Moon phases.....over head under foot.

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straitnarrow
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Moon phases.....over head under foot.

Unread postby straitnarrow » Wed Oct 03, 2012 3:38 pm

I'm not understanding the moon phase thing. Sometimes just by reading other threads I think I have it but then I I think I don't after reading other stuff. So if everyone or anyone could elaborate that would be sweet or point me in the right direction towards a phase guide or something of that sort. I feel like it should be something that would be similar to Muskie fishing but then again if moon rise is at 1:30pm I don't expect deer up and moving at that time so I know I'm going wrong somewhere. Thanks everyone much appreciated.

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Re: Moon phases.....over head under foot.

Unread postby metropig » Wed Oct 03, 2012 4:01 pm

My understanding is the deer movement increases around those times when the moon is both above us and below us. If that time, for example, is 1pm then you can expect increased movement. That being said you can't expect the deer to throw all caution to the wind and go feed in a field in broad daylight. But I think you can look for them to be moving close to their beds or at food that also has cover. When the over/under times fall into the same time you normally see good deer movement (just after sun up and just before sun set) you can expect even better than normal movement. That's the way I understand it but I may be wrong. I tried to pay close attention to it a couple of years ago and didn't really notice a pattern. However, I think you would have to take other factors like weather and food sources into account to truly get an accurate set of data.
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Re: Moon phases.....over head under foot.

Unread postby Stanley » Wed Oct 03, 2012 4:25 pm

Daytime activity, nighttime activity, monthly activity, estrus cycles, peak of the rut, moon phase, moon position, declination, distance, gravity; yes it's confusing, and based on theory. Many researchers admit they may find a correlation between lunar conditions and deer activity, they are not sure what the moons gravitational stimulates are.
One of the reasons hunters report seeing deer during the moon times predicted is because the tables predict the best time to hunt; and the charts sometimes predict morning and evening times with an overhead/underfoot moon. In November, when there are only about ten hours of daylight, the chances of seeing deer are obviously fairly high during the early AM/PM predicted times. Because deer are most active in the morning and evening during the fall, and these are the times when most hunters see deer. I am trying to check the accuracy of the moon tables during the predicted times with trail camera pictures (still in progress). So far there is no definitive evidence the moon charts predictions are accurate.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: Moon phases.....over head under foot.

Unread postby BigHills BuckHunter » Wed Oct 03, 2012 10:30 pm

Stanley wrote:Daytime activity, nighttime activity, monthly activity, estrus cycles, peak of the rut, moon phase, moon position, declination, distance, gravity; yes it's confusing, and based on theory. Many researchers admit they may find a correlation between lunar conditions and deer activity, they are not sure what the moons gravitational stimulates are.
One of the reasons hunters report seeing deer during the moon times predicted is because the tables predict the best time to hunt; and the charts sometimes predict morning and evening times with an overhead/underfoot moon. In November, when there are only about ten hours of daylight, the chances of seeing deer are obviously fairly high during the early AM/PM predicted times. Because deer are most active in the morning and evening during the fall, and these are the times when most hunters see deer. I am trying to check the accuracy of the moon tables during the predicted times with trail camera pictures (still in progress). So far there is no definitive evidence the moon charts predictions are accurate.


I forgot about your study....will send pics soon Stan.
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Re: Moon phases.....over head under foot.

Unread postby dreaming bucks » Wed Oct 03, 2012 11:35 pm

I disagree... just because you don't have pics of deer moving at the time of moon times, doesn't mean it doesn't work... I have my cams all out on field edges, & I don't expect to get pictures of deer out there at say noon, even if that is the moon overhead for the day..... that doesn't mean the deer were not up & moving right next to their beds for that period... The biggest influence I think it makes, is when the moon overhead or underfoot falls within an hour of sunset or sunrise. For example........ if the sunset is at 7:00pm, & the overhead is anywhere from 6:00 to 7:00pm, it can influence deer to get up & moving a little earlier than normal from their beds.....

Andrae has did the research, & found correlation between moom times, & deer movement.... I Will take his word for it.

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Re: Moon phases.....over head under foot.

Unread postby Ridgerunner7 » Thu Oct 04, 2012 12:55 am

I feel as though it's really hard to judge this by trail cam pictures. Like mentioned aboved...I don't place my cams where I would typically get daylight pics so the info maybe innaccurate.

One thing I've noticed is in the off season when hunting pressure is a non issue I'll often see deer feeding in a field or up and active at odd times during the day. I know the moon calendar well and it almost always correlates with a major (overhead, underfoot times). For instance, driving the highway in the mid summer and seeing a field full of deer at 1PM??

