Tips For Deer Hunting The Moon Phases
If you've done any deer hunting at all, you know the Moon phase plays a part in the behavior of deer. Not only Whitetail Deer, but Mule Deer and other game animals. I know people who will not go deer hunting when the Moon is full. You don't have to miss out on some of of the hottest hunting of the deer season just because the Moon is full. Here are a few tips to help you take advantage of any Moon phase during the deer hunting season.
Here are my experiences with the different Moon phases during the hunting season. These are not cut in stone as many circumstances other than the Moon phase can influence deer movement, such as other Hunters, weather fronts, predators and the rut. All things being equal, here is what I've learned over the years. I use the Moon Guide to help me figure out the best times to be hunting. It's just another tool in my Buck hunting arsenal!
Full Moon At Night - Clear to Partly Cloudy Skies During the Day - No Rut
This has to be one of the toughest times to hunt unless it's the rut. Deer, and most all game animals, will start moving shortly after dusk. They'll feed throughout the night and generally bed down before dawn. Sometime around mid morning to the middle of the day, they'll get up briefly.
The best times I've had for hunting in this Moon phase has been the times of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. If I think that I'll not be able to sit all day, then I hunt between 9 and 3. You'll be surprised at the deer, including bucks, you'll see up during the middle of the day.
I'd have my stand near the bedding areas. Deer will get up and move, but they'll not likely head to the major feeding areas unless a front is coming in.
Full Moon At Night - Clear To Partly Cloudy Skies During the Day - Rut
When this situation happens, I'm hunting the does. This is almost like the situation above, however does will feed closer to fields and open areas. The bucks will either be with the Does or scent checking them downwind.
I normally set up downwind of the food source. If there is an edge of thinner timber and thicker timber, I'll set up just inside the thicker timber knowing that a bucks prefer to stay in the thick stuff and use their nose to scent check the Does.
The only exception to this is if I know a Doe is in rut. If I see one that's in rut, I'm hanging with that gal because a buck will walk down the middle of an interstate to stay with her.
Being this is the rut, I'll hunt nearly all day long. I'll switch off stands if I think it's necessary. For example, I might hunt the bedding areas from dawn till midday and then slip into another stand in a feeding area about 1 till dawn.
In fact, now that I think about it, if the rut is on, I hunt the Does no matter what the weather. The only way I'll switch up is if I see a buck with a Doe heading into a thicket. He's likely herding her there so he can keep close dibs on her and keep her away from other bucks.
Like the old saying goes, when the rut is on, all bets are off!
Full Moon at Night - Overcast Skies During The Day
This situation is nearly as good as anything. Overcast skies tend to make the deer more comfortable and they seem to move much more freely during the day.
In situations like this, I'm hunting just downwind of food sources or in the transition zones. I feel the Moon has minimal effect under these conditions. Overcast skies are generally an indication that either a front is moving in or has moved in, minimizing the effects of the moon.
Full Moon During the Day - Bright Skies
Pack a lunch! Especially if it's the rut!
I don't know what it is about a Full Moon during the day, but if could choose any weather to hunt, it would be a bright day with the moon above during the Rut. I'd bet I'd kill a good buck also.
Even the early season and the late season seems to be good times to hunt when the Moon is out during the day.
Full Moon During The Day - Overcast Skies
Once again, I believe weather fronts and overcast skies minimalize the Moons affect on deer. I don't consider this time to be all that special, so I'll probably be in my normal hunting patterns unless the skies are forecasted to clear.
Blue Moon Months
For those of you who do not know what a Blue Moon is, it's the second full moon of a Month. It doesn't happen very many times. If it happens in November, baby I'm hunting the second Full Moon period for sure!
I don't know why the second Moon of a month has such a strong attraction on deer, but from my experience it does. I'm hunting all day on Blue Moon days no matter when the Moon is full - day or night. For me, it's simply one of the best times to hunt ever!
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Great tips. I’ll print off and keep around all bow season! Thanks
[...] into this Season, many of my friends thought it would be a tough hunt. The Full Moon was on Oct. 26th. As if that wasn’t bad enough, there was an historic bumper crop of Red Oak [...]
I am somewhat new to deer hunting IM in N.C. piedmont area, A couple towns or actually about 30 to 40 miles north from me a lot of big deer are killed on gamland. I have a place to hunt that has several sighns of deer being around. I have always heard that if there is a full moon the night before your day hunt well they say your wasting your time. ANY COMMENTS FROM EXPERIENCED HUNTERS POSSIBLY IN MY AREA?
Hi Gary,
I’m not in your area, but I can tell you that a Whitetailed Deer in N.C. will have the same behavior habits that one in Texas does or one in North Dakota.
Growing up, I heard the same thing you did. Deer hunting during the day after a night with a full moon was no good.
