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Thread: Bucks by Moon phase

  1. #1
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    Default Bucks by Moon phase

    We've never keep much in the way of deer records but I was able to pull the dates off of 27 bucks that we have killed over the years and plot them against the moon phase. There really were the bigger deer because most of the dates were taken off of photographs and we just haven't always photographed smaller deer.

    One was my nephew's first deer, a 6-point killed by my nephew and two 7 points. The rest were 8's or larger. Many of these were really big rack bucks including 5 record book deer that dad has killed over the years and one that grossed 146 but didn't make either book. They were all killed in the woods without bait or sent lures.

    6 Points - 1
    7 Points - 2
    8 Points - 15 including an 8+2
    9 Points - 3
    10 Points - 6 including a 10+2 and a 10+5

    I wish I had a lot more data but I do have a better idea when I'm going to be hunting this fall. The percentages are how much of the moon's disc was visible so 0% is a new moon and 100% is a full moon. The really amazing thing is that out of 27 bucks not a single one was killed when the disc was between 32% and 71%. This based entirely on how we like to hunt so it might not work as well for others. Based on everything I've read and heard this isn't totally surprising but I did not expect such extremes.
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  2. #2
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    I agree with that data, runs with everything I was taught and believe. Need some data on what time bucks were killed and what position the moon was at.

    Give me a full or new moon when it’s directly underfoot or overhead and shit is going to die.

  3. #3
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    I like it. I’ve kept records of every mature deer I’ve killed along with a few others off our place. Its over 40 bucks and while I have not compared the moon phases, there is one thing that 100% decides whether I hunt a certain buck, and that’s the barometric pressure. Only 5 or so bucks were killed when it was below 30.00 and 2 of those were the second a tropical system let up. 80% of them the pressure was greater than 30.10
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    So, it looks like the best times to hunt are 20% of a moon cycle. And then only with a high pressure system coming in.
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    Neat stuff as usual, thanks for posting this.

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    Very cool! I'm a 10-2 full moon hunter if I have time to go.

    Time of day of kill
    Date of kill would be interesting info.
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  7. #7
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    I went back through my pics of bucks killed still hunting and did not find the same results. I will say I had fewer numbers. Interesting to look into though.

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    Quote Originally Posted by buckpro View Post
    I like it. I’ve kept records of every mature deer I’ve killed along with a few others off our place. Its over 40 bucks and while I have not compared the moon phases, there is one thing that 100% decides whether I hunt a certain buck, and that’s the barometric pressure. Only 5 or so bucks were killed when it was below 30.00 and 2 of those were the second a tropical system let up. 80% of them the pressure was greater than 30.10
    This

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by JOHNSON View Post
    I went back through my pics of bucks killed still hunting and did not find the same results. I will say I had fewer numbers. Interesting to look into though.
    I am guessing that the strong correlation to moon phase that we're seeing is because we don't hunt over food or agricultural fields.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rubberhead* View Post
    I am guessing that the strong correlation to moon phase that we're seeing is because we don't hunt over food or agricultural fields.
    Not to argue, but where are you killing these deer if you aren’t hunting a food source? I assume you kill them on the way to or from.

  11. #11
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    I'd say that most of our deer are not killed over food or agg either. Some of the kids are killing over corn but the noteworthy kills happen in the swamp.

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    Quote Originally Posted by JOHNSON View Post
    Not to argue, but where are you killing these deer if you aren’t hunting a food source? I assume you kill them on the way to or from.
    In the woods. I'm not saying that I don't see deer browsing for food. I do but it's while they're walking. I'd say most of the deer dad or I kill are in the process of interacting with other deer not going to or from food. A good handful on that list were actively chasing does but most, especially the bigger ones, were on what Dad has always called a "buck walk".

    I don't know all the biology behind it but it seems that between late September and when the does get hot (maybe mid-October) the bucks will move around a lot. I've only been running trail cams for a couple of years but it seems I get new bucks on the trail cams during this period and some of the regulars disappear for a while. The bucks haven't lost all sense of caution and they are still walking mostly into the wind but they cover a lot of ground. It's a good time to be in the woods, in my opinion, because getting surprised by a big buck from somewhere else is always a possibility. These "strangers" don't really know the area well and can stumble into trouble because of it. I don't think yearlings and young bucks go on these buck walks. It's the bigger/older deer. I killed a main frame 10+2, mainframe 10 with split brow tines, a couple of years ago that someone had been getting sheds off of from more than a mile away. That buck left his home range and was actively doing the "buck walk" when I killed him. There's a certain gait they have when they're doing this. It's easy to recognize once you've seen it but hard to explain. It's not the stiff-legged thing they do when they're around other bucks. It's an intentional pace that's meant to cover a lot of ground and they do it in the daylight. I'd say that most of the time I see this is in the evening but still in good light - maybe an hour or an hour-and-a-half before dusk.

