Does anybody scout according to the moonguide?

[The Rav]

I think this is a good question. Does anyone scout according to the moonguide? Many here depend on the moonguide to predict early and late deer movement as one of their hunting tactics. In my thinking it would stand to reason that you could use the moonguide to spot deer movement for early and late movement. That way you could see where they are coming from and where they are heading to from a greater distance away than if you were actually hunting them and trying to get in close. For instance, you see a huge buck heading to a certain place to bed well after daybreak. Wouldn't that be a good time to get in and try to track where he goes providing there is good snow cover on the ground yet? Or say you spot one coming out of a certain area a while before dusk. What do you do? Move in now with a flashlight and gain whatever know you can at the moment? Or just come back the next morning and pick up where you left off? Remember that I'm thinking of seeing one from a distance away, perhaps even with a binoculars and putting wind direction into play.

[Zap]

Where can I view the moonguide?
Thanks.
As soon as I know where I can view it I will.

marty

[Singing Bridge]

The moonguide was created by Jeff Murray, who passed away recently. They are for sale at "moonguide.com" - Hopefully they continue making them.

Rav, an interesting concept: Would the moonguide assist your ability to see nice bucks from what I call an "observation stand," which can certainly be useful in certain circumstances. I scout whenever I can, but the guide may predict some earlier and later movement in areas without high hunting or scouting pressure.

[Zap]

I just ordered the "moon beams" dvd.
Thanks.

marty

[PredatorTC]

I cant answer the post question but for those you you that are on the fence about getting one, you better. I used one this past season and i could not believe how accurate it was with both old bucks and young bucks. I actually shot me 3.5 year old buck in the morning, within 5 minutes of when the moon charts said it would be hot. I caught him going back to his bed late. Awesome investment!!

[Slider1005]

This is an interesting topic. I don't have a moon guide, but am picking one up. I think it would be useful for scouting, and watching from a distance if you have a chance they might move earlier. When I get mine I think I will try this.

[DevinJD2007]

I have to agree with PredatorTC on this one If you haven't picked up a moonguide I highly recommend one it is very accurate when it comes to predicting movement times.

[BackWoodsHunter]

Can those that use the moonguide better explain to me how this works? I went to the site to order a copy for 2011 it says they are available but the check out page wants to sell me one for 2010 so I'll just wait for now...

This chart basically just tells you when to be on stand? Any idea how he determines this? I assume when the moon is in different phases it affects something but is it consistant that one phase of the moon triggers more daylight movement?
Thanks for the help guys!

[Swampthing]

I know that Adam Hayes used the moonguide in patterning one of his 200 " bucks. If I remember, he glassed nightly trying to catch a glimpse of this buck.And only spotted the buck 3 times in daylight. And all 3 of those coincided with the moon charts.
So yes, I would think glassing by following the moon guide would be a good idea.Actually, Dan recommended I do just that with some of the locations I hunt that are not close to home.

[ Post made via Android ]

[headgear]

Can those that use the moonguide better explain to me how this works? I went to the site to order a copy for 2011 it says they are available but the check out page wants to sell me one for 2010 so I'll just wait for now...

Ok hopefully I have this right, when the moon is in transit and either overhead or underfoot it can trigger the deer to get up and feed or just be more active and move around a little sooner then they would normally get up. If the moon is in transit during mid-day the deer might just get up for a stretch and feed close to their bedding area. However if the moon is in transit during the hour before sunrise or sunset you can have a better chance of killing a mature buck either getting up earlier then normal from his bed and moving further into the staging area, or catch a buck feeding late in the morning and arriving to his bedding area late.

This would also explain how Andrea's bump and dumb tactic can work so well. If you know where a buck is bedding and just happen to know that he will be feeding the next morning and getting back to his bedroom late you can bump him and setup right over his bed and catch him during shooting hours.

[Black Squirrel]

Very interesting Headgear, I never thought about putting those two concepts together, but it seems to really make sense. Also, for those of you looking for moon guides, there are alot of free ones one the web. They are not spelled out like the one Jeff Murray used to make, but if you figure out how they work, you can take that free info and figure out best times.

[dan]

This would also explain how Andrea's bump and dumb tactic can work so well. If you know where a buck is bedding and just happen to know that he will be feeding the next morning and getting back to his bedroom late you can bump him and setup right over his bed and catch him during shooting hours.

Actually, Andrae would wait till the deer is gone and set up, or just set up in the morning if he already new exactly where the buck bedded...
You are correct though, that the moon guide should be used in conjunction with bump and dump to determine late morning arrival at the bed after jumping the buck.
But bump and dump is used in the bump sense to find the buck, rather than to give you set up time.

[headgear]

There I go forgetting those details again, here I though I knew all the videos by heart. Right on Dan, Andrea did know the general area the buck was using but not the exact bed so hence the bump and dump to find, setup, and hunt with a little help from the moon.

[dan]

I was talking with Andrae the other day and he was telling me about a big 8 pointer he killed that we are wanting to use in the farm country DVD... He said he was driving his ATV out of the woods and noticed a large buck rise from a bed on the edge of an island of trees in the middle of a field. He hit the gas and cruised right by hoping not to spook it. The next day he glassed that spot from the road and could see it was a shooter and that it was still bedding there. He watched it a few times a week from a safe distance trying to get a fix on where he could kill it when it exited the field but it staged right at that island every day and would not head off till dark. Andrea did have a fix where the buck was going but it would not be in shooting or filming light ( he shoots all his bucks on film)
Then he was checking the moon chart after a couple days away and saw a great evening for early movement based on the moon and Andraes late friends chart ( Jeff Murry )
So he ran out and set up across the field from the bed and sure enough for the 1st time the buck crossed the field earlier as predicted by the moon chart... Andrae shot the buck that night, of coarse.