The misunderstanding of the moon's affect is some believe those that listen to it feel it is the biggest factor...it is just a factor or tool in our belts when predicting anticipated movements. Start logging the moon phases to daytime movements over the course of a year and you will see a correlation...I know I did.
This is my opinion of it I have been an avid hunter all my life once season opens I hunt every weekend till season closes and an extra week around thanksgiving and two weeks around New Years I have tried to match up the moon/weather with my kills and it never adds up I have killed mature deer in all weather conditions and moon phases to me it is just being in the the right place at the right time between bedding areas and food sources but one thing I can be certain on is I see 70% more deer during bow season than I ever have after the month of October rut or no rut just my opinions no disrespect to people who try and use the moon/weather conditions
You can also get all of this info for FREE FREE FREE using this website. http://www.usprimetimes.com/ I wrote a blog on this a few years back - it's pretty sweet sight if you are a "lunatic" like I am. http://www.bowhunting.com/blog/2011/02/14/bowhunters-solar-lunar-website/
I think moontimes are helpful for understanding deer movement in the day -- but I don't believe the change the timing rut. I think they change what part of the rut is highlighted in daytime. My 2 cents.
When you have work/family obligations and only get so many days to be out in the stand you'll pay attention to whatever factor will get you success. In the past few years since I started having kids I started picking the best days to hunt using many factors...one being when it was convenient with work and family, but others being the weather and the moon over and under phase. I will say that when I see that the moon overhead is going to peak at a good hunting time and I've been out there in the stand I've seen more daylight activity than other times. Does that mean I am going to ignore other factors like cold fronts, pressure changes, wind direction, rutting activity...not a chance, but for those weeks where I am super busy and can only get out once or twice to be fair to my family I am going to pick a day that the moon phase or over under is in my favor. I mean for those non-believers in the moons' effect on animal behavior and other things how do you explain the 28 day human periodic cycle, or the tides. It does have an effect. To what degree??? I'll say this to the dissers...get an app that tells you moon over and under times and start logging daylight activity when you hunt and I bet you'll see more with a peak moon over or under during daylight hours.
Lol, I started listening to it....then some of the stuff was just way out there and hard to swallow. For example. I am paraphrasing ... All nine BC bucks I killed corresponded with the moon times...then he goes on to say that hunted a buck like 18 nights in a row but he knew he wouldn't kill him until the moon was right .... Or the moon phase has to line up with the last three hours of day light. So my bull **** meter was going up and up....I did a goggle search and came to find out that he owns and markets the moon phase chart.
just found this one.............. http://www.usprimetimes.com/ didn't find an app for it, but sent the link to my phone and it automatically went to a mobile mode. then saved it as an icon on my homepage of phone to work just like an app.
To be fair, I did a a Google search myself at the very beginning of the podcast aswell. I didn't get the impression they were trying to hide that fact, did you?! I think that Mark (Wired to Hunt) tries to cover the entire spectrum of deer hunting and lets his listeners determine what is BS and what is useful. Obviously what is useful for one may not be useful for the next. As Englum said, he can only hunt so many days - why not look as closely as possible at those select days?! After all, one day can be the difference between success or failure - use whatever tools you can to help make you successful. I didn't listen to that podcast and think for a second that the Moon Guide was going to make or break my hunting season. I like many others am going to attempt to hunt as smart and hard as I can all season long. I am a runner, cyclists and triathlete - talk about moon phases is like endurance athletes that train in certain heart rate trainig zones. Some swear by it, others dismiss it and go based on how the body feels/recovers and ajust accordingly. You got parents that will pay a lot of money for a VO2 Max test and analysis just to help (attempt) to give there kid an advantage and better understand heart rate, lactic threshold etc. The moon phase guide is no difference by my estimation. Hunt what you know and know what you hunt. Hunting is not a one size fits all situation. I think the moon phases is useful for some - but it aint for me. I will learn it, understand it and even try and be cognizant of it but it aint going to effect how/where/when I hunt.
Not a believer but bought it this year just so I can give honest opinion. Listening to a lot of the moon believers, they throw in a lot of buts. To sum it up, when they kill a deer it's because of the moon. But when the moon hunter goes a night without seeing the target buck, it's because of whatever factor they want to blame it on. (Wind, temp, pressure, cloudy, front, etc)
You're right, of course. Anytime from Halloween to mid-November is THE time to be in a tree no matter what the moon phase is. All bets are off during the rut. I've been paying attention to moon phases for quite a few years now, though, and it's been pretty amazing to me how the deer movement coincides with what the moon phase predictions say. That's not to say that I haven't seen deer when the app says it's a poor day. I have. I've also gone out when it was supposed to be great and seen nothing. More often than not, though, I see more deer movement at the peak moon phase times.
Predicting daylight movement in deer and especially Mature Whitetail bucks is a spectrum of factors...to which degree which factors effect deer the most is a still not fully understood...I would bet that temperature and drive to feed have a bigger factor on deer movement that most others with exception to the drive to breed...which happens every year around the same time and is most dictated by the amount of sunlight in the day...as the days get shorter that triggers the hormonal changes in the deer and they go into rut. The moon phase and position is also likely a factor or variable if you prefer. To what degree vs the others??? Who really knows...probably not enough study on it at this point. Why completely disregard one factor that may give you a better chance for success. For those that go sit in the same stand day in day out from Halloween through Mid November...I wonder if you might not have more success hunting less. Doesn't matter to me though I mean I love being out in the stand too...its like therapy, so to each their own. I prefer to be successful and I want to target more mature deer. This means I must keep my hunting pressure to a minimum to give myself the best chance at a mature buck. I choose to collect data on all the variables that appear to effect deer movement and make a decision on the best time to hunt based on that.
Moon Guide is great and it works. The moon is for real. It is variable that may not be as important as weather but it is close and it can be scheduled. You will be impressed with the moon guide if you give it a shot.
Pretty hard to prove many things in hunting, but some things do have the science to back them up! stick with them! www.soundbarrierhunting.com
Time of year is a given! Keep searching all science angles and go with what the data says, it doesn't lie! www.soundbarrierhunting.com
