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Full Moon ?

J

joed

New Member
The full moon is on the 10th of November this year. Will this effect the days you chose to hunt?
 
depends on how you hunt? If you are one of those guys that sits for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening it could effect the movement you see. I don't mind a full moon at all, you just have to plan for more midday movement.

Any day in November can be good and that is the cool thing about the rut, you never know when "it" can happen. With that said, I have seen and killed some of my best deer during midday on a full moon. By midday, I mean 10-2. There are a ton of other factors that will come into play along with a full moon. My best advice is to just be there during November! Sit as often and as long as you can in a travel corridor (funnel) and I think you'll see good results :way:
 
I think Dedgeez pretty much nailed it from my point of view. Because I don't really like all day, 10-12 hours sits, I myself might choose to sleep a little later in the morning on a full moon and then hunt from 10A to close, so in that way I don't mind that there may be less early AM action following a full moon night.
 
I attended the QDMA land stewardship course in Minnesota back in march and according to those bioligists (Kip Adams, Joe Hamilton, etc.) there is no scientific evidence that a moon phase effects anything to do with the rut or feeding patterns. But then go and read stuff by charles alsheimer of Deer and Deer Hunting and that is all he preaches about so go figure.
 
I will log in as many hours as i can on the days i can and see what happens.But i do tend to see alot of daytime movement during the full moon,but thats prolly because i was in my stand mid day.
 
it seems to me that of all the hours i have spent in Iowa i have spent more time in a tree than on the ground during the day....my saying is all day is the only way!!!!!
 
I have never sat all day...I don't think I have ever sat more than 4 hours at once. Maybee I should try to sit longer in mournings.
 
I used to plan around the moon. Now I just plan to sit all day November 7, 11,and 12, plus any other days I can. I've shot 5 deer over the last 3 years on November 12th. Last year 2 between 730 and 830am. The year before one at 2 and one at 230 pm and in 2008 one at 3pm. IMO the moon phase has little effect on deer movement.

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Butch973 said:
I attended the QDMA land stewardship course in Minnesota back in march and according to those bioligists (Kip Adams, Joe Hamilton, etc.) there is no scientific evidence that a moon phase effects anything to do with the rut or feeding patterns. But then go and read stuff by charles alsheimer of Deer and Deer Hunting and that is all he preaches about so go figure.
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I attended a QDMA convention in Chattanooga TN and heard the same thing. Those guys sure throw out some interesting info.
 
Butch, did you go to the one up in Ottertail? I wanted to but a late ice fishing trip got in the way. My families cabin is up there though. Actually writing this from there. Caught a 5 lb bass a couple hours ago :)
 
Yup I was up in Ottertail for that course. Beautiful country up there. Learned a great deal that weekend. You should definately try and go to one next year. Hopefully they'll be one nearby.
 
This is a good topic for data gathering. I believe Step Ahead Outdoors with their program and your abillity to compare data from other hunters could help us to see patterns in any moon phase in any rut phase.
 
My approach is to hunt as many hours as I can full moon or not,especially if temps are below average. Some of my best sightings have been between 9:30-3:00. Try not to burn yourself out. If you have a problem with all day sits wait for the below ave. temp days. Science does not support Charlies' rut calendar. The little state of Delaware checked in every deer at check stations for over 25 years. A computer analysis of their data revealed more deer taken on the full moon than any other time. I have never been a fan of the full moon,but, it may not have as big of a negative impact as we like to think.
 
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I killed my deer last year at 1:53 PM on November 11th.... any time you can be int he stand in November is worth it.

As far as my opinion on moon phase, well it certainly as something to do with fishing, I have seen it first hand, however I am not as convinced it is as important with deer hunting. I think its more about the photo period for deer as they are able to see better at night and that matched with the peak of the rut really keeps the deer on their feet for more hours. Agreeing with Dedgeez tho, midday movement is very prominent during the rut, with or without the moon. get out and stay out as long as you possibly can.
 
With the more experience I get the less I pay attention to those fulls moons. It seems no matter what that first week of November is always the best, just the intensity varies from year to year. A good funnel or ridgetop that first week is where I'll always be.
 
i believe deer movement picks up on days leading up to any full moon.. i also strongly believe the the rut is triggered by the full moon in november weather its the first week or the last week, thats when i take my vacation.. IMO you can kill a mature buck any day of november if you are in the stand... but i think that the ruts intensity is increased the week befor or during the full moon in november regardless the date..
 
Fishbonker said:
This is a good topic for data gathering. I believe Step Ahead Outdoors with their program and your abillity to compare data from other hunters could help us to see patterns in any moon phase in any rut phase.
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This is a great topic, one of my favorites! Although I will agree that good things can happen anytime we step in the woods, I am a firm believer in gathering data from each hunt and keeping a record of it that can be used down the road to help us be in the right place at the right time. I don't know about anybody else, but I don't get nearly as much time in a stand as I would like, so I try to do everything in my power to not waste a hunt.

As for the topic at hand, our data over several years shows a very substantial bump in mature buck sighting during the full moon period (3 days before the full moon and 3 days after the full moon). 49% of the mature bucks we have seen over the last few years have been during the full moon period. Last season I planned my hunt to run into the full moon phase (Nov 21 last year), and even though I didn't kill the one I was looking for I had the best week of hunting I have had in years. Lots of chasing and seeking, I don't think I saw a single buck in that week that wasn't on a doe or trailing one.

I would definitely say that spending as much time in the woods Nov 7th-13th(full moon is the 10th) is the way to go this year, that is a no-brainer this year, but some years, like last year, the full moon date doesn't always coincide with the normal dates people like to hunt.
 
Fishbonker said:
This is a good topic for data gathering. I believe Step Ahead Outdoors with their program and your abillity to compare data from other hunters could help us to see patterns in any moon phase in any rut phase.
Click to expand...

I forgot to say thanks Bonker:grin:!

Seriously though, I hope people take some time to check out what we have to offer. I don't think anybody understands how much you can learn by keeping a detailed journal that can be searched and sorted for virtually any circumstance. Anybody that is into management of the deer on the properties they hunt should definitely check us out. The data that you can keep track of and utilize in your management plan is endless.
 
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