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Moon Phase Hunting - Figure it in or forget it?

Basically a weather front following some days of a static pattern. Moon position, especially when the overhead or underfoot periods fall in or near general dawn/dusk daily movement patterns.
I've heard this a lot. I have a question and others may as well.

Moon overhead I think means when it's dark, say around 10:00pm or so, look straight up there is a bright well lit moon.

What does moon underfoot mean? How do you visualize?
 
I've heard this a lot. I have a question and others may as well.

Moon overhead I think means when it's dark, say around 10:00pm or so, look straight up there is a bright well lit moon.

What does moon underfoot mean? How do you visualize?
Overhead and underfoot refers to when the moon position is at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock in relation to where you are on the earth. Sometimes the moon is directly over head at 9 am and other times 9 pm, etc. Same for underfoot.
 
Another factor to consider is that people who over hunt their spots usually don’t have much success. If something such as waiting for a specific moon prevents people from burning out their stands this alone may make them more successful regardless of what effect the moon is actually having.

I hunted a stand for nearly 30 days in a row after a specific big buck that was seen in a bedding location. We almost ran into each other one day at gray light, and I thought the jig was up for good. But I eventually got a perfect 15-20yd broadside shot at him and missed; I had bumped my sight. It was my first season of archery and I didn't know about blowing out a spot. In the end I didn't have the success I was after, but I had my chance.

What does it mean? I don't know, it's anecdotal. Maybe had I taken a week off I'd have run into him sooner. Maybe not. I've definitely seen the effects of spots being over pressured, but I'll still go all in and take my chances on a good location. I've had successes that way. I have spots I tread lightly on as well.

Pretty sure I covered all the moons that year, and all the weather patterns, and pretty much all the rut phases. Wish I knew the dates to go back and see correlation to encounters with that buck. All I'm left with is a sense that hard work and time afield are factors in opportunities for hunting success.
 
Mr. Warren - do you find that the movement tracks the fact that the moon is overhead or underfoot, or does it track that the moon is overhead or underfoot at deer's preferred feeding times?

In other words, did you change tactics to start hunting when the moon was overhead/underfoot, regardless of time? Did this lead to an increase in deer sightings versus hunting dawn/dusk regardless of moon position?

From what I gathered from, Jeff Murray, the originator of the Moon Guide.... Deer and other animals that have hooves have an incredible urge to be on their feet and/or moving when the moon is overhead or underfoot. But, deer also have daytime bedding & feeding areas as well as night time bedding & feeding areas. Of course, deer are more comfortable feeding/traveling from one to the other during first light and last light. Being a believer, I daily check http://www.besttimestohunt.net/default.aspx for options to consider when planning my next hunt. For the correct times you have to type in the zip code for the area that you're hunting.

Knowing that a deer normally feeds every 6 hours during a 24 hour period. The guide shows four feeding times, two major and two minor times. The major times will be when the moon is overhead and under foot. And, the minor times will be six hours after each major period.
 
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I hunted a stand for nearly 30 days in a row after a specific big buck that was seen in a bedding location. We almost ran into each other one day at gray light, and I thought the jig was up for good. But I eventually got a perfect 15-20yd broadside shot at him and missed; I had bumped my sight. It was my first season of archery and I didn't know about blowing out a spot. In the end I didn't have the success I was after, but I had my chance.

What does it mean? I don't know, it's anecdotal. Maybe had I taken a week off I'd have run into him sooner. Maybe not. I've definitely seen the effects of spots being over pressured, but I'll still go all in and take my chances on a good location. I've had successes that way. I have spots I tread lightly on as well.

Pretty sure I covered all the moons that year, and all the weather patterns, and pretty much all the rut phases. Wish I knew the dates to go back and see correlation to encounters with that buck. All I'm left with is a sense that hard work and time afield are factors in opportunities for hunting success.
Not saying I can tell you how to hunt a spot I’ve never been to but in my hunting areas I’ve greatly improved my rate of success by hunting them sparingly. But there’s no universal rule that applies to every location every hunter has to figure it out for themselves.
 
PSU has done the same in PA and got similar results.

I've been following that study for a long time and have talked to one of the main advisors a few times. I didn't really agree with the way they assessed movement. Basically they were looking at movement on a landscape scale. So GPS only reads every so often, point A to point B. Anyone who's ever spent time in the woods watching deer will tell you a deer can move a lot in a one hour period and not really go anywhere point A to B. They might get up and mill around and only move 100 yards, but that type of movement is significant to someone hunting those deer.

