How are deer effected by the moon
07-07-2010, 02:44 PM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Orange county, NY
Posts: 2,949
Some people believe that deer feed more at night, during a full moon, and will bed down more during the day, hence less daytime movement during full moons. I personally think this logic is flawed. I think deer always feed mostly at night, regardless of the moon, but Im sure someone will post some scientific study done by the QDMA supporting it.
07-07-2010, 03:39 PM
#4
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Northeastern Oklahoma
Posts: 286
i figured i would get different opinions and it's possible some of it is true, but i'm not going to stop hunting one day because of the moon the night before so i'm not going to pay much attention to it. Happy hunting. 
07-07-2010, 07:25 PM
#5
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 261
There is an article about it here http://www.huntingnet.com/staticpage...il.aspx?id=144
I'd look at a lunar calender, they seem to help. I have noticed that deer seem to move more around mid-day with a full moon, and of course they seem to also be more nocturnal during a full moon. That being said, I still find it difficult to hunt during mid-day, even if it is a full moon, because it just seems odd I guess. I do try to stay out later and get to my stand earlier with a full moon though.
I'd look at a lunar calender, they seem to help. I have noticed that deer seem to move more around mid-day with a full moon, and of course they seem to also be more nocturnal during a full moon. That being said, I still find it difficult to hunt during mid-day, even if it is a full moon, because it just seems odd I guess. I do try to stay out later and get to my stand earlier with a full moon though.
07-08-2010, 05:36 AM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1,304
Year's ago a buddy of mine used the moon dial/wheel called the Deer Hunter's Moon Guide. He always talked about "over head" and "underfoot" as his base to know when and where to hunt.
After a while he really started to depend on it.
Also, don't forget we have a tendency to see what we want to see, regardless if it's there or not. LOL!
With that in mind... he was seeing deer at times he normally didn't hunt, like late mornings or early evenings. Well, I just laughed because I told him deer are out there 24 hours a day and if you're in the woods, you're bound to see them regardless of a "wheel" or not. LOL!
What more could I say? He believed in it, but I saw if differently. I suspect it had to do more with just being in the woods, period. If you're putting in the time, eventually you have to see deer beyond the traditional morning and evening hunts. He didn't see it. The "wheel" put him out there in the woods when otherwise, he wouldn't have been out there to begin with. LOL!
iSnipe
After a while he really started to depend on it.
Also, don't forget we have a tendency to see what we want to see, regardless if it's there or not. LOL!
With that in mind... he was seeing deer at times he normally didn't hunt, like late mornings or early evenings. Well, I just laughed because I told him deer are out there 24 hours a day and if you're in the woods, you're bound to see them regardless of a "wheel" or not. LOL!
What more could I say? He believed in it, but I saw if differently. I suspect it had to do more with just being in the woods, period. If you're putting in the time, eventually you have to see deer beyond the traditional morning and evening hunts. He didn't see it. The "wheel" put him out there in the woods when otherwise, he wouldn't have been out there to begin with. LOL!
iSnipe
07-08-2010, 07:48 PM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location:
Posts: 2,186
In 45+ years of hunting white tails, and making a 3 seasons long record in an attempt to associate moon phase to deer movement I have decided it is not worth one iota of my time considering. The 3 years' of data that my best buddy J.B. and I collected (some 350 +/- man days of hunting), the only moon phase correlation we saw was that if the sky was clear and the moon more or less full, the deer moved later in the a.m. and not much early in the afternoon. The number one "strong" movement maker was weather. Dropping temperature and front moving in from NW was the best time to hunt. This data was collected in SE Alabama near Union Springs during the late 1980's time frame.
07-09-2010, 01:45 PM
#8
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 417
After reading several research pepers on it, and doing 10 years of research on it myself, I can say this, it is a very complicted subject.
But, good news is, it is the thing you should worry about lest, because almost anythng else that goes on in a whitetails world, will completely override any affects the moon have on deer, because it has such little effect. Other than food, weather is the number one dictator of when and where deer will be each day. Here is my axiom, " If it is too hot, too cold, too windy, too wet or there is too much light, they probably wont' do what they would normally do." That just makes sense.
The rut affects daily deer movement, hunting pressure, predators, any human behavior in their area - so why would they worry about the moon?
If you still need to know I'll post a long article on the subject.
God bless,
T.R.
But, good news is, it is the thing you should worry about lest, because almost anythng else that goes on in a whitetails world, will completely override any affects the moon have on deer, because it has such little effect. Other than food, weather is the number one dictator of when and where deer will be each day. Here is my axiom, " If it is too hot, too cold, too windy, too wet or there is too much light, they probably wont' do what they would normally do." That just makes sense.
The rut affects daily deer movement, hunting pressure, predators, any human behavior in their area - so why would they worry about the moon?
If you still need to know I'll post a long article on the subject.
God bless,
T.R.
07-10-2010, 07:53 AM
#10
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 417
U R so welcome. It took me about 3 yeaers ot get it al right. But, as I said, it is so inconsequential it reallly does not matter.
The real keys to being on top of deer on a regular basis are bieng in the righ spot at the right time. It sounds easy, but if you do not understand what makes a deer tick, meanding really understanding their biology and behavior, you will not be as good at laocting deer at the right time, as you could be.
Then, once you understand their biology and behavior (understanding where they will be adn waht they will be doing - based on the meteorological condtions that day, along with how they react during the rut, with hunting pressure, and any other influences like predatory behavior and human related activity [hiking, farming etc.]) you will be fairly good at predicting when and where on most days.
While some older, addicted hunters have ben at it long enough to understand deer, many har core hunter, and certainly newbies, have not spend enough time in the woods, really observing deer and paying attention to when and where, that they really understand deer.
Unless you want to wait years, or spend numerous hours several days a week, just observing deer, it wlll take you a long time before you can understand deer.
A good book on the biology and behavior of deer can really help. If you e-mail me I will recommend some good ones.
God bless,
T.R.
The real keys to being on top of deer on a regular basis are bieng in the righ spot at the right time. It sounds easy, but if you do not understand what makes a deer tick, meanding really understanding their biology and behavior, you will not be as good at laocting deer at the right time, as you could be.
Then, once you understand their biology and behavior (understanding where they will be adn waht they will be doing - based on the meteorological condtions that day, along with how they react during the rut, with hunting pressure, and any other influences like predatory behavior and human related activity [hiking, farming etc.]) you will be fairly good at predicting when and where on most days.
While some older, addicted hunters have ben at it long enough to understand deer, many har core hunter, and certainly newbies, have not spend enough time in the woods, really observing deer and paying attention to when and where, that they really understand deer.
Unless you want to wait years, or spend numerous hours several days a week, just observing deer, it wlll take you a long time before you can understand deer.
A good book on the biology and behavior of deer can really help. If you e-mail me I will recommend some good ones.
God bless,
T.R.