Last week we all discussed the science behind things that affect whitetail deer. This week let us dig a little deeper into how the Moon affects not only whitetail deer but also all wildlife. Whether it’s when a spring gobbler sounds off the most or the feed patterns of your favorite species of fish, moon phase for several reasons affects wildlife.

There are two things I always look at before I head into the fall woods: wind direction and moon phase. Wind direction should be the basis for any area that we plan to hunt deer. Knowing the effect the moon has on deer activity, or lack thereof, should help plan your hunt.

For years we have all heard wives’ tales like, “during full moon is the best time to hunt”. Now I’m not here saying any old wives’ tales are false, but they must all be taken in context.

Now before you all toss my butt under the bus, let me share a little knowledge and science. While I am a believer in holding on the past and wives’ tales, it’s also important that we follow science.

When it comes to deer hunting, everyone’s an expert. Whether it’s scents, calls or stand placement, everyone has opinions on deer hunting tactics. For the record, I will not claim to be an expert. I have been fortunate enough to hunt many great whitetails in many top-notch whitetail areas and shared many a campfire with folks that know more about the world of the whitetail than I could ever imagine. Do you know who’s an expert? A guy who loves to learn about and hunt deer.

There are many topics that will get a coffee shop or camp going, none more than a discussion about how the moon affects deer movement and rut. Many hunters put a lot of stock in moon phases. Some plan their vacation and hunting schedule around the moon phases and lunar tables.

Heck, for me, anytime sitting in a tree stand is a bonus, moon phase or not. Now, there are particular times of the season that I make sure I’m in the woods, but for the most part if I want and I’m allowed to go hunting, I am gone.

Many hunters believe the full moon is a double-edged sword. They think November’s full moon kicks the rut into high gear, but they also believe many bucks move all night because of improved visibility. Are they right?

There was a deer study done a couple years back in North Carolina that compiled over 22,000 GPS fixes on live deer and correlated their activity to moon phases. What was found was they moved the most at dawn and dusk, regardless of moon phase, which we discussed last week.

In fact, their movements varied little between moon phases. During the full moon phases there was a slight increase in midday deer activity. Also, deer movements were greatest at dawn during new moons, with some increased activity shortly after daylight. In addition, deer movements were greatest during late afternoon during the last-quarter moon. These were minor activity upticks, however, and not major increases over other moon phases.

In Texas, the famous King Ranch 43 recorded more than 420,000 GPS locations to analyze buck movements from October to January. After analyzing the data, although the moon may influence buck movements in other ways, data did not indicate any patterns relative to the effects of moon phase on buck movements.

The Archery Trade Association’s Patrick Durkin recently wrote an article citing a Penn State survey of hunter opinions about the moon’s influence on whitetails. Of the survey’s 1,600-plus respondents, only 12% believed the moon phase had no effect on deer, while 22% said it had significant effects.

A few years back, Penn State conducted a forest study. While there were many aspects to the study, the one which is of general interest to hunters is the radio collar of deer during the months of October and November.

For a 24-hour period — while these two deer home ranges were a less than a mile apart — they were within a few yards of each other from about 9 a.m. Nov. 15 until about 9 a.m. on Nov. 16. While I am no science or wildlife biologist, it would seem it was during that time that these two radar collar deer did their best to increase the deer herd.

It’s worth a note that on Oct. 9 these two deer got close to each other also but not for an extended period of time. Again on even Nov. 5 and the early morning hours of Nov. 6 the two were close, but not close enough for extended periods of time.

During this entire time the doe seemed to pretty much stay in her home area, while on Oct. 29 the buck started to extend his travels only to come back to his home area.

What is interesting to me as I looked at the data — remember, only the buck and doe were radio collared so movement of other deer can’t be monitored — so one would surmise that the buck was meeting other does from Oct. 29 until the end of November when the tracking ended.

Understanding that does can only be bred during the magically 24-hour estrus time is important. Each doe estrus time is different. A lot goes into when doe come into estrus. When in the spring they were born, and age probably has more to do than anything.

If a doe fawn is dropped early, chances are she will come into estrus earlier than a doe fawn that was later in the spring. I have seen doe fawns the first week of May and also have seen them at the end of June. Like everything in the wild, it’s about timing.

With all this said, there is still the one thing that will make deer move throughout the year, no matter the weather, pressure or rut; the need to eat.

During the non-rut months, deer need to eat to keep their body in shape for the rut and to recover from the rutting activities. This is both true for does and bucks.

Does have been chased by bucks and burn food and calories during this time. Now that they are bred, they need to get ready for the winter months and fawn-dropping season.

For bucks, they have been getting ready for the rut since September and then chasing for the majority of 8-10 weeks. This leaves a toll on their body and all of this just before the winter months arrive. One thing is for certain: deer need to eat and will do that no matter what.

Planning to hunt around weather and moon phases can be helpful, but we all must remember that deer will be feeding, and to do that they have to move around. It’s our job as hunters to find the food sources they are using at the given time we are hunting and put together a plan for that food source.

For all youth hunters and mentors, good luck this weekend.