    Then about mid-October they start walking perpendicular to the wind. I would have never picked up on this - it's something dad told me about. I guess they're starting to wind for hot does. They haven't totally lost all sense of caution but they are more interested in finding a hot doe than they are about walking into a predator.

    The only time I've ever seen them get completely silly has been when they're actively trailing a hot doe - I think they'd walk right over a hunter if he got in the way. I haven't killed a lot of deer in my life but I can remember three of them were right on the trail of a hot doe. Yearling does might not understand what's happening to them and may continue to go to food sources but I think older does will "troll" their scent in heavier woods to see if she can rouse the best buck in the neighborhood.

    I've never killed a notable deer during the "post rut". Heck, I barely even see bucks starting the second week in November...now that I think about it, it might be because duck season is getting in the way.
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    BTW - you can funnel deer activity in heavy woods by cutting trails, especially by connecting it to an existing deer trail. Deer not familiar with a piece of property will use these easier paths. Killing a deer on a buck walk is usually going to be a nice 2½ or 3½ year old deer who is venturing out for the first time. After they'd survived the first year of buck walking, they end up knowing the new areas better and are less likely to make a mistake. It's why a 5½ year old buck is so hard to kill.

    I've taken a couple of nice deer but I don't think I've killed anything older than 3½...I told dad last season that I really want to kill a grey muzzle on its own turf...that, to me, is when I can really call myself a deer hunter.
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    Excellent info Rubberhead! Thanks for sharing some of your wisdom. I have seen the Buck walk you are referring to while hunting ridges and travel corridors in the woods. It is definitely a different type of walk and you can tell they aren’t very familiar with the area. Dr. Steve Demarais, Dr. Bronson Strickland, both with MSU Deer Lab, and also Dr. Craig Harper with University of Tennessee have some excellent research on Buck’s leaving their home area for what they call excursions. It is very neat info to read to help understand a Bucks behavior.


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    Where did you get the moon disc visibility percentage by day calculation from? I want to run mine in it and see what i find
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    Thanks Johnny Reb,
    I've only recently gotten interested in becoming a better deer hunter. For years I went just to ride with dad and shot the occasional and unimpressive deer. But, a couple of years ago I saw a big deer but couldn't get the gun on him. His body had a squared rectangular shape that reminded me of the dimensions of a 4'x8' sheet of plywood - I had never seen a deer anything like him before (or since). I didn't go off the deep end but starting working on an idea to kill him by getting closer to the area without him knowing I was there. Long story short I killed him on the first Friday in October that year while he was on a buck walk. It was 146" gross and 216 lbs. He scored 124 6/8" typical and something like 143 4/8" non-typical so didn't make either book but he really, really changed how I think about deer hunting. I'm one of the few people that can honestly say that I killed the biggest deer I've ever seen and it may be tough to top it. Thanks again for the sources - I hope they've got some books out - I need to give the kids some Christmas ideas.

    Quote Originally Posted by quack head 11 View Post
    Where did you get the moon disc visibility percentage by day calculation from? I want to run mine in it and see what i find
    It's a tablet app called "lunescope"...the physics that drive the lunar cycle are mind boggling. If you think you understand the moon this app will probably change your mind on that...

    https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...droid&hl=en_US
    Ephesians 2 : 8-9



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    Quote Originally Posted by Rubberhead* View Post
    Thanks Johnny Reb,
    I've only recently gotten interested in becoming a better deer hunter. For years I went just to ride with dad and shot the occasional and unimpressive deer. But, a couple of years ago I saw a big deer but couldn't get the gun on him. His body had a squared rectangular shape that reminded me of the dimensions of a 4'x8' sheet of plywood - I had never seen a deer anything like him before (or since). I didn't go off the deep end but starting working on an idea to kill him by getting closer to the area without him knowing I was there. Long story short I killed him on the first Friday in October that year while he was on a buck walk. It was 146" gross and 216 lbs. He scored 124 6/8" typical and something like 143 4/8" non-typical so didn't make either book but he really, really changed how I think about deer hunting. I'm one of the few people that can honestly say that I killed the biggest deer I've ever seen and it may be tough to top it. Thanks again for the sources - I hope they've got some books out - I need to give the kids some Christmas ideas.



