hungry hunter Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Got another question that will open up the opinons. I am a a self taught deer hunter hence the name (hungry hunter). I have gottne into arguments with buddies abouth hunting the moon. What I have read is hunt the new moon hard, full moon midday, relax on the waxing moon. On a blue moon take a lunch and stay dark to dark. Others say don't hunt the full moon at all. I am not stupid when it comes to hunting just got empty freezers. That has to change before the war department seizes the funding for hunting season and uses it on flowers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hungry hunter Posted February 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Got another question that will open up the opinons. I am a a self taught deer hunter hence the name (hungry hunter). I have gotten into arguments with buddies abouth hunting the moon. What I have read is hunt the new moon hard, full moon midday, relax on the waxing moon. On a blue moon take a lunch and stay dark to dark. Others say don't hunt the full moon at all. I am not stupid when it comes to hunting just got empty freezers. That has to change before the war department seizes the funding for hunting season and uses it on flowers, another horse, ect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 (edited) JMO opinion but deer hunters put wayyyyyy to much emphasis on the moon phase. Weather conditions play a much greater role in determining daylight deer movement. As a general rule of thumb, daylight deer movement is greater when the temperature is below the deer’s comfort level. When the temp is above that comfort level deer movement is suppressed. A deer’s comfort level is different during different months of the deer season too. A deer with a short winter coat in early October is going to tolerate moving in warmer temps more than a deer with a full winter coat in mid to late November and December. Also, temperature comfort level is going to be different for southern deer when compared to northern deer. You will have to figure out what that is for where you hunt. Rutting activity, be it the seeking phase or the chase phase also plays a far greater role in daylight deer movement too. All things being equal I do believe deer movement is better during certain moon phases over others but that’s no reason to throw in the towel. By comparison the odds are just a little better. One thing is for sure…you must be present to win! For the past 7 deer seasons I’ve kept my deer hunting journal in my computer. At the end of each season I update a summary of each season’s deer sightings along with my buck kills with time, date and the moon phase indicated for each kill. The weather conditions are kept in the details of each day’s hunting journal notes. Below are all my buck kills for the past 7 deer seasons with the moon phase shown for each one. You will see that at least for me they have occurred during all phases of the moon. The seeking phase of the rut where I hunt in MS starts around mid December. The chase phase starts during the week before Christmas. Also included in these buck kills are 2 bucks I killed in Kansas and Illinois. 1/4/03 shot @ 7:35AM - 3 ½ year old 8 point - Moon Phase: Waxing crescent with 4% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated. 1/11/03 shot @ 5:30 PM - 4 ½ year old 9 point - Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous with 61% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated. 11/30/03 shot @ 7:10 AM - 4 ½ year old 8 point - Moon Phase: First quarter Moon at 11:16 a.m. Central Standard Time. 12/24/03 shot @ 6:50 AM - 3 ½ year old 8 point - Moon Phase: Waxing crescent with 3% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated. 11/20/04 shot @ 4:00 PM (Kansas Bowhunt) – 6 ½ year old 175 1/8” net B&C 11 point - Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous with 66% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated. 1/13/05 shot @ 5:15 PM - 4 ½ year old 9 point - Moon Phase: Waxing crescent with 15% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated. 12/2/06 shot @ 5:25 PM - 3 ½ year old 8 point - Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous with 93% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated. 12/15/06 shot @ 5:10 PM - 4 ½ year old 6 point - Moon Phase: Waning crescent with 22% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated. 1/9/07 shot @ 5:15 PM - 6 ½ year old 8 point - Moon Phase: Waning gibbous with 66% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated. 12/17/07 shot @ 10:45 AM - 5 ½ year old 10 point - Moon Phase: 1st Quarter Moon at 4:18 a.m. 12/26/07 shot @ 9:10 AM – Big mature buck hit but not recovered - Moon Phase: Waning gibbous with 90% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated. 1/5/08 shot @ 7:55 AM - 3 ½ year old 8 point - Moon Phase: Waning crescent with 7% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated. 