Medicine Man
Member
Untmost respect for Charlie A. but Winke is right. Numerous studies by the best deer biologist in the country show that, for the most part ,they breed pretty much the same time each year. You may not see it primarily due to unseasonably warm weather, but, nonetheless , they are doing their thing....Approx. 40 years of back dating fetuses show that neither moon phase or Charlie's theories hold water....
bkcrrtnps
Well-Known Member
I would agree to some extent, you don't think the moon has any effect on rutting behavior?
buckfever321
Member
Same here... every chance I get.
Handcannon
Well-Known Member
I always plan for Oct 25th through Nov 15th....anything can happen at any time.
I get the most scrape visits on Halloween.
I get the most scrape visits on Halloween.
MNbuckhunter
Member
My family has actually taken a majority of our nicer bucks from Oct 24-Oct 31.
loneranger
Well-Known Member
In my part of SE IA, hardly see a scrape until Nov. The high gear action, yea about the same time. Full moon may make night time action easier as far as light. Expect another warm fall, that,,,is a Given! always hope I'm wrong, but last cold fall was way back about 2005. Frost mid Sept that year, and hard freeze early Oct.
hoosierhunter
Active Member
My top encounters have occurred around oct25-oct30 the last 6 years. My trail cameras have shown the most daylight activity to be hit and miss every year from nov4-14th. As of now I'd rather hunt the last week in Oct over any other time.
I have shot quite a few Bucks the first week of November. Most of them were 3 1/2 yr olds when I first started bow hunting. As the years have gone by and I have become more particular about what I shoot, my best success with the bigger deer I've taken has been from around the 10th of November up to around Thanksgiving. These are Bucks that gross 155 or better. However one of my best Bucks showed up with a doe, on Oct 30. Bottom line in my opinion, is be on stand as much as you can starting the last week of October until you fill your tag.
TheKingsDeer.com
Whitetail-Images.com
I have read Hunting Whitetails by the Moon every year for the last 10 and understand the how the moon affects animal behavior especially the whitetail deer. That said, and I have commented on this topic before, the "rut" or the breeding window looks early this year. Now, depending on how you hunt determines the strategy. If you are a pre-rut hunter who wants to set-up and rattle normally around Halloween to November 5th historically has been a good time. If you are just trying to pick the best time to be on stand I agree with the Board on the first two weeks of November. The book is hard to find but a few used ones float around on Amazon once in awhile, worth the read.
Check out this article I ran into yesterday:
http://www.american-hunter.com/monster-bucks-and-the-moon
Pretty compelling and convincing in my opinion, I spend quite a bit of time and study on the subject. Good post!
Check out this article I ran into yesterday:
http://www.american-hunter.com/monster-bucks-and-the-moon
Pretty compelling and convincing in my opinion, I spend quite a bit of time and study on the subject. Good post!
CurtisWalker
Well-Known Member
I believe its due to the shortening daylight that creates a change in the hormones in the animals making everything around the same time every year. Just my opinion.
TheKingsDeer.com
Whitetail-Images.com
Agree CW and basically at some point in autumn, the amount of daylight decreases enough to reset the whitetail's reproductive clock, thus placing the breeding season. Once the does reproductive cycle is reset by a specific amount of daylight, her estrous cycle is ready to be cued by the moonlight.
The science is fascinating, to read more grab the book or get on Alsheimer website. Wayne Laroche for you old timers like me, is another avid whitetail researcher that actually did some of the original studies.
Anyway, the more I understand this facing ting creature the luckier I get in the field hunting.
The science is fascinating, to read more grab the book or get on Alsheimer website. Wayne Laroche for you old timers like me, is another avid whitetail researcher that actually did some of the original studies.
Anyway, the more I understand this facing ting creature the luckier I get in the field hunting.
VictoryOutdoor
New Member
Agreed I have killed most of my bucks that week or the Nov 1st - 3rd. Then I seem to see a drop off for a 4 to 5 days (Lockdown) before it picks back up. That's just what I have seen in my little part of the world!!!
SEIowaDeerslayer
Well-Known Member
It has an effect on where they will be at a certain point during the day but not on rutting behavior itself IMO. They will be near food midday during full moon, and near bedding early in the day and late. Vice versa during a new moon. That whole eye pigment thing that Charlie talks about making does go into heat just seems like hogwash. Just like the decreasing daylight alters a buck's testosterone, it does the same for does and their urge to breed which is why the rut happens the same time every year.
I mostly hunt big woods areas and during full moon it seems I'm always bumping deer going in. During new moon or just a half moon or whatever, I usually get in pretty clean. That's the only reason I don't like full moons but during them I usually sleep in and hunt mid day or hunt one of my properties that is closer to food so I catch most of the movement midday.
At the end of the day no one really knows exactly when or where they're going to move. That's why I like sitting all day.
camo658
New Member
X2..........:way:
