Moon phase and buck movement?

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Trout
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Re: Moon phase and buck movement?

Unread postby Trout » Fri Sep 06, 2019 12:47 am

I dont. BUT, if you thinking the moon being right gets you in the woods more, then there is definitely something to it.


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Re: Moon phase and buck movement?

Unread postby Rmallen » Fri Sep 06, 2019 3:41 am

I know the research doesn’t show any correlation. I’m a territory sales rep and have followed the moon phase for a long time. I do believe there is some correlation. I like moon half moon over head at sunset best have had success on early season hunts. I do believe in stacking the deck if I have a cold front paired with that it’s a no brained of being in the woods early season. I’ve found full moon overhead in the rut to be good time for all day sits. Going back to being a territory rep. When I can’t hunt I can visually see a higher number of deer on there feet when I’m traveling during those days and times. Just my opinion.
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Re: Moon phase and buck movement?

Unread postby Abishai » Fri Sep 06, 2019 7:27 am

Don't believe in it. No correlation between moon phase and deer movement. They move better in the cold and usually at dawn and dusk.
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Re: Moon phase and buck movement?

Unread postby Cchez » Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:29 am

Listen to the Adam Hays Wired to Hunt podcast. He goes into some detail over it. He does go on to say though how weather trumps moon position as far as deer movement. Keep in mind, he does own the "Moon Guide" dial, so in part he is trying to sell you his product.
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Re: Moon phase and buck movement?

Unread postby ThePreBanMan » Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:33 am

Don't buy it. There's absolutely no scientific evidence that establishes a relationship of any kind in any way. All the evidence shows the opposite is true actually.

I have a lot of respect for Dr. Grant Woods. He used to advocate that there was a relationship. Then after the GPS collar studies came out, and he did his own additional research, he changes his opinion 180 and now says it's smoke and mirrors. Takes a big man to admit he was wrong, especially when it's how you make a living.
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Re: Moon phase and buck movement?

Unread postby <DK> » Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:55 am

Cchez wrote:Listen to the Adam Hays Wired to Hunt podcast. He goes into some detail over it. He does go on to say though how weather trumps moon position as far as deer movement. Keep in mind, he does own the "Moon Guide" dial, so in part he is trying to sell you his product.

I believe he purchased that guide from the family of the man who developed the theories in first place
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Re: Moon phase and buck movement?

Unread postby SneakyHunter » Fri Sep 06, 2019 9:06 am

I hunt when I can hunt but with that said anytime the moon is overhead within an hour or so of dusk and dawn deer seem more visible.
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Re: Moon phase and buck movement?

Unread postby headgear » Fri Sep 06, 2019 9:09 am

Things always get confusing with the moon stuff because of terminology, some people talk about moon phase, other moon position with overhead and underfoot, others yet talk moon transit. I haven't seen much with moon phase, I see some stuff with moon transit but not sure about it yet, I have seen plenty of action with overhead and underfoot position but not all of the time, I think you want to avoid the full/new moon when it comes to position. Plenty of info out there, do you own research/testing and do what works for you. With the moon it isn't just deer I see, fish feeding and even turkeys seem to be out and about during certain moon times so there is something too this but I don't think we have the whole story yet.
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Re: Moon phase and buck movement?

Unread postby Cchez » Fri Sep 06, 2019 9:27 am

<DK> wrote:
Cchez wrote:Listen to the Adam Hays Wired to Hunt podcast. He goes into some detail over it. He does go on to say though how weather trumps moon position as far as deer movement. Keep in mind, he does own the "Moon Guide" dial, so in part he is trying to sell you his product.

I believe he purchased that guide from the family of the man who developed the theories in first place



Correct. He purchased it from Jeff Murray.
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Re: Moon phase and buck movement?

Unread postby Cchez » Fri Sep 06, 2019 9:33 am

I've noticed some trends with moon position, but I'm not going to let it dictate when i hunt. I don't have the time for that unfortunately. For fun, I've gone over some pictures of bucks on trail cams over the last couple years, and even looked back on the last couple bucks I've killed to see if there was any correlation to the moon position. I've even started paying closer attention to the deer out feeding on my way to and from work every day. I have seen some trends where these deer are up on their feet and feeding during different moon positions. Its not alway overhead or underfoot. I've also seen movement when the moon rise or moon set is within that hour or 2 window of dawn and dusk. The biggest movements I see though are weather related.
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Re: Moon phase and buck movement?

