Been reading up of the moon phases for hunting whitetails and have some idea of what they are saying. But still a little lost. Can anyone shed some light on this or even their theory of the idea. THANKS
My theory is that I haven't seen a noticable difference in deer activity in any of the different moon phazes over the years. When I have time to hunt...I hunt....regardless of what the moon is doing.
I would have to disagree with the above. These first weeks of mn season the moon has been shining bright. Typically if the moon is in a fuller case and out High during the night the deer will choose to move under the moon rather than daytime. New moon is coming. These next weeks here in mn should really have th deer moving with next to no moon.
I haven't paid much attention to moon phases because I always hunt whenever I can. If the moons told me that it's going to suck an afternoon I can actually go out I'm still going out...can't kill a deer if you're not in the stand.
If you are speaking about the moon phases effect on the rut, a man named Charles Alsheimer has the rut divided into three phases, the seeking phase, the chasing phase and the breeding phase. He says that the moon phases are what triggers these rutting activities. He claims that the second full moon after the autumn equinox is what triggers the rut. This year that moon occurs on the 22nd of October. He says there is a ramp-up or the seeking phase begins within a couple of days of that moon. He says his theories evolve from his many years of observing captive and wild deer. You can google his name to read much more about his theory. I just began reading about him and his theories about 3 or 4 years ago. I'm not sure I have seen what he describes every year but I have seen his theories prove true several times. Also if you go back, this is what I did, and read about some giant deer that were taken in years past, there are some interesting coincidences. Blessings.....Pastorjim
Hmmm...I have two friends who each shot 150 class bucks last week (one in MN and other in ND). I have taken and seen good bucks during ALL the different moon phazes over the years....but you can believe what you want. Is a guy gonna stay home rather than go hunting because of a certain moon phaze??
The article is in this month Deer & Deer Hunting also. But I concur on hunt when you can, can't shoot deer sitting on the couch watching TV
I would say it has more to do with position than phase. Just like the tides, the moon's position relative to the observer is what it's all about. If the moon is overhead or underfoot at dawn or shortly after, I park it on a deer trail as they return from feeding. If the moon is right again during dusk or shortly before, I know I better be camped out near a feeding area. I don't even hunt in the middle of the day because I have to work, but I see plenty of action in the morning and evening if I follow the lunar position. I personally think the phase thing is ridiculous. I'm a a computer programmer and an astronomy buff, so I know a thing or two. Think about it: what IS phase? It's the "age" of the moon on it's 29.5 day cycle. What the moon LOOKS like is unimportant. It's GRAVITY, however, is always present and is strongest when it's either over your head or under your feet. That's why it tugs the whole darn ocean in one direction as the Earth revolves. I've been using this strategy for a few years, and a buddy recently told me about Hunt By Moon. It does all the calculations for you. Pretty cool stuff.
That's what I thought I read too. A lot of predictions for the NE rut to be around the 21st (second full moon). What confuses me though is they don't count the full moon that fell on the fall equinox? I think it was a full moon on or like a day before the fall equinox. What if that moon came 2 or 3 days after the fall equinox? Say on like September 23rd? Would that mean the rut would be October 23rd? Awful close to disgard the fall equinox moon as not being a factor I think. But what do I know lol..... I just let my eyes tell me what phase of the rut it is. p.s. as far as the moon in general affecting hunt. Full moons = SUCK
I believe that day light hours mean more as far as the rut goes than moon phase does. I might believe normal deer movement may be affected by moon phase but my past experience says the rut doesnt change much from year to year, unless it is un-seasonably warm. Bottom line from Oct 25- Thanksgiving I will be in a tree as much as possible and I will see good bucks. My guess I will see more on their feet from Nov 5-12. Best week for me, every year.
science dictates that the hours of daylight are what triggers breeding cycles in all all animals that cycle..... so in theory the moons could have some bearing on that....i dunno