I have a lot of respect for the wildlife biologists and the work they do, but when it comes to practical matters their job has objectives and methods that really don't mesh that closely to what we're doing. Heck my neighbor is a fish biologist for the state and he has been working from home since covid. I'm sure he does good and important work but it boggles my mind that a fish biologist can have a fully remote job. What the heck is he studying?
 
I've been following that study for a long time and have talked to one of the main advisors a few times. I didn't really agree with the way they assessed movement. Basically they were looking at movement on a landscape scale. So GPS only reads every so often, point A to point B. Anyone who's ever spent time in the woods watching deer will tell you a deer can move a lot in a one hour period and not really go anywhere point A to B. They might get up and mill around and only move 100 yards, but that type of movement is significant to someone hunting those deer.

I have a lot of respect for the wildlife biologists and the work they do, but when it comes to practical matters their job has objectives and methods that really don't mesh that closely to what we're doing. Heck my neighbor is a fish biologist for the state and he has been working from home since covid. I'm sure he does good and important work but it boggles my mind that a fish biologist can have a fully remote job. What the heck is he studying?
He might have an aquarium.
 
From what I gathered from, Jeff Murray, the originator of the Moon Guide.... Deer and other animals that have hooves have an incredible urge to be on their feet and/or moving when the moon is overhead or underfoot. But, deer also have daytime bedding & feeding areas as well as night time bedding & feeding areas. Of course, deer are more comfortable feeding/traveling from one to the other during first light and last light. Being a believer, I daily check http://www.besttimestohunt.net/default.aspx for options to consider when planning my next hunt. For the correct times you have to type in the zip code for the area that you're hunting.

Knowing that a deer normally feeds every 6 hours during a 24 hour period. The guide shows four feeding times, two major and two minor times. The major times will be when the moon is overhead and under foot. And, the minor times will be six hours after each major period.
For my area he is showing the Best day for January 7th one day after the full moon. Next best is new moon. So I'm trying to understand that in light of what you posted earlier.
 
For my area he is showing the Best day for January 7th one day after the full moon. Next best is new moon. So I'm trying to understand that in light of what you posted earlier.
Compare 1/21 and 1/24 and think about what the timing indicates.
 
1674600475553.png1674600500663.pngto me the major times are better for the 24 than the 21 but they have the 21 4 stars best and the 24 1 star average . what am i missing here
 
I've killed quite a few deer while in the red moon phase. Is it absolute...no. Do I think it helps outside the rut...yes, but so do alot of other factors. Barometric pressure, weather fronts, temp change, hunting pressure, food sources etc. I don't feel like it should be overlooked or discounted.
 
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.
Dang it! Now I've got to start raising gold fish....:rage:
 
I hunted a stand for nearly 30 days in a row after a specific big buck that was seen in a bedding location. We almost ran into each other one day at gray light, and I thought the jig was up for good. But I eventually got a perfect 15-20yd broadside shot at him and missed; I had bumped my sight. It was my first season of archery and I didn't know about blowing out a spot. In the end I didn't have the success I was after, but I had my chance.

What does it mean? I don't know, it's anecdotal. Maybe had I taken a week off I'd have run into him sooner. Maybe not. I've definitely seen the effects of spots being over pressured, but I'll still go all in and take my chances on a good location. I've had successes that way. I have spots I tread lightly on as well.

Pretty sure I covered all the moons that year, and all the weather patterns, and pretty much all the rut phases. Wish I knew the dates to go back and see correlation to encounters with that buck. All I'm left with is a sense that hard work and time afield are factors in opportunities for hunting success.
I always go back to a Wenzel saying …No such thing as the right place only the right time.
A deer can be harvested anywhere, it just needs to be the right time.
Personally I hunt when I have the time. If it happens to fall on an approaching front it usually seems to be better deer movement IMHO.
I think we all would have more success going with our gut.

Although it’s interesting looking at how the moon phase may or may not effect our hunting success. Success often happens when you don’t overthink everything.
 
There has been A LOT of good discussion on this post. You guys have done a lot more research than I’ve ever personally done. Personally I journal my hunts with general info (date/time/weather/temp/wind/location).

And the only moon phase or position I seem to have taken note of is a full moon. When the moon is full, or near full, my experience has been that deer move later and so evening hunts have been unfruitful. Again that is just my limited experience, and with a busy schedule like most of you, I spend every moment in the woods that I can no matter what the conditions. Just my .02 cents!
 
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