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Moon Phase Hunting - Figure it in or forget it?

If you have the time, go huntn'. You can't kill em' from the couch. I go when I can. I've rarely looked at the tables over the years. With that said, one of my early mentors had a goldfish pond. He would look out his window and watch them. When they started getting really active, he got in a tree. He said he definitely noticed a correlation.
 
Ive hunted the week of the October full moon for the last 3 yrs. and kept track of my results. I found that last yr, like yrs past, the deer were more active in the dusk hours during the 5 to 2 days before the full moon and for the dawn hours they were more active the 2-5 days after the full moon. This was backed up also by my trail cam pics. Could it be coincidence, or affected weather patterns? Yes sure, but I wont waste my time on the actual full moon days, like I used too, unless the weather is screaming " get your rump up off a stump". I missed a beauty 20" 10pt on Oct 7th last yr ( we wont talk about it), another buddy clipped a branch on a mature 8pt & another buddy hosed a beauty 3.5 yr old 11pt. All within an hours time that evening. And miles away from each other. That was 2 days before the full moon. Just saying. I would never pay for the Red Moon Guide.

Now when we go to Ohio, we've been there a few times during the full moon. Usually the 2nd week of Nov. When you only have 7-9 days to hunt you better be on stand as much as possible. Myself & my buddies weren't seeing anything in our a.m./p.m. hunts. I came out on a rainy morning with no tracks to be found on the old logging trail. Went back in for the evening and there were tracks everywhere. Switched my strategy to the 9a.m. to 330pm hunt and saw 7 bucks over the last 3 days that we were there. Those 3 days were the day before the full moon to the day after the full moon.

Im not saying either way whats right or wrong but in my experience, the moon definitely effects them & sometimes you gotta adjust strategies.
 
BTaylor said:
@kyler1945 Did you get Bob Walker to teach you how to voice crow call while you were hanging with those guys at Bent Creek?
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I wish that was me. Pulled that from bobs book.

I was shooting my bow straight up in the front yard trying to get the arrows to land in the front yard when that study was being done…
 
Do not laugh, I pay attention to my cats movement. Full moons up all night, feeds 10 -2 midday. new moon active till 8:30 am sleeps all day, active again in evening.

first quarter active when moon is starting to show

third quarter same.

It works for me.
 
I think it has more to do with available light, than some mystical connection with Luna. I while back I listened to a THP podcast with a couple of scientists who run huge radio-collar studies; their takeaway is that neither moon phase or cold fronts have any predictable impact on deer behavior. Deer behave differently when they can see well vs. when they can't, and when the air is still vs when it's moving.
 
Iron_llama said:
I think it has more to do with available light, than some mystical connection with Luna. I while back I listened to a THP podcast with a couple of scientists who run huge radio-collar studies; their takeaway is that neither moon phase or cold fronts have any predictable impact on deer behavior. Deer behave differently when they can see well vs. when they can't, and when the air is still vs when it's moving.
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Link to study showing no strong correlation between temperature and daytime deer sightings?
 
woodsdog2 said:
I read and still have Charlie Alzheimer's book on moon phase hunting and have read and considered others' anecdotel or personal experiences as well but I've always been naturally inclined to discount it due to the amount of science based information out there regarding it. However, Adam Hays just slammed another booner. What do you dudes or dudetts believe or think about it? Do you routinely figure it in to your overall hunting plans or.... Forget about it! https://www.fieldandstream.com/hunting/red-moon-trophy-whitetail-buck/
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To be honest. It probably does have something yo do with movement. Especially in my experience in afternoons.
They seem to get up and move s bit later during full moon phase.
I dont really pay much attention to it unless I actually notice whats going on.
ive killed bucks of all ages during all moon phases
I still think pressure is everything when it comes to daylight movemrnt.
I remember whrn i was new to the deer hunting world and watching the big tv shows with low pressured micro managed bucks and seeing bucks running around everywhere and thought this was real hunting situations lol.
i learned quickly that those kind of situations and tactics will never work for me.
my theory is basically and simple with not much to think about. Wheres the food?
How much pressure is on that food
The more pressure, the closer or how far i am within the bedding area during certain conditions.
this is why I believe in serious post season scouting.
it shows alot what goes on throughout-the season.
ive learned to take this mindset and ive really skyrocketed my good more educated bucks encounters.
keep it simple and basic.
nit everyone can hunt and scout 7 days a week.
 
kyler1945 said:
Link to study showing no strong correlation between temperature and daytime deer sightings?
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I didn't realize we needed to adhere to strict academic standards to share thoughts and observations. Can you post a link to a study refuting this?
 
Lets think about it from a more logical standpoint if you will. By nature, deer are predisposed to move at dawn and dusk. Deer also move at other times of the day and night. Dont have to focus on night because we cant hunt them then. So if we look at daytime movement outside of dawn and dusk periods, That movement is transitional in that one day they may move from say 9am until 11am, the next day they move 30-60 minutes later and each day that shifts a little. How much and how far they move is going to be most strongly influenced by temps. If it is a cold crisp day, they are more likely to cover more ground than say a day 10+ degrees above normal temps. Those days they are still going to move, probably just not very far and maybe not for as long. There, imo, is a cyclical nature to movement outside of dawn/dusk that happens on a daily basis and the extent of taht movement is going to be determined almost exclusively by weather. Then it is up to us to determine the location or locations we feel will allow us to take advantage of the expected movement.
 
Solunar calandar has been spot on when it comes to major feeding times for does.havent seen a single buck yet though.if the moon is bright at night bucks are bedded by lite.just helps you feel better about evening hunts.but any given sunday.it could happen any ways.
 
Iron_llama said:
I didn't realize we needed to adhere to strict academic standards to share thoughts and observations. Can you post a link to a study refuting this?
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I was just asking if you had a link to the study those scientists did, so that I could read it.

I didn’t take issue with your post, not sure where the hostility comes from.
 
I hunt when I have time to be in the woods, I don't wait for moons. I do have a buddy that only hunts the Red Moon phases. I will say I see more deer in the fields earlier on red Moon phases, but that is about it. If you are rifle hunting fields, watch the moons, besides that just get in the woods and watch the winds.
 
kyler1945 said:
I was just asking if you had a link to the study those scientists did, so that I could read it.

I didn’t take issue with your post, not sure where the hostility comes from.
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podcasts.apple.com

‎The Hunting Public: #208 - PROOF That NO BUCK is NOCTURNAL! - w/Bronson Strickland and Steve Demarais of Mississippi State University on Apple Podcasts

‎Show The Hunting Public, Ep #208 - PROOF That NO BUCK is NOCTURNAL! - w/Bronson Strickland and Steve Demarais of Mississippi State University - Jun 6, 2022
podcasts.apple.com

Steve Demarais and Bronson Strickland are professors at Mississippi State University. They discuss their findings on deer behavior and the effects of various environmental factors on them. If you're interested in the specific studies, you'll have to dig a little deeper than I did while listening to the episode.
 
kyler1945 said:
I’ve yet to see a study that refutes what dr Sheppard found.

Not one hunter with time to hunt every day’s account of their hunts.
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I hunted on Thanksgiving morning with my brother and father. We were no more than 200yds apart. My father and I saw no deer, my brother saw over 30, browsing and/or walking in open timber. Were the deer moving?
 
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