Whitetail Deer Hunting Gain a better understanding of the World's most popular big game animal and the techniques that will help you become a better deer hunter.

Moon Phase

Old 10-20-2010, 04:14 AM
  #1  
Spike
Thread Starter
 
sunjbr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: PA
Posts: 75
Default Moon Phase

I really don't know much about hunting different moon phases. Just looking for some information.
sunjbr is offline  
Old 10-20-2010, 04:42 AM
  #2  
Typical Buck
 
PY Antlers's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Mid West
Posts: 591
Default

When you get a full moon that is up most the night you a.m. hunt will be a lot more productive than a evening hunt. All other moon phase's IMO are not important, with the exception of when it's over head or under foot deer tend to be on there feet.
PY Antlers is offline  
Old 10-20-2010, 10:35 AM
  #3  
Nontypical Buck
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,193
Default

There is a full moon this weekend. I've been wondering how that will affect the hunting then. From what I noticed things are really starting to pick up in my area. Lots of activity. Last Saturday I couldn't hunt and thought it was too breezy anyway. Well, the owner of the land I hunt saw 20 different bucks last Saturday and they were all up and moving big time.
chazspot is offline  
Old 10-20-2010, 05:07 PM
  #4  
Nontypical Buck
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location:
Posts: 2,186
Default

Forget the moon phase. I have hunted white tails for nearly 5 decades. Buddy of mine , J. Bush, and I took detailed notes across 3 seasons. I had all of the data once upin a time but tossed it long ago. It was a waste of time and energy. We probably logged 200 days of hunting. We found practically zero correlation between moon phase and deer movement here in the deep south. Only thing that seemed "strong" was that during a full moon and with a clear night sky, they seemed to move later in the day. The number one cause-effect was weather. Cooler weather = more day light movement. N-NW breeze and dropping temps ... good ! E-SE breeze, and warming temps .... not good ! Hour or two after a shower .... good. Driving rain .... bad ! That was about it.

My advice .... just go to the deer woods whenever yo can. Get in the woods early and often, and stay late. And scout....scout...scout.
Mojotex is offline  
Old 10-20-2010, 06:55 PM
  #5  
Fork Horn
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 191
Default

moonphase matters bright moon lastnight woke up late this morning and walked into my stand to kick up 8 deer thought the hunt was over till I got up in my stand sat for 10 minutes and 6 deer came in 4 more does a 8 point and a 7. Before this morning I would average 3 deer every morning hunt this was 14 deer. Sat there tonight and only saw a button buck
scribbler444 is offline  
Old 10-20-2010, 07:43 PM
  #6  
Fork Horn
 
dusters84's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 261
Default

This topic has been brought up a lot and a lot of people giver different opinions on the matter. In my opinion deer tend to move less during the day when there is a full moon. You will see them out in the fields at night with less movement during the day. Your best shot is the last 15 minutes before dusk, and possibly mid day, as deer will tend to get up for a while during this time.

The group I hunt with hunts mornings and evenings, and I can tell you we have shot a lot more bucks during a new moon than a full moon. While I think the moon does have an affect on deer movement, weather has an even bigger impact.
dusters84 is offline  
Old 10-21-2010, 07:35 AM
  #7  
Fork Horn
 
Super G Force's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Kansas
Posts: 282
Default

Originally Posted by dusters84
This topic has been brought up a lot and a lot of people giver different opinions on the matter. In my opinion deer tend to move less during the day when there is a full moon. You will see them out in the fields at night with less movement during the day. Your best shot is the last 15 minutes before dusk, and possibly mid day, as deer will tend to get up for a while during this time.

The group I hunt with hunts mornings and evenings, and I can tell you we have shot a lot more bucks during a new moon than a full moon. While I think the moon does have an affect on deer movement, weather has an even bigger impact.
Totally agree with you Dusters84. I see the same deer reactions as you do with full moon and no moon.
Super G Force is offline  
Old 10-21-2010, 10:14 PM
  #8  
Fork Horn
 
Bloodsaw's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location:
Posts: 432
Default

Originally Posted by dusters84
This topic has been brought up a lot and a lot of people giver different opinions on the matter. In my opinion deer tend to move less during the day when there is a full moon. You will see them out in the fields at night with less movement during the day. Your best shot is the last 15 minutes before dusk, and possibly mid day, as deer will tend to get up for a while during this time.

The group I hunt with hunts mornings and evenings, and I can tell you we have shot a lot more bucks during a new moon than a full moon. While I think the moon does have an affect on deer movement, weather has an even bigger impact.

Ditto..same experiences
Bloodsaw is offline  
Old 10-23-2010, 04:17 PM
  #9  
JT
Spike
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location:
Posts: 50
Default

I haven't seen a correlation with moon phase on the actual day of hunting, but the research shows that it can tell you something about the rut. The 2nd full moon after the autumn equinox is called the rut moon. It is when the rut is supposed to kick off. Most of the time it is the beginning of November, but this year it is this weekend. From my experience, it is when the little bucks start running around, but the big boys will still hold out for a bit.

As far as day to day hunting, I hunted Buffalo County, WI last year the first week of November. This is the #1 area in the world for Booners. That week was kicked off with a full moon. I hunted 5 days straight in my stand from sun-up to sun-down and I did not see a deer between 10 and 2:30.
JT is offline  
Old 10-23-2010, 04:59 PM
  #10  
Fork Horn
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Northern VA
Posts: 310
Default

Today they moved for me 10:00-noon and then again 5:00 till dark.



Mitch
mitchmtm1 is offline  

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.