The problemis,deerareconstantly
changing bedding and feeding areas,
sometimeson a dailybasis.Forexample,
it ’snotunusualfora deertohaveover
threedifferentbeddingareaswithina
24-hourperiod.
Even withtoday’s GPScollar tech-
nology, it’s difficult to determine a
deer’sbeddingor feedingareas.These
areascanbe verydynamic,sohowcan
a hunterrelyonhisownlimitedobser-
vations,evenwiththeaidof ampletrail
cameras?Answer:It’sverydifficult.In
fact,withtheadventof radio-telemetry
te chnology,biologists quicklyrealized
manyof ourpreviousobservationdata
were completelywrong.Still,thereare
accomplished hunters who still swear
byandbasetheirhuntingscheduleon
moonguides,or otherclaimsto thevari-
ousphasesof themoon.
Yearsago,wheneverI neededanyad-
viceondeer,I wantto the“source.”And
for me,thatmeantPap.Althoughhe had
nobiological training,he wastheau-
thorityon anyhunting-relatedquestion.
His answerswere based on hard-core
experience from the woods, and that
meantdeerwouldmovemoreat night
during full-moon events than during
the day.Therefore,all-dayhuntsduring
full-moon events were primarily only
experiencedduringtherut.
Chances are you can relate tothis
advice, but isit true?Oneof the first
tr ail-camerastudiesondeermovement
occurredbackinthe1990s.The results
concludedtherewereno significantdif-
ferencesbetweenmoonphaseanddeer
movement.Butthistrail-camerastudy,
and manyotherslikeit, arebiased.Why?
Becauseof theeffectof bait,forexample
corn.Thereasonbeing,deercouldbe
comingtoabaitsitemoreoften,if no
bait waspresent.
Amorerecentstudywasconducted
by Dr. Mickey Hellickson at the King
RanchinSouth Texas.Hellicksonused
GPS collarson 43 bucks,andhe collected
over42,000datapointsby usingactivity
monitors.Aftertwoyearsof workfrom
OctobertoJanuary,he determinedpeak
activityoccurredbetween7 a.m.–9a.m.,
and 6 p.m.–7p.m.And,evenwiththis
massivedataset,it showedno difference
inbuckmovementbetweena new(dark)
orfullmoon.Hellicksonconcluded,“Al-
though the moon may influence buck
movementsinotherways,ourdatadid
not indicateanypatternsrelativeto theef-
fectsof moonphaseon buckmovements.”
Whileconductinghisgraduatework
at North Carolina State, Dr. Marcus
Lashley compared over 22,000 GPS
locations to moon phase. Like Hellick-
son, Lashley concluded deer are pri-
marilycrepuscular, regardless of moon
phase.He also compared solunar tables
tohisdata set, and found they were only
25 -percent accurate. Although not sig-
nificant,he found midday movements
te ndedto be greatest during the full
moon.But remember, Lashley’s dataset
was only slightly varied from one phase
tothenext.
Another study in Pennsylvania
showeddoes moved 20 feet more per
hourduring a new moon versus a full
moonduring the October timeframe.
Arethese few steps significant? I don’t
thinkso.This study showed does moved
200 feetper hour at night, and 165 feet
per hour during the day. As you’dex-
pect,they moved the most at sunrise and
sunset,nearly 450 feet per hour.
Inconclusion, if a hunter takes a 200-
inchbuck during a full moon, is therere-
allyanything anyone can say to convince
himthemoon doesn’t have an effecton
deer movement? Maybe not? Biologists
Dr. James C. Kroll and Ben Koerth may
havesummed up the moon phase asit
re latesto deer movement best when theywrotein theirbook,“SolvingtheMystery
of Deer Movements,” “Because the moon
is such a noticeable phenomenon in our
world...it seems almost intuitive it must
have equally profound effects on the hab-
its and lifestyle of animals as well, at least
we all want to believe it to be so.”C.J.’S SUMMARY: Hunters are always looking for
a shortcut to maximize their success and time in a
stand. GPS data from current biological sources is
clear. There is no relationship between moon phase
and deer movement. The bottom line is: Moon phase
is irrelevant in the day to day nutritional or survival
requirements of a deer. Yet, there are hunters who
will adamantly argue over the data. If you are one of
them, so be it. As a hunter, I’d suggest you keep doing
what has been working for you. But, keep in mind, all
deer are individuals. What makes one deer get up and
move versus another, is likely a completely different
environmental scenario. And, just because a specific
moon phase worked on a giant buck years ago (and
you still remember), doesn’t mean it will work on
another buck.
Although it may be hard to digest, the best moon
tip is to completely ignore all the moon-phase fallacies.
Additionally, hunting no more than two times per week
in the same stand is highly recommended. In short,
there’s simply no better advice than to wisely put in
your time in your favorite stand. As for me, if the moon
in all its various phases is still orbiting the earth...
it’s time to hunt.34 BOWHUNTER /// SEPTEMBER 2019
HUNTING WHITETAILS
Are the different phases of the moon correlated with increased or decreased deer movement?
Or, is there no relationship at all? Research from around the country has not shown any correla-
tion with moon phase to buck or doe movement.