Unread postby MrT » Fri Sep 06, 2019 11:14 pm

I believe in it... to a certain extent. I don't think the moon has as great of effect on mature buck movement as it does other deer. There are a few major factors I believe influence deer movement and I'll list them in order of importance.

1. Human Pressure
2. Weather/Barometric Pressure
3. Moon

I've made observations over the years that lead me to believe that moon phase does in fact have a correlation with deer movement. Everytime I see deer, whether it be in the stand or driving down the road, I check the moon phase and feeding chart and most of the time it is right in that spike for the feeding time. Most of the time the weather is favorable during these movements, and almost all of the time these deer are not mature bucks.

Whenever I see deer during a time that does not correlate with moon phase, I take notice of other factors. Often theres been a significant change in barometric pressure, front/storm coming in, bad storm/rain that just passed through, temperature change especially when theres a significant drop, certain wind speeds etc. Seems to me that weather trumps the moon phase and it seems like weather is more likely to affect mature buck movement.

Human pressure can be harder to determine when just driving down the road, so I use observations from public and private lands where I am familiar with the situation. Human pressure trumps everything. No matter the weather or moon, deer will move or not move based on the presence of humans and the act differently depending on the nature of their presence. Think of how you soft bump a deer compared to blowing them out of the area. Heavily hunted deer will move to safer areas or stay where it's safe until the cover of darkness. There is no other deer that it affected more by human pressure, in my opinion, than a mature buck.

Joe Elsinger was on a recent podcast on WTH discussing his in depth analyzation of trail camera data and said he could not find a correlation between moon phase and buck movement , EXCEPT for that new moon towards the end of October. He said there might be something there, and I have observed the same.

I pay attention to the moon phase, but overall I take it with a grain of salt. Based on years of observation, I don't think it should be your main confidence factor when determining when to hunt or take off for vacation to hunt. Weather and human pressure are much more important to pay attention to.
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Re: Moon phase and buck movement?

Unread postby mheichelbech » Sat Sep 07, 2019 1:13 am

Rmallen wrote:I know the research doesn’t show any correlation. I’m a territory sales rep and have followed the moon phase for a long time. I do believe there is some correlation. I like moon half moon over head at sunset best have had success on early season hunts. I do believe in stacking the deck if I have a cold front paired with that it’s a no brained of being in the woods early season. I’ve found full moon overhead in the rut to be good time for all day sits. Going back to being a territory rep. When I can’t hunt I can visually see a higher number of deer on there feet when I’m traveling during those days and times. Just my opinion.

Seen the same.
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Re: Moon phase and buck movement?

Unread postby Lu Rome » Sat Sep 07, 2019 1:45 am

Rmallen wrote:.... I’ve found full moon overhead in the rut to be good time for all day sits. ....

Could you explain this a bit better? Full moon is overhead at night (in the middle of the night) and how does that relate to an all day sit? The rut is always good for an all day sit.

IMO if you want to believe in the moon you will find reasons to do so. An hour either side of overhead, underfoot, rising and setting accounts for 8 hours of the day. If you see deer moving, there's already a 33% chance that it correlates to one of those moon positions. Confirmation bias.
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Re: Moon phase and buck movement?

Unread postby strehb18 » Sat Sep 07, 2019 1:57 am

I haven't seen any good evidence that it has any effect on hunting. However, its hard for me to wrap my head around it having absolutley zero effect, and I'm not even sure what effect it might have.

It just seems that something in a deer's world of living outside 24/7 has to change when its extremely bright during the night in comparison to when it pitch black. Whether that light is used for the deer's benefit or predators.
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Re: Moon phase and buck movement?

Unread postby jporcello » Sat Sep 07, 2019 2:31 am

what about the last full moon and when the rut starts to get hot?
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