I believed that for many years until I started changing my hunting tactics.
For one, I’ve found that early in the year, when there’s a full moon at night, the Deer will get up and move during the mid-morning through mid-day times. They don’t lay in their beds all day long. They get up and stretch, walk around and get some more food for their cud and then lay back down for a while.
My strategy changed whenever there was a full moon early in the season. I started hunting from 9 till 3 or 10 to 2 and I started seeing…and killing Deer. Quite a few good bucks also.
When the rut is in full swing and there’s a full moon, I get out and hunt all day. Especially later in the year. It seems that whenever there’s a full moon during the Rut, it kicks the Bucks into hyperdrive. Especially a Full Moon later in the day during the Rut.
During late season, the weather seems to have more of an impact than the Moon Phase. I once read an article by the late Ben Lee that said if there was a heavy frost in the mornings, he wouldn’t start hunting until it had burnt off, generally around 9 or 10. I’ve found this to be true also. Seems the Deer don’t like frozen food. Also, Deer in the late season will move later in the day because it helps them conserve energy.
So don’t sit at home whenever there’s a full moon. Just change up the way you hunt. Experiment a lot. Hunt different times and keep a journal so you can look back over past years and see any patterns developing.
Good Luck and let me know how it goes,
Don
people say full moon is no good for bears.i guide for bear hunts.just wondring if anybody got answers for bear hunting full moon?????????thank you Ron
O.K. here is my experience. I have a G.P.S. which has a hunting and fishing time feature. It gives 2 two hour windows for “best” times to hunt/fish on each given day and two 1 hour windows which is referred to as a “good” times to hunt/fish. Well I have watched and figured out what triggers these times. Of course it’s just a matter of programming for the G..P.S. For example I can get the “best” time to hunt/fish on January 10th 2015 if I just punch it in. You see it’s not about weather (although there is no doubt it does play a major role) but it’s about the moons “POSITION”. As for the two hour window referenced as the “best” time to hunt/fish, this is a time in which the moon is straight overhead and as for the 2nd “best” time during the day it is when the moon is straight underneath your location on the earth’s surface. When I, for lack of better term, ask my G.P.S. to give me the hunt/fish times for the day it asks me for the location in which I’m asking. At any given location it knows exactly at what point in time the moon is straight overhead within the minute. It takes that point in time and adds one hour prior to that time and adds one hour after that point in time thus giving you one of the two “best” times in which for that day based only on the moon position. For example if the moon is to be preciseley overhead at 10:00 a.m. in Kirksville, MO., the two hour window will be 9:00a.m. 11:00a.m. As for the two one hour windows. This is a period in time in which the moon is paralell to your position on the earth. If the moon is to be exactly parlell to your position at 3:00p.m., then the one hour window will be 2:30p.m. to 3:30p.m.
Notice that this moon phase schedule is referring to hunting and fishing. As for the guy asking about bear hunting, I believe it doesn’t matter if your hunting bear, deer, elk, coyotes,kudu in Africa or bass fishing in your neighbors pond I believe this methedology applies.
I currently have 18 scouting cameras. Not always but quite often, I can go get the cardds out of say 9 of them and on 9-15-09 seven cameras have several pictures between 10p.m. and midnight. Now I don’t have to look, but once I began to realize what appeared to be happening I would go get my G.P.S. and sure enough in this example it would read the best time time to hunt was 10 to midnight. A point in time in which the moon was straright overhead or straight below.
As for those who might be like I was uneducated about the moon cycle, you need to realize it’s not on a 24 hour cycle like it’s counterpart the sun. It rotates (or earth I’m not sure) has a full rotation approx. every 23 or 23 and a half hours and goes from one full moon to the next full moon in approx. 29 days. Thus meaning if the moon is straight overhead today at noon, two weeks from now it will be straight below you.
So why do so many people say hunting is not good on a full moon? Well when the moon moon is full it is overhead at midnight. So the other best time to hunt (which by the way is really when game animals are feeding) is noon and most hunters hunt at first light in the a.m. and last light in the p.m. which are now as you should see the worst times to hunt. On a full moon you should be hunting just before and after the noon hour, which if you read Gary’s story (above) explains his experiences.
Add this theory to your hunting knowledge, good luck, and don’t tell my neighbors this secret, I’m currently chasing a monster and I don’t wont them to know.
I live in western new york and i need to know what days i should take off of work for october and november bow season,
all this but what about a quarter moon … is it a good hunting time
Jerry, still a little confused. I know other hunters that use the moon and its cycles. Is there a hunters guide that is specific to moon cycles exclusively for a hunter. I know farmers almanac is used often..but i am looking for a guide that explains what is happening as moon phases are happening, so as to avoid having to read a long theory and forgetting it while its happening? If anyone has suggestions..please email me at my emial address.
