The Moon - What do we know?
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chetter74
Junior Member
I never worried about the moon with my hunting just hunt every chance I get but this gives me something to think about , we always look at moon rise and set for musky fishing don't see y this would be much diffrent
This thread has really made me think. I am definitely going to start tracking this, and keeping good notes as to deer movement with moon phases and rise/set times. Last night I had the wife in stand with me, and we had deer pouring into the clover field right at 7:00. Unfortunately, they never passed by us going into the field. What was the set and rise time yesterday? You can bet I will be looking at this when I get home tonight.
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I've admitted that I hunt when I can regardless of moon times. Sunday morning, I saw five deer around 8 am. I took Mason out Sunday evening and we saw ten total. They started popping out about 630 and we watched them till dark. Never spooked a deer all day.
I went out yesterday morning. Didn't see anything, got bored and left about 900. Went back and hunted until dark, didn't see a thing. On the way home (8pm on the nose), I called my bride and told her I didn't see any. As soon as I got the words out of my mouth I saw two crossing the road from a woods to a cut cornfield.
Here is the interesting part; The moon rise on Sunday the 30th was at 621pm, the set was 659am. Yesterday Oct 3 rise was at 805pm and set at 953.
I was hunting the same unalerted deer, yet I went from seeing 15 on Sunday to nothing yesterday...morning or evening. The difference, moon times. Maybe not the only difference, but certainly a factor. Essentially, had I looked at the time the moon crested the horizon, I would have expected to see deer during daylight on Sunday the 30th (and we did really close to the time the moon popped up or set). Had I looked at the moon times yesterday, I may have stayed home and saved my wife points for a better day.. I just wanted to hunt! So anyway, the move I should have made yesterday would have been to stay in the stand a little longer in the morning, and stayed home yesterday evening since the deer weren't going to move 'en masse until 8pm -after shooting hours. Funny, that I saw two while calling my bride to tell her I'd be at the shop by 830...and I recall it was 8pm precisely!
Anyway, keep track of this stuff and you may convince yourself of it's merit. I've watched it for years, and buy it whole-heartedly!
I went out yesterday morning. Didn't see anything, got bored and left about 900. Went back and hunted until dark, didn't see a thing. On the way home (8pm on the nose), I called my bride and told her I didn't see any. As soon as I got the words out of my mouth I saw two crossing the road from a woods to a cut cornfield.
Here is the interesting part; The moon rise on Sunday the 30th was at 621pm, the set was 659am. Yesterday Oct 3 rise was at 805pm and set at 953.
I was hunting the same unalerted deer, yet I went from seeing 15 on Sunday to nothing yesterday...morning or evening. The difference, moon times. Maybe not the only difference, but certainly a factor. Essentially, had I looked at the time the moon crested the horizon, I would have expected to see deer during daylight on Sunday the 30th (and we did really close to the time the moon popped up or set). Had I looked at the moon times yesterday, I may have stayed home and saved my wife points for a better day.. I just wanted to hunt! So anyway, the move I should have made yesterday would have been to stay in the stand a little longer in the morning, and stayed home yesterday evening since the deer weren't going to move 'en masse until 8pm -after shooting hours. Funny, that I saw two while calling my bride to tell her I'd be at the shop by 830...and I recall it was 8pm precisely!
Anyway, keep track of this stuff and you may convince yourself of it's merit. I've watched it for years, and buy it whole-heartedly!
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Something else that's interesting; Sept 30 the moonrise for Athens, Ohio was 5:46pm. Mrex and Jesse both shot really close to 6pm. My buddy Doc Steve sent me a text at 6:15 mad because he had just let three walk by while texting me, and the guy he was hunting with killed a doe at 6:30. Coincidence? Maybe, but I don't think so. Deer were on the move everywhere, and I don't think anyone has seen much the last couple of days.
Ric, (FS), what time did the does come through this morning?
The point being, there are enough of us here to keep track of the times we see deer and match it up with moon times to prove or disprove it.
Anyone else see a bunch over the weekend and care to chime in?
Ric, (FS), what time did the does come through this morning?
The point being, there are enough of us here to keep track of the times we see deer and match it up with moon times to prove or disprove it.
