Moon phase and Deer hunting, aka Are You Gonna Be In the Woods on Fri?

[Dennis in MA]

Not a deer hunter. I'd like to, but I don't have time or place right now.

I've HEARD and read that moon phase is huge for deer hunting as it regulates the rut. Is this the WRONG full moon or "a" right one? Was last month better than this one? Are you tooling up for a long day in the woods on Friday in order to take advantage of this?

If its a big deal, I feel bad for shotgunners in MA. NEXT Monday starts shotgun season. Moon will already be at 86% and falling fast.

Good luck to all of you. I assume no hunting (in MA) on Thursday. It'll be witch-boob cold anyhoo.

Stay warm, boys and girls. Thanks for your input!

 

[ThePreBanMan]

There has been zero, zilch, nada scientific evidence that correlates deer movement to moon phases. It has been studied as well. Some people buy into it, but I lean on the science. Just like some people are superstitious and other's arent.

The rut has zero relationship to moon phases. The rut is based on the calendar. It happens the same time every year based on the photoperiod (sunlight vs dark). This has been scientifically established and is accepted as scientific law among biologists. Moon phases and overhead/underfoot times make no difference.

What can change is the amount of daytime movement during the rut. This is related to a number of factors such as weather and hunting pressure though, not the moon. Colder days will have them moving around more. Warm weather - not so much. Hunting pressure will have them more locked down in thick cover during the day and not moving much.

Bad weather such as heavy rain will cause most animals in the woods to batten down the hatches. But they'll be on their feet when the storm front breaks. Unless it's during the day and there's high pressure. Then they'll wait until dark.

Hunting pressure, more than any other factor, impacts their movements.

 

[Mark from MA]

From my experience over years of hunting. FWIW.

Daylight regulates the rut....not moon phase....however.

Full Moon and New Moon, I see more activity at dark,dusk, and before and after shooting light. If you are seeing deer on the roads before you get to your spot, not good, you will likely see deer at dark on the way out too.

Quarter moon has been my best time for sightings during mid morning hunting times, and later afternoon hunting times.

Deer tend to feed up 24 hours before bad weather. I would rather sit a day before the Noreaster, rather than right before it starts, as deer are battened down by then. Also, they may not feed til well after the storm as well....not right after.

Cold clear mornings with high pressure where there is a large temperature variant between morning and day have been good days for me Mornings where it's frosty and 20 and gets to 55 and sunny and warm.

Some days, for no apparent reason, there are deer everywhere, I've seen this alot, and not necessarily during the rut either. I try to put together reasons why, or some data.....can't do it.

Hunting pressure throws all the above into a tailspin, and if deer are fully pressured they will be 100% noctournal, find safe spots they don't have to travel far between bed and food, and will seem to dissappear...... especially the mature deer.

 

[Mark from MA]

Not a deer hunter. I'd like to, but I don't have time or place right now.

I've HEARD and read that moon phase is huge for deer hunting as it regulates the rut. Is this the WRONG full moon or "a" right one? Was last month better than this one? Are you tooling up for a long day in the woods on Friday in order to take advantage of this?

If its a big deal, I feel bad for shotgunners in MA. NEXT Monday starts shotgun season. Moon will already be at 86% and falling fast.

Good luck to all of you. I assume no hunting (in MA) on Thursday. It'll be witch-boob cold anyhoo.

Stay warm, boys and girls. Thanks for your input!

You can bowhunt MA all the way to Saturday I believe. I won't be out there in that kind of cold, with the bow it sucks. Sitting in a deer stand will feel 10 degrees colder than it really is. Im not that hard up, I've had plenty of sightings and chances this year and have meat in the freezer.

 

[pupchow]

...
Good luck to all of you. I assume no hunting (in MA) on Thursday. It'll be witch-boob cold anyhoo.

There's no hunting on Sundays, not holidays.

 

[PatMcD]

I work under the assumption that there is no "wrong" time to be in the woods deer hunting. I mean, the deer are somewhere: they don't disappear.
The only time I guarantee you won't shot a deer is when you are in the house or otherwise not hunting.

 

[SpaceCritter]

I work under the assumption that there is no "wrong" time to be in the woods deer hunting. I mean, the deer are somewhere: they don't disappear.
The only time I guarantee you won't shot a deer is when you are in the house or otherwise not hunting.

I do believe they're smart enough to know when the season is, though, and hide. Yesterday morning's ride was in a town sanctuary (not hunted), which is directly across the street from a state forest block (which is). Guess which side of the road the deer were on?

 

[northny]

I’ll say this. The past week in NNY, the rut is full on. In 7 days three of us saw 5 bucks with 8 pts or better chasing does. We killed two 8s one ten. The other two were seen by guy coyote hunting who had already filled his tag. None of these deer were seen in prior five weeks of season. Then rut was on and bam! They are chasing all day. I killed my 8 pt at 10 am. 10 pt went down at 2 pm.

Much later rut than usual.

 

[Dennis in MA]

This is fascinating. I’ve never bought into lunar phase for fishing but after years of reading F&S and OL, I assumed tut and moon were tied.

Saltwater can be affected by lunar cycle - only because it affects tidal action.

I don’t get to do it often, but I really enjoy freshwater fishing at 2am with a full moon. It’s like perpetual dusk.

Thanks for the perspectives, hunters.

 

[SpaceCritter]

Regarding matters lunar, I'll say this:

Our house is entirely without window treatments... EXCEPT my bedroom. I CANNOT deal with the moon, when it's close to full. It's a moving lightsource in my face, and f***s up my sleep patterns. Thus the bedroom curtains.

I cannot be the only critter with a problem with lunar light.

 

[Irish65]

My dogs sit and howl at the full moon. Really, they sit, look up at it and howl. Its weird because they don't otherwise howl, or bark much.

 

[Blackmore]

I still think it has more to do with your pre-season scouting and woodland skillset once you're in the woods with your rifle than any lunar cycle. A case in point is a friend of mine's son. He is an experienced hunter (Adirondacks & VT) but had never hunted in NH until last year. Did his fieldwork and second day out got an 8 pointer. This year, same thing but in a different town. Second day out, another 8 pointer.

 

[Mark from MA]

I still think it has more to do with your pre-season scouting and woodland skillset once you're in the woods with your rifle than any lunar cycle. A case in point is a friend of mine's son. He is an experienced hunter (Adirondacks & VT) but had never hunted in NH until last year. Did his fieldwork and second day out got an 8 pointer. This year, same thing but in a different town. Second day out, another 8 pointer.

Most of what I said is related to bow/stand hunting.

With a rifle you can throw a lot of it out of the window. Guns open up the world in my opinion. You can still hunt, find a deer and still shoot it, with a bow that's generally not an option.

 

[BrianWilson]

Well....I can tell you it was pretty frickin cold in the woods Friday.