laroche's study, however, it is hard to argue with scientific data.

Obviously, I am a believer. In fact the past two years, since I really began studying Alsheimer's research and applying it to my hunting, I have since changed my rut strategies and my success has increased two-fold.

Why? Because I knew what phasethe bucks were predominatly in (after paying attention to the moon), I knew how they would be moving and where and I knew what day their testosterone would peak and they simply would not be able resist the smell of not just an estrous doe, but any doe.

I will say this, however, that this year, with the moon falling later than usual[&:]