I also glassed a field all summer where several deer poured into most evenings. there was a handful of good bucks that came out now and then. After documenting the info..they were visible in almost every favorable moon day...and almost none of the others during daylight. Now..these were mostly calm nice days in the summer. I say that because I think the moon influence is just one piece...I believe weather fronts, hunting pressure, wind, etc all influence movement as well and probably more.

Mature bucks...moon or not typically aren't going to be prancing out in the open where many people put their trail cameras.

Stanley you make some great points as well on November. In November..breeding urges would trump any type of moon influence if there is indeed any.
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Re: Moon phases.....over head under foot.

Unread postby KLEMZ » Thu Oct 04, 2012 4:57 am

Ridgerunner7 wrote:I feel as though it's really hard to judge this by trail cam pictures. Like mentioned aboved...I don't place my cams where I would typically get daylight pics so the info maybe innaccurate.


At first I agreed with this, but, I think if the camera study is comparing the RATIO of non moon day pictures vs moon day pictures, then location shouldn't matter. For example, a field edge might not get the same number of day light pictures as a bedding staging area BUT what we are not looking at the NUMBER of pictures, we should be looking at the RATIO of pictures for that particular camera set up. So for a field edge, maybe 25% of non moon days have buck pictures and maybe 35% of moon days have buck pictures. Or for a bedding staging area maybe 50% of non moon days have daylight buck pics while 75% of moon days have pics. Either location provides information to prove or disprove the moons influence
Last edited by KLEMZ on Thu Oct 04, 2012 6:01 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Moon phases.....over head under foot.

Unread postby Busch Light Bandit » Thu Oct 04, 2012 5:50 am

I too was having an issue understanding this concept. Look at this that Dan put out. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14743 If you still have questions, ask him. Other than knowing that the deer will be more active, I can't intelligently give you help on this and the earlier posts I don't believe answered your question. I just looked at the dates that Dan put out, and I trust that I am getting accurate information. He has the proof hanging on the walls.
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Re: Moon phases.....over head under foot.

Unread postby Stanley » Thu Oct 04, 2012 7:16 am

KLEMZ wrote:
Ridgerunner7 wrote:I feel as though it's really hard to judge this by trail cam pictures. Like mentioned aboved...I don't place my cams where I would typically get daylight pics so the info maybe innaccurate.


At first I agreed with this, but, I think if the camera study is comparing the RATIO of non moon day pictures vs moon day pictures, then location shouldn't matter. For example, a field edge might not get the same number of day light pictures as a bedding staging area BUT what we are not looking at the NUMBER of pictures, we should be looking at the RATIO of pictures for that particular camera set up. So for a field edge, maybe 25% of non moon days have buck pictures and maybe 35% of moon days have buck pictures. Or for a bedding staging area maybe 50% of non moon days have daylight buck pics while 75% of moon days have pics. Either location provides information to prove or disprove the moons influence


Good points, for me data collected is more accurate than just saying this works or that guy said it works. Deer movement is deer movement no matter where a camera is setup and getting pictures of deer moving. The guide is not partial on bucks does or mature bucks. I never like to ask the fox if there are any chickens in the hen house.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: Moon phases.....over head under foot.

Unread postby dan » Thu Oct 04, 2012 11:44 am

I used to be a skeptic... What changed my mind was looking at 100's of mature buck pictures that were date time stamped and comparing them to the times the moon was directly above or below... It was really easy to see on Andraes managed land... Once I started watching while hunting his ground, I noticed it influenced buck movement, but not to the same degree as young deer movement... I was noticing young deer filling the fields at evening moon times and if I paid attention I could get out there before the major movement, or wait based on the moon.
It was very obvious there was a relationship...
However, getting back here to low deer density and trying to observe movement on moon phase was more challenging. It was still fairly easy to observe on private land while driving around during the summer, but seeing the movements associated with the moon on the heavy pressured public proved to be more difficult... Difficult, but still noticeable by paying attention. An o/h moon at 1pm did not seem to do anything here, but I am noticing bucks moving in and around there bedding areas earlier in the evenings, and later in the mornings on moon days... Are these movements differences by hours? No... But 15 to 30 minutes is a game changer.
I also want to mention that I have seen much better daylight cruising on days and times when the moon is overhead / underfoot midday. So, yes, it effects rut... The more I observe it, the more it keeps proving true...


Back to the original posters question, peak "moon" movement is when the moon is directly over head, or straight down beneath the earth... Whats gets deer moving great in daylight seems to be when the moon does this in the 1st couple hours or last couple hours of daylight.
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Re: Moon phases.....over head under foot.

Unread postby straitnarrow » Thu Oct 04, 2012 1:27 pm

Thanks guys for the replies I think I'm starting to understand this more.

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