buckbuster8135 Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Hey all im new to the forum. i was wondering how many of you hunt by the moon, and whats the best day to go out the day of a full moon? i still have 15 days to go until the bowhunting season begins here so trying to do my homework to try and score my first archery buck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger-Hunter Posted October 4, 2009 Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 In 15 days it should be almost a new moon. The best time to go out is anytime you can. I've read a bit about moon phases - here's is what I've gathered: Full moon - you will see deer more in the evening, but you should hunt all day if possible cause bucks will move around at noon - I shot a buck this way 12:00pm on the button. New Moon is more than just a chinese restaurant and you'll likely see more deer in the morning. Especially if there is cloud cover. More difficult to see at night and it takes them longer to get their bellies full. Half (quarter moon) - good in both mornings and evening. Likely not in the noontime - but stranger things have happened. When deciding to hunt in the morning or the afternoon, I look to the moon phase. Also on full moons, I do try to stay out until at least 1pm then grab a quick bite to eat and get back in the woods. With the cold weather, you might be lucky and they'll be moving sporadically all day - this year is a weird year with strange weather. They may be going into rut sooner than usual. But that is just pure conjecture on my part. Peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunandjulie Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 Nice post Stinger Hunter. Very informative. I was actually just wondering about the whole full moon thing today. It dropped down into the mid 30's here in Southern Illinois this morning, but its a full moon and I didn't see a single deer. I hadn't done enough research on the moon phases to see how the moon effected them. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWSmith Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 When your time hunting is limited you go whenever and stay for as long as possible...but... If you have to go during a full moon phase try to definitely be there between the time frame of 10-14hrs after the full moon was directly overhead. I can set a clock by the deer movement during that time. It has to be a torential downpour to keep them bedded up then but most of the time they will be on their feet and moving. I dont know all about the why...it's just something I've seen happen over the years. I found this out by accident really when I could'nt sleep one night before a hunt. I was outside and looked up at the full moon then looked at my watch and made a mental note of the time...12 hours later they were moving! It's been happening that way for me ever since. It wont make deer appear in an area where they are not...but if they are there they will be moving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearClaw Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 I hunted Saturday (full moon) and saw no deer in the morning. Checked my camera by my stand and found out they were out eating acorns and licking the mineral lick from 1AM to 5:40AM. I arrived around 6AM and probably scared them off but I didn't hear anything. They like to move at night during the full moon. I saw 2 does around 5Pm and one buck around 6PM (which I shot!) I read somewhere that they feed all night, bed down early and get up and move late afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WvBowhunterKE Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 I read the same article in Northern Whitetails. ( Directed to BearClaw ) but thanks for the info Stinger! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backwoods07 Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 Welcome to the forums! My hunting time is limited to weekends, so I guess I really don't hunt the moon phases, but I know what to expect during them. Deer travel more at night with a full moon. Their eyesight is best at dawn and duska nd a full moon replicates that amount of light. With a new moon, deer tend to travel more in the daylight hours. I'm a strong believer in patterning the deer under normal circumstances and not varying your strategy solely on moon phase. Anyone who's ever hunted whitetail will tell you anything can happen at any time. Here in Illinois this past weekend, we saw NO activity hunting food plots and corn. A friend of ours, Kyle Wieter (you may have heard of him ), stopped by and told us they were hitting acorns. Sure enough, deer were all over the acorns, especially in the evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jorden Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 My advice...hunt whenever you can;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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