TRMichels
11-11-2008, 03:14 PM
Don't worry about the position of the moon!!!
After 10 years of whitetail research I can tell you that checking over 4000 sightings of deer with the Solunar Table, Vektor Feeding & Fishing Times and the Moon Guide, that they do not work.
Please - realize that in order to check how good they are, you can't just count the number of deer you see when you are "hunting", you have to count the number of deer you see in the same basic locations, from sunrise to sunset, 7 days a week, all month long, from September 1 to December 31, for about three years. Otherwise your samples, and your methods - are flawed - and you are likley to come up with incorrect conclusions.
There is no correlation between the overhead underfoot position of the moon, and hourly deer activity, so none of those tables will work.
However, my own research, and the research of two other researchers, in two other states, shows that deer, including bucks, are generally more active during the Full and Last Quarter Phases of the moon, with slightly more activity from 3 days before to 3 days after Full Moon, regardless of whether ther are clouds or not.
BUT, deer are generally more active than normal in the late afternoon and early morning, when there is cloud cover, because it makes the sky appear darker than normal at those times, BECAUSE security to a deer is often low-light conditions.
So, when there is cloud cover in the mornings or evenings, get out and hunt.
When there is a full moon, get out and hunt.
When the Scraping Phase is on, get out and hunt, becaue that is when bucks are most predictable at specific times along their rub routes, especially the closer you get to their daytime core areas.
When the windspeed is below 10 mph, get out and hunt.
When there is little to no precipitation, or when it is snowing (without winds), get out and hunt.
When the temperatures or windchills are optimum for your area, get out and hunt.
When all those conditions come together, find a rub route, where you have previously patterned a buck - GET OUT AND HUNT !!!
Need I say more?
God bless and good hunting,
T.R.
After 10 years of whitetail research I can tell you that checking over 4000 sightings of deer with the Solunar Table, Vektor Feeding & Fishing Times and the Moon Guide, that they do not work.
Please - realize that in order to check how good they are, you can't just count the number of deer you see when you are "hunting", you have to count the number of deer you see in the same basic locations, from sunrise to sunset, 7 days a week, all month long, from September 1 to December 31, for about three years. Otherwise your samples, and your methods - are flawed - and you are likley to come up with incorrect conclusions.
There is no correlation between the overhead underfoot position of the moon, and hourly deer activity, so none of those tables will work.
However, my own research, and the research of two other researchers, in two other states, shows that deer, including bucks, are generally more active during the Full and Last Quarter Phases of the moon, with slightly more activity from 3 days before to 3 days after Full Moon, regardless of whether ther are clouds or not.
BUT, deer are generally more active than normal in the late afternoon and early morning, when there is cloud cover, because it makes the sky appear darker than normal at those times, BECAUSE security to a deer is often low-light conditions.
So, when there is cloud cover in the mornings or evenings, get out and hunt.
When there is a full moon, get out and hunt.
When the Scraping Phase is on, get out and hunt, becaue that is when bucks are most predictable at specific times along their rub routes, especially the closer you get to their daytime core areas.
When the windspeed is below 10 mph, get out and hunt.
When there is little to no precipitation, or when it is snowing (without winds), get out and hunt.
When the temperatures or windchills are optimum for your area, get out and hunt.
When all those conditions come together, find a rub route, where you have previously patterned a buck - GET OUT AND HUNT !!!
Need I say more?
God bless and good hunting,
T.R.