So I'm planning my vacation days out for November, and rather than just take a block of days at random, I decided to look into the moon phases and see if I could make a better choice. http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...hunting+fall+equinox&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us What do you guys think about the "Rutting Moon"? Total BS or pretty legit? The Rutting Moon should fall on Nov. 21st this year, seems late and it's the last day of shotgun season. My sightings usually drop drastically after Shotgun season but according to the Rutting Moon, that's when the rut should really kick in. I'm thinking of breaking my days up into two 3-day hunts. Recommend me some days to take...
i guessing it's fairly close to the same as here in wi. i've found the first week of nov. to be the best week of hunting by far. now given that many things can alter exactly when the rut starts i really like the last few days of oct. and the beginning of nov. hope this helps
Yeah same here. There is no better time in the woods IMO than the first week to 10 days of November. If I had to pick a day I would say November 6th:p. Matter of fact that's when I'm going to kill my buck this year. I just decided
I usually do plan my vacation around the moon, but I always see good rutting action until the first gun season.
Very legit IMO. I've been following it for years now and have found it to be right on. I have found though that if you take either of the first two weeks of November you'll be right in it regardless of the moon.
Outside pressure (such as human pressure, especially gun season) will greatly supress the rutting action you will experience during daylight hours. I would suggest not to take vacation days after gun season to bowhunt rutting whitetail.
The rutting moon is tricky this year - as they call it the 2nd full moon after Autumnal Equinox...for Illinois, the Autumnal Equinox is 9/22 at 10pm, and full moon occurs at 9/23 at 4am...so do you count this moon as the first? Or Octobers making then Nov 21 the 2nd full moon? My opinion is that Nov 21st is too late to be calling it the rutting moon...since peak rut is typically 2 weeks after rutting moon (the new moon). I don't worry so much about this "rutting moon" as much as I do about the phases during mid-Nov...particularly the new moon, when it's pitch dark out all night long - daytime rut movement has always been increased for me...and also the moon rise/set, cause even a bright moon might only be out during the day, meaning a darker night and more daytime movement. Last year in IL, full moon was 11/2, making new moon 11/16. That week of 11/16 - 11/20 had the most daylight movement of big bucks for me and what others around me saw. 11/20 was first day of shotgun...and the big guys were moving like no other shotgun opener. So for this year - I'd pay more attention to the new moon being on 11/6. Also starting on 11/6 for the next week the moon will rise after daybreak and set before midnight - again a dark night leading up to sunrise = typically more daylight movement for me (I mostly hunt mornings by the way - as the kids don't allow afternoon hunts). As of now I hope to take off the week of 11/8-11/12, giving me 11/6-11/14 to hunt ...it should be prime (although heavy rains can ruin all this) ...sorry for the ramblings
Here in north mo things kick into overdrive on Halloween thru the 8 th november as for hunting you will find me in pinchpoints and funnels near and between bedding areas and midmorning hunts 8-11 am and the last hour in the eve at funnels near food plots.
I don't buy into the rutting moon. I do pay attention to the moon phases during the first three weeks of Nov. and use that as what time of day I will be hunting. Deer breed the same times every year regardless of whether the moon is full or not. I would not be waiting till the 21st to take any vacation days. Where I'm at in IL. the 10th-19th is when it is rocking for me and I hunt funnels as hard as I can.
I am same way. I used to plan for moon phases. Only thing I plan for is to be in the woods non-stop from Halloween or a few day before to 20th of Nov.
