FULL MOON

Got a question for the deer hunting guru's. How does the full moon affect the bucks during the full moon or does it? I am of the opinion that it does not during the rutting period. I think the bucks are out & about till the does are breed regardless of the moon phase. What is your opinion? Thanks Daniel

I would agree it does not, I find this time of year you need to get set up earlier in the afternoon. I saw deer already feeding at 2 pm yesterday while filling feeders. I will have my oldest daughter in the stand tomorrow by 2pm and hopefully she will take a doe with enough light left to get it quartered up before dark.

Mid day hunting is probably a better option than dawn/dusk as they probably fed in the middle of the night. The rut can change that somewhat but does will do this and if the bucks are locked up on does, they do what they do.

It depends if there’s a lot of acorn on the ground. If not they will still hit the feeders

I don't think the moon phase has any effect on the rut .The bucks are not thinking about anything but the doe they are chasing.

Given the morning temperatures that are coming next week in much of the state, hunting from 10 til 2 might be a good idea.

Hunt when you can this time of year.

Guys, Thanks for your input. Let me tell you the wife's & my experience this am. At about 7am as we were going into our lease, over a 3 mile stretch we saw 13 deer with at least 11 bucks, did not see the front end on the other two. I shot a doe about 9 am, got her field dressed and I headed to the cooler. It was about 11 am and I saw another buck, My son was hunting on another lease about 5 miles from me and had killed a hog so I headed to where he had placed the hog for me to pick up. It was now almost 12 noon and another buck stuck his head out. Got back to our lease with the hog & headed to pick up the wife, who was still in her stand. She had seen a mature buck at 9:30.
Although the not in the actual full mode, a total of 16 bucks & 6 does seen within 6 hrs. during the AM part of the day.

What does it prove? NOTHING but based on what we saw I am of the opinion that the RUT IS NOT AFFECTED BY A FULL OR NEARLY FULL MOON.

Hunt mid day. They have been up all night with the moon.

I don't think the moon matters too much if a buck catches a scent of a hot doe.
I will say in my experiences that when the full moon or close to it, rises late and sets after sun up is my favorite mornings to hunt. The brightness of the moon at night and the moon still being fairly high when sunrise hits, catches bucks off guard. I've encountered more mature bucks heading back to bedding areas after sunrise as the moon is so bright they don't fully recognize the transition of night to day as easily. On other bright moon nights, mid morning to early afternoon seems to get some movement. Of course if they are in that lockdown period, then it doesn't matter and if they are chasing, it doesn't seem to matter. So hunt when ya can but on certain days, all day or sleep in and hunt mid morning till you just can't can both be productive.
Just my experiences and $.02

For those interested in the science behind lunar movements and the feeding patterns of fish and game, the theory is that fish and game have major feeding periods whenever the moon is directly overhead. A second feeding period occurs roughly 12-1/2 hours later when the moon is directly opposite the globe or "underfoot". A full moon always rises just after sunset and reaches its peak around midnight, leaving the next major feeding period to be around noon the following day. The ability of wild game to feed more easily under heavy moonlight only adds to the impact of the lunar movement. My approach has always been to find those days when the best combination of lunar movement and weather conditions aid one another. For example, cold mornings or evenings when the moon is high in the sky, no matter its phase, should be the best time to be in the deer woods.

It's up to the individual as to whether or not the theory is accurate.

On 11-28, they were moving like crazy from 4:45pm til dark on our place
This morning 11-29, they were not moving until about 10:00am (based on hunting in stand and game camera pics around property)