    It's a tablet app called "lunescope"...the physics that drive the lunar cycle are mind boggling. If you think you understand the moon this app will probably change your mind on that...

    https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...droid&hl=en_US
    Thank you so much!
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  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rubberhead* View Post
    In the woods. I'm not saying that I don't see deer browsing for food. I do but it's while they're walking. I'd say most of the deer dad or I kill are in the process of interacting with other deer not going to or from food. A good handful on that list were actively chasing does but most, especially the bigger ones, were on what Dad has always called a "buck walk".

    I don't know all the biology behind it but it seems that between late September and when the does get hot (maybe mid-October) the bucks will move around a lot. I've only been running trail cams for a couple of years but it seems I get new bucks on the trail cams during this period and some of the regulars disappear for a while. The bucks haven't lost all sense of caution and they are still walking mostly into the wind but they cover a lot of ground. It's a good time to be in the woods, in my opinion, because getting surprised by a big buck from somewhere else is always a possibility. These "strangers" don't really know the area well and can stumble into trouble because of it. I don't think yearlings and young bucks go on these buck walks. It's the bigger/older deer. I killed a main frame 10+2, mainframe 10 with split brow tines, a couple of years ago that someone had been getting sheds off of from more than a mile away. That buck left his home range and was actively doing the "buck walk" when I killed him. There's a certain gait they have when they're doing this. It's easy to recognize once you've seen it but hard to explain. It's not the stiff-legged thing they do when they're around other bucks. It's an intentional pace that's meant to cover a lot of ground and they do it in the daylight. I'd say that most of the time I see this is in the evening but still in good light - maybe an hour or an hour-and-a-half before dusk.

    Then about mid-October they start walking perpendicular to the wind. I would have never picked up on this - it's something dad told me about. I guess they're starting to wind for hot does. They haven't totally lost all sense of caution but they are more interested in finding a hot doe than they are about walking into a predator.

    The only time I've ever seen them get completely silly has been when they're actively trailing a hot doe - I think they'd walk right over a hunter if he got in the way. I haven't killed a lot of deer in my life but I can remember three of them were right on the trail of a hot doe. Yearling does might not understand what's happening to them and may continue to go to food sources but I think older does will "troll" their scent in heavier woods to see if she can rouse the best buck in the neighborhood.

    I've never killed a notable deer during the "post rut". Heck, I barely even see bucks starting the second week in November...now that I think about it, it might be because duck season is getting in the way.
    Quote Originally Posted by Rubberhead* View Post
    BTW - you can funnel deer activity in heavy woods by cutting trails, especially by connecting it to an existing deer trail. Deer not familiar with a piece of property will use these easier paths. Killing a deer on a buck walk is usually going to be a nice 2½ or 3½ year old deer who is venturing out for the first time. After they'd survived the first year of buck walking, they end up knowing the new areas better and are less likely to make a mistake. It's why a 5½ year old buck is so hard to kill.

    I've taken a couple of nice deer but I don't think I've killed anything older than 3½...I told dad last season that I really want to kill a grey muzzle on its own turf...that, to me, is when I can really call myself a deer hunter.
    I remember reading an article years ago about how to manipulate deer movement in the woods by cutting new trails and even opening sections of abandoned fence. I don’t remember all the specifics but it was a good article.

    And as far as a deer running over a hunter, that pretty much happened to me this past year. I shot a nice buck that was chasing a doe (best chasing I’ve ever seen) and I heard him crash. I went to him and was standing over him when another buck came barreling down the same trail looking for that same doe less than 10min later. He saw the dead deer and myself and came to a screeching, sliding halt. I killed him too while I was standing on the ground with less than 15yds between us.
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  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Duck cutter View Post
    I remember reading an article years ago about how to manipulate deer movement in the woods by cutting new trails and even opening sections of abandoned fence. I don’t remember all the specifics but it was a good article.

    And as far as a deer running over a hunter, that pretty much happened to me this past year. I shot a nice buck that was chasing a doe (best chasing I’ve ever seen) and I heard him crash. I went to him and was standing over him when another buck came barreling down the same trail looking for that same doe less than 10min later. He saw the dead deer and myself and came to a screeching, sliding halt. I killed him too while I was standing on the ground with less than 15yds between us.
    Same thing happened to me last year...

    Quote Originally Posted by Rubberhead* View Post
    I waited...another two minutes and the 9-point does the same thing. I mouth bleated twice to finally stop him. He didn't stop right away but luckily, when he did stop, his rib cage and front shoulder were visible between trees with his head and hams covered by oaks.

    He ran a little ways after I shot with his tail down but not far and I heard him pile up.

    I took the photo exactly as he laid.

    While I was taking pictures a bigger-bodied, heavier-antlered 8 worked around between me and the stand. I put the crosshairs on his shoulder to get a good look at him but didn't shoot...
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  20. #20
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    Most of my better deer were killed in a cold front with blue bird skies.


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