I have been looking at the moon phase online and it says saturday will be a good day. The only problem it will be raining at the times it says the deer will be moving. I have talked to a few people and some have said they see deer when it rains all the time. Others say they don't see any deer when it is raining. I haven't got a deer yet this year and its coming down to the wire. I want to get some meat for the freezer. Should I get out there during the rain or wait till it stops? It is going to start around 5 and stop around 6. (or when God wants it to start and stop) My other question is should I be paying as much attention to the moon phase as I do?
I was using as a guid this year and was a little dissapointed in it. I saw deer when it said it was the worst time, and didn't see any when it said it was the best. I haven't seen any for a while and it is tough on the mind. I am going to a new stand saturday and hoping my luck will change. If not it was a good day in the woods God bless and thank you.
My buck this year is called the miserable day buck, I was sitting up in a tree watching deer shake rain out of their coats thinking I was wasting my time. It ended up being a great hunt.
It's funny you ask this because I've been keeping a journal the past 5 years or so and I log the time, date, weather, wind, and moon phase. Ironically I've found little to no pattern when it comes to moon phase in correlation to when I see deer but I still take note of the moon phase. I hunt any chance I get so the moon phase doesn't dictate when I hunt but I've had more sightings and better success on the days that according to most deer hunting predictors would say is average or below average. So it just goes to show, at least in my experience, that deer are unpredictable and you just have to be in the right spot at the right time.
Moon phase is most definitely a factor in my hunting tactics, just like wind direction, food/harvest, breeding season, barometric pressure, weather patterns, temperature, and many other things. I hunt when I can and at the stand all the other factors state will be the best.
What if it is cloudy? I tend to find weather in general has the biggest impact on deer activity. Is it possible that moon phase has a bigger impact in different parts of the country?
I don't keep a journal of hunts, I run cameras and observe when the deer are nocturnal, my cameras show both temp and moon phase and I have tried to find a moon influence. I do notice when there is snow on the ground that the deer are more active at night but in general when it is cold the does are moving pretty much before dark every day.
Weather can have significant impact on movements...as for the moon, I'll just state that well over half my mature bucks I've harvested have been shot 1 hour from a moon major for that day. Not saying it is a 100% thing cuz nothing is, but it is logged with every sighting and I utilize a calendar of the moon phase (Bill Vale's to be specific).
Numerous studies have been done by deer biologist that show while moon phase may have something to do with deer movement it has almost nothing to do with the whitetail deer rut. Peak breeding times are almost the same every year despite the moon phase.
I don't schedule hunts around it but if I'm hunting and peak movement is say 9am-11am, I won't get down at 10 like normal. I'll stick it out another hour. Most the time is hasn't produced though lol.
I've been keeping a journal for the last 10 yrs. I used to include moon phases but no longer do. I don't believe there is a correlation to deer movement of rut activity. It seems every year I shoot a nice buck any where between Nov 9-16. With all due respect to Charles Alsheimer for doing the rut moon study, I believe from my own experiences...and to the fawn birth dates from a friends deer farm, there is no connection. I've even shot many a deer as the full moon peaked over the eastern horizon. Just get out and hunt.
Many are astonished to hear but Charles used to think similar to Bill Vale, and state it's the new moon, perigee and majors/minors that trigger movement more so than the full moon which he holds to now. Not every mature buck I've harvested has fell within the times of a dark period but they have more often than not fell within an hour or so of a moon major.
Useless data. Show me how for example today you can kill any buck that doesn't fall within an hour of a minor or major period So according to that logic you have about an hour and half window that wouldn't qualify today. The moon is fixed variable, it is what is is. You have a limited time to hunt in any given season. Control the variables that you can and forget the moon. Go hunt.
Sorry let me edit my posting. I've shot numerous bucks, most have fallen within an hour of a major. The other was within a minor, however I don't pay attention to the minors as much unless during a dark period or perigee gets involved.
No, but you can chose use wind to determine how and where you hunt. Please tell how you can adapt to moon phase? And dont say that the moon phase is an indicator as to when to sit...for example, a popular saying" fill moon bucks move at mid day"....Ok great so you had a full moon on Nov 7th 2014, do you really think sitting all day without a full moon on nov 7th would have been a bad idea in most places if your hunting whitetails? Of all the variables that come into play hunting whitetails, moon phase is probably the least important consider in is FIXED. Deer still need to eat, sleep bred and survive irregardless of what the moon is doing. It should be really low on your list of considerations deer hunting.
And all my research and others point to it shouldn't be really low. As a matter of fact a TON of things weigh into my decisions as to when to hunt, where to hunt and scheduling of times off. If anything the moon assists me a ton in choosing stretches where movement should be good based on the moon phases (backed by years of logging daytime movement of doe groups and mature bucks only) and then picking those days as targeted hunting days. Then within those days all the present factors like food location, time of the breeding year, cover, temps, winds and such play a role in pinpointing what tree I'll hunt. It's all an opinion of mine of course and others and I think anyone is naive to use absolutes in their statements when discussing moon phases, broadheads or anything hunting related (as very few absolutes exist within reason). Your all day sit example is a perfect example. I'll all day sit when the deer movement, time of year and choice of bedding point towards one potentially paying off. Will I potentially look ahead in August/September and choose a couple targeted all day sits in certain stands (if wind and weather cooperate) you bet! I'm not just playing the bible card, but I do believe in the concept that the sun & moon were both created to rule the days and the inhabitants of the Earth. That was enough for me to pay attention to the moon and it's affects on animals (fish as well)...and while it isn't an absolute; because food location, winds and other factors control whether you see deer...it does help me significantly in my hunting. I look at in the sense of this. If my job only allows me "x" number of days for vacation days....you can bet I'll be paying close attention to past logged movements on our various properties and what the moon phases will be the upcoming season to plan. It is what is though, I know some are skeptics and some downright haters of thinking the moon has any affect and I'm okay with that.