10/28/08 shot @ 5:50 PM (Illinois Bowhunt) - 6 ½ year old 9 point - Moon Phase: New Moon at 6:14 p.m. 12/5/07 shot @ 5:05 PM - 5 ½ year old 7 point - Moon Phase: 1st Quarter Moon at 3:26 p.m. 12/14/08 shot @ 7:45 AM - 5 ½ year old 8 point - Moon Phase: Waning gibbous with 94% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated. With the way these buck kills have occurred over all moon phases I obviously don’t kick back and relax based on waxing moons or stick to mid day hunts during full moons either. My attitude is if you don’t have the flexibility to pick the days that you can hunt, you need to hunt whenever you can get into the woods. If you have the flexibility to pick and choose your hunting days then hunt the rut hard and outside the rut pick and choose your hunting days based on favorable weather conditions and forget about the moon phase. Edited February 5, 2009 by Rhino Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 As always, Rhino never ceases to impress me... My general thoughts, it's overrated. Weather, rut, and approaching fronts do more to move deer than a moon phase. Generally, i dont like hunting as much in full moon phases, and have always thought deer tended to move more during the middle of the day during this time, but i never documented it like Rhino, though we do keep a log of all sightings at the camp, but mainly for ratio, body weight, deer count studies, not hunting methodology. Also, most importantly to me, if you only hunt days that are the best conditions, then you won't hunt very much, at least not in this state where we have Dec-Jan days into the 80's. I hunt every opportunity i can, and have killed some of the biggest bucks on some of the worst days. Just hunt till your wife starts giving you that look, then get the leaves out of the yard, and go again.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 I kept a journal this year and kept track of moon phase. Haven't analysed the data yet, but it seems to me that the brighter the sky the night before the less daytime activity. Doubt it has as significant an impact as wind, temperature, and rain/snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Just for the record, the most deer I saw on any of the 77 hunts (counting morning and afternoon hunts as seperate hunts) I made in MS this past season was on Dec. 13th which was the day following the date of the full moon. I saw 19 deer that morning and passed a 110 class 8 point. It was nearly perfect weather conditions for my neck of the woods with a light wind, partly cloudy, and the temperature was in the mid 30's. Since I had seen so much activity out of that stand I went back to it the following morning and killed the 137 3/8" (gross) 8 point from the same stand. He was the 5th buck I saw that morning. Just another one of those situations where I was at the right place at the right time even though it was a bright moon period. With that said though, when I'm planning an out of state hunting trip I try to schedule it around the New Moon or 1st Quarter Moon periods. There's no way of knowing what the weather conditions will be that far in advance so whatever potential factors you can plan around to try to better your odds you do it because once you're there...you hunt regardless of the conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Yep, i just looked at the log. Most i saw was on Dec 12th, Friday afternoon. Had three 8's, one 10pt, 6 does, 3 spikes in one field (a lot for us, and yeah i've hunted them places where you can count 28 deer in a field). I took the biggest bodied 8, scored a bit over 105". The next day i took my girls to another pc of property, and saw 12 deer including a decent 8pt, but couldnt get my nine yr old to calm down enough to make the shot, so we let them walk...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Here, try what I do. If you have time to hunt, hunt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Here, try what I do. If you have time to hunt, hunt. Well said, Tominator....well said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddyboman Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 do a search and you will see this topic A LOT!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hungry hunter Posted February 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Hey redkneck, If I had to rake the leaves out of the yard I would be in trouble. I chop them up with a bush hog 2 times a year and thats it. I forgot to mention In central west coast of Florida we get the 80 to 90 degree bow season. Any thanks. Just trying to get better at filling the freezer with venison. Plenty of seatrout, redfish, and scallops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Here, try what I do. If you have time to hunt, hunt. Ahhhh...yes...the ol K.I.S.S. method of deciding when to hunt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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