What Time of the Day is Best for Hunting Deer During a Full Moon?

by Bill Winke • July 12, 2011 • 5 comments

Conventional wisdom has always suggested that you should be out there at midday when the moon is full.

What time of the day is best for hunting deer during a full moon? Winke believes weather is actually a more important factor to consider when it comes to deer movement.

However, I have talked with several biologists regarding studies done to determine how moon phase affects deer behavior.  There seems to be no consensus on this subject; the biologists I respect the most now conclude that there is no strong correlation between moon phase and periods of high activity.

As a result, I have come to disregard moon phase.  More important are rut phase (which is dependent on the length of daylight – so it falls the same every year) and weather patterns.

In my experience, temperature is much more important than moon phase in predicting activity.

In Hunting Strategies, Tactics, Whitetail • Tagged
  • Rick

    When the deer feed all night on a full moon I would think the daytime activity would be less.

  • Andrew

    Totally agree, when theres a full moon it seems the deer are more active at night and daytime activity is scarse. Early morning is the best at these times.

  • Joseph

    On my GPS, it tells you the moon phases, and the best times to hunt according to the moon phases. I have set from daylight till dark many times, and hunt on average 25-30 days a year. With the weather being good, and not to much hunting pressure. I have seen the deer, and other animals move according to the moon phases, more times than not.

  • Jim

    I've noticed that when I hunt the evenings during a full moon that I dont see many deer if any at all. but as soon as its dark and I'm on my way home, about a 5 mile drive, the deer seem to be every where. my wife is a mail carrier and is always telling me about the deer she see's while on her route. it almost always seems to be when the moon is full.

  • Chris

    I totally agree when deer feed all night that daylight movement is minimal.However i to have a GPS and it does seem that deer movement gets better with the moon phase.I have noticed a change in the deer movement where i hunt,if i see them during midday one day i might not see them the next day but then will see them just before light and sometimes just after dark. A person may not think so but deer are not stupid they are survivors they will change their pattern in a second during the hunting season. I do not think I have given deer the credit that they deserve.In short i will not be using a gps anymore but i will pay more attention to the deer and try to pattern what they want to do.