Thanks, Ray
Rayaap@aol.com
Im planning on going hunting in the morning for the day Im pretty sure the deer are in rut now im ground hunting with a crossbow any suggestions? thanks…pat
I am currently experiencing this full moon situation. I have been hunting afternoons (1st week of November)and have not seen a deer in 5 sits. The common denominators are a bright moon and clear skies. Last night it was finally cloudy with a light rain. It was like the deer came out of the wood work. Bucks chasing does, bucks cruising, etc. After some asking around, the local police department commented that they have had several deer/car collisions in the midday (11am to 1pm). Other hunters have been reporting good deer movement midday as well. I think I have learned a very valuable lesson…when the moon is full, I need to be in the woods in the middle of the day.
I want to know about hunting the new moon is that a good time to hunt and the 2 full moon too.
Jerry, i would like to know if your gps has a rating (excellent good normal poor) and do you follow that also.
Hunting during the different phases of the moon really does play a significant role in wheather or not you bring home a trophy. I have found over the past 20 years the best way to have a 99% success rate is is On a full moon at night be in your stand Before 10:00a.m. Deer will be up moving during the lunch time hour. You need to be set up so that you don’t scare away your trophy. If you haven’t seen a deer by 2:00p.m. try finding another area to hunt because you have either gave up your postion by sight or by scent to your trophy.
OK after reading all the responses to moon phase i have to put a halt to all this nonsense. Deer and deer hunting magazine put all this hoggwash about moon phase and movement to rest last year. they compiled data from three states over a five year study. The deer where tagged and collered with a gps tracker. The results showed that deer move when they want to. Movement is based on three things the need to feed, breed, or survive. It has become all to easy for hunters to blame other things than themselves for poor performance. After all what sounds better I was squirming around in my stand or the moon was out of phase. Scout when you have the time use trail cameras when you need to and never trust a computer to tell you when to hunt. My best advice get to the woods as much as you can and good things will happen. There is no magic formula for deer hunting only experience. Oh and never trust a computer to tell you when to hunt.
Is
moon phase same every year
John, I couldn’t agree with you more…amen brother.
hey guys yall have a great website here i found it very informational. its great that there are places like this to come 2 and blog with hunters such as your selfs to learn and improve on my skills as a hunter as well. The one tip that i have for the website is that i live in franklin county va. and if there are any of you that wonder when the prime time is around here it is the the 1st through the 14th of november for sure this is the majic 2 weeks for us good luck guys and good hunting.
Well i’m hunting today,just need to get away.Tonight is a full moon overhead for the second day.We will see what happens.I got good wind and good sign.Got to stand at 12:00.
its early gun season and everybody i am talking to is saying they are seening deer in the early morning and late evening i feel like hunting during 9 to 3 i will be missing out on the deer movement can you help? thx
I have never really paid alot of attention to moon phase. But I have been able to connect success and the moon phase….and no I dont wrigle around in my stand…
I’m not sure about everywhere in the world, but to my knowledge, I can never remember a full moon during the day. It always starts rising just as the sun is going down, or somewhere close to that time. Then it is out all night and will be going down at or shortly after dawn. It may be out breifly during the day, but never have I seen a full moon high in the sky during the day. Is that what you mean with your full moon during the day, or is it different in other parts of the country?
Ive hunted from monday till juat a minuete ago its been 55 degrees in the morning and 70 mid and full moon at night im in south carolina and i havent seen one deer
AS I USE A GRUNT CALL I HAVE DEER COME IN SOMETIMES AND SOME TIMES NO RESPONCE IS MY GRUNTING WORKING OR ARE THEY NOT MOVEING EARLEY MORNING AND LATE EVENING IS WHEN I SEE MOST DEER
Deer respond to grunting in many different ways. Some will charge in, some will sneak in and many times, they just ignore them altogether!
Yes, that’s exactly what I mean! It happens, you just have to watch for it. A good moon guide or a calendar with the times of the moon rise and moon set will help you discover when this happens. It’s rare, but it will happen ever so often.
Hunt in the mornings and afternoons if you want. If you’re not seeing deer, then try sitting 9 to 3. You might be surprised at what you see!
James Evans is right, the moon is NEVER both full and high in the sky during the day. When full it is only low in the sky in morning and evening.
Does the moon’s phases play any role in “the best times to plant my food plots?” I have been a fisherman all my life, a deer hunter for about 15 years, and I grew up on a farm. However, my family never used a farmer’s almanac when planting nor did we go by any moon phases. I am just curious if the moon phases have anything to do with when seeds actually germinate. Does anyone have any suggestions?
moon is changing from being light all night to dark again. when shuold i hunt
Hunted 11-11-11 20 mph winds, At 11:30 a spike past. at 1:30 2 8 pointers Came by. hunted 11:00 to 4:00 with success!!!!!!!