Do You Hunt The Rutting Moon?

In 2006 the rutting moon fill on Nov.5th if you were north of 42 degrees latitude and Dec.5 in the south. Now in 2007 the Rutting Moon may be Oct.25th(Thursday), as the next full moon isn't until Nov.24th(Saturday). And in 2008 the Rutting Moon falls on Nov.12th.

I have hunted the week of the full moon on a number of occasions throughout the hunting season and even the Rutting Moon....seems to be a fair amount of game around at that time. Come to think about it, there seems to be a fair amount of game around throughout the hunting season period, except for a couple of weeks when all the animals seem to disappear. Did you ever come accross thoughs weeks when the animals all vanish?

What are your thoughts on the Rutting Moon subject?

Hey Grand:

I have always found my best luck hunting to come on 1/4 moon rising (1/4 moon moving to full). However, my experience has been that full moon periods see better activity during the middle of the day when deer seem to get up and go for a stretch.
In reality, I hunt whenever I have time off and I am not doing stuff with my wife and kids.

Hoopi

Yes full moon activity does affect deer movement, but in no way does it affect the timing of the rut.
This is controlled by the amount of daylight the animals are experience. It is called Photoperiodism.
Think about it the majority of the female ungulates have to get breed in a certain window of time other wise the timing of subsequent years ruts will be affected.
To explain further, think of it this way. The babies have to be born at or around a set time, else wise the females won't have weened them off sufficently to have the female come into heat so she can be breed. If this was in some way affected by the lunar cycle we'd be having does getting bred in October some years, and then in late December to January other years.
Of course some does go into cylce early and some late but the majority of them get bred somewhere + or - 3 days from the 17th of November(central Ab.).
Coincidently what the hunter in all of us is looking for is either pre rut behaviour or post rut activity, actually when most of the does are getting bred things are a bit sluggish, at least that's my observations.
Try checking with a SRD biologist to confirm this, one of them does frequent this board but I cant remember his handle.

I've hunted the peak of the rut around the 15-20th on November and have found it a little sluggish most times in my opinion. I much rather prefer the pre-rut of very late Oct. and early Nov. Does anyone out there feel about the same ??

I would agree with most others usually i find the best days for hunting those slob whitetails is the first 6 days in november and the last 5 days in november when the bucks are searching for the first doe to come into heat and looking for that last piece of tail. Ive also found the peak of the rut to be a little sluggish but good for pushing bush cause if you find a bush holding a bunch of does good chance theirs gonna be a buck or two in their with them.

just my thoughts anyone else find the last 5 days in november to be the best??????/

Chris

I agree with the last five days theory. I see more deer and bigger deer these days than any other. I am mostly a prairie hunter so I am not sure if that has anything to do with it.

I usually hunt during the day, the moon is still shinning on the other side of the world.:lol