Anyone else see a bunch over the weekend and care to chime in?
I only hunted on Saturday, but I did see a buttload of deer. All does and fawns, though. In the morning, all of the deer came through (close to a bedding area) between 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. In the evening, they all came through (over a food plot) between 5:10 and 6:15 p.m.
Does came thru at 8:17 and 8:19 this morning. Got a pic of one at 8:32, at a cam that's 120 yards down the trail they were on.
Ric, that proof enough you need to hunt when you can.
Yeeeeup! Which Brock is this? Our Brock or a new Brock?!? Rotflmao
I would hunt everyday thru the entire season with exception of the big holidays or special occasion days that would get me in the doghouse. Between work and family obligations many if not all of us have to pick and choose wisely on which days to hunt and the moon is one of my main factors I consider when I choose to go.
This is for those who haven't read up about moon phases and lunar cycles and how they effect deer movement. Brock and Lone Wolf have some VERY valuable info mentioned on this thread. Take it, chew on it, and digest it! It could very well lead you to the most awesome hunt you ever had! Be prepared to sit in your stand from dark to dark and have your bow in hand or close by on Nov. 13th. The few days before and after are usually kick ass TOO.
Jim brought up a great point about lockdown during this time. In my experiences it has happened during this time. Talk about frustrating!!! Roger Rothaar said once, during this period, if he sits for an hour or two and doesn't see any deer movement, he will pick up his things and go somewhere else till he finds the action. That's something to consider if you have other props to hunt on. If not, just hunt the other side of the farm your on. Ron and I always say during the lockdown, something is happening somewhere, we just have to find out where.
Great thread Jesse!
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Very informative guys. I took my daughter out Tuesday night night and my son last night and we saw zero deer each night. However, Saturday and Sunday evenings we saw 3 deer each night.
I honestly can not tell you for sure why the moon makes deer feed, other than at certain times while it is directly overhead and underfoot, it exerts a tremendous amount of force upon the earths surface. Something in this force triggers a feeding response in the whitetail. It happens twice everyday, its just sometimes those times are much more beneficial to hunters than others. For example, if the moon is directly overhead at 12 noon, it will be directly underfoot in the middle of the night. Both of these times will still get a response from deer, its just we are usually not in the woods to experience it. It's during the quarter moon ( first or last ) that the two peak times ( overhead and underfoot ) usually fall during the sunrise and sunset times. There are obviously other reasons deer will feed, but those two peak times in a 24 hour day are the major activity periods.
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Fullbore
Senior Member
Took my son saturday morning. We did not see a deer till 9:17 and we seen 5 one buck. We did not hunt Sunday and we hunted Monday night. We seen alot alof of deer. They hit the field just after 6:50.
Awesome thread! I have been trying to piece this together for a long time. This is something I will look into further. Thanks guys!
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Not exactly what I've observed...
I firmly believe it is the rise and fall - when the moon is on the horizon, that it is most beneficial. For example, on the 29th of September we had a FULL moon. It's rising time corresponded to traditional evening hunting, and movement was well before sundown. The setting moon was AFTER sunup, and therefore beneficial to those of us hoping to see morning movement. On days like the 30th, the moon would be overhead at mid-day. That would have been somewhat beneficial if it weren't really warm, and anyone had sat waiting in a bedding area all day. That is why the 13th of November is going to be awesome, if we get cool temps. The moon will tell them to wiggle around, if the weather allows them to be comfortable, they will -all day.
If you have a rising moon in the early afternoon (2:00 we'll say) and you can only hunt morning or afternoon, chose the afternoon! That early rising moon will get them on their feet early, but it will set at 2am-ish. After getting active around 2 pm, they are gonna move well for two or three hours and then shut down again, which is OK because we are out of shooting light anyway. They will be active again at 2 am... and that isn't going to do anyone any good, so sleep in if you can only hunt once a day.
Still, fronts trump all imo., and you can see deer on ANY day. It might take a wood cutting neighbor, or a loose dog, but something could move a deer past at any time.
I don't believe the moon has anything to do with the timing of the rut but I'm sure there's something to it's effect on deer activity. I have a couple hunting buddies that I respect who alter their schedules based on the moon.