Position of the moon and time of day affect when all animals are going to be more active.
Who would think that a celestial object 238,000 miles away in space would have any effects on deer movement in North Carolina?
In one way or another, the moon, earth’s natural satellite, affects almost every living organism on the planet, including plants, insects, fish and the whitetail deer. While not entirely understood, people have been using moon phases as a guide for thousands of years. If hunters can incorporate the timing of the peak lunar activity period with their hunting trips, they can expect to see a noticeable difference in wildlife movements and hopefully encounter that trophy buck this season.
Well before North America was settled by Europeans, native Americans used the moon to determine when to plant crops for the most-productive yields, and many farmers today still follow the moon phases in their planting efforts through the Farmer’s Almanac. It was and is the simple belief that the moon can affect soil moisture, that some periods of the month are better for planting root crops versus above ground crops and some periods of the month should be avoided for planting at all. But, it is all related to the lunar affect on soil moisture.
While not scientifically proven, the moon is accused of being one of the main driving factors for the reproductive cycles of animals. Consequently, the moon’s 27.3-day cycle is almost the same duration as the menstruation cycle in women. Deer go through a similar cycle, estrus, that can range from 17 to 30 days. Estrus is different from menstruation in that deer reabsorb the endometrium — the mucus membrane of mammalian uterus — versus shedding it out of the body each month. Additionally, deer are considered short-day breeders, meaning they are only reproductively active is the fall and early winter.
While day length or photoperiod is the true trigger for reproductive activity in short-day breeders, the lunar cycle has an effect on when deer begin their first estrus cycle during the breeding season through a decrease in melatonin production. Melatonin controls the release of hormones in the body and is secreted at night. Most deer begin breeding when day length shortens to around 11 hours per day and just after the last full moon prior.
Since it takes a few days for the sexual hormones to flow after a decrease in melatonin levels, hunters can expect the first major reproductive activity a week after the last full moon when the day length reaches around 11 hours or less. Hunters can use the moon cycle to help determine when the rut will begin. With the smell of sexual incense floating around the forest, bucks become crazed lunatics looking for a receptive doe.
Deer hunters can utilize lunar charts to improve their hunting. David Fort, an avid North Carolina hunter and president of the American Whitetail Authority (www.awapro.com), believes the moon has a dramatic affect on deer movement.
“The moon doesn’t trump all other factors like weather and solar influence by any means, but certainly is a major factor and essential tool all hunters should incorporate into their hunting strategies,” Fort said, “but, I think moon position is more of a indicator for deer movement than just moon phase.”
It takes 27.3 days for the moon to both rotate on its axis and rotate the earth, but since the earth rotates on its own axis one complete cycle every 24 hours, the earth experiences a variable effect throughout the 24-hour day from both the moon’s gravity and solar lighting effects.
“The peak times of moon position in relation to deer movement are when the moon is directly overhead or underfoot — that occurs essentially twice per 24-hour period,” he said.
For the best use of lunar tables, Fort combines the peak activity times with the solar influence at sunrise and sunset.
“I look for times when the moon is overhead or underfoot at around the same time as sunrise or sunset. It’s the double-peak movement period when you will almost always observe increased movements,” he said.
Brent Wheatley, another avid North Carolina deer hunter, also uses the lunar position to his favor.
“If I am going to pick one time to go, it would be the first quarter. The moon is getting bigger and rising in the early afternoon and will be directly overhead near dusk,” Wheatley said. “They will really be on their feet.”
Wheatley said this situation only last for a few days during each cycle, and it usually occurs twice each month.
When not perched in a deer stand, Wheatley is a full-time, row-crop and sod producer in Columbus County, and he is always hanging in and around places where deer roam throughout the year.
“I am outside all of the time, and I get to see what the deer are doing both during the season and offseason,” Wheatley said. “The single-most factor to get deer to move is their desire to feed, and they will move towards food sources during the peak lunar movements.”
Deer eat when they are hungry, and their desire to feed increases as the cold fronts of fall arrive. Deer and other wildlife increase their foraging activities, and rich food sources become very important. Wheatley combines the lunar feeding times with a high-pressure system that brings in cool weather and increased deer activity.
“I like the high-pressure systems that push a low out… a little bit of rain and some cooler temperatures all combined with an optimal lunar window in the mornings or afternoons is the best of both worlds. I try not to miss too many of these days to get in the stand,” he said.
As the season progresses and rutting activity strengthens, the lunar movement periods early and late in the day are not the only optimal times to be in the stand. Both the new and full moon periods affect hormone production and will have a dramatic effect on deer movement — especially bucks with a major desire to breed.
On full- or new-moon days, lunar movement periods fall right during the middle of the day and the middle of the night. Wheatley advises hunters to take advantage of the mid-day movement periods, especially during periods of cold weather. Yet he prefers the new moon over the full moon.
“The full moon is hard to hunt. The deer are on their feet under the cover of darkness, but the mornings are still productive. The moon will hang in the sky much longer in the morning.”
Pitch-black nights during new moons restrict deer movements to the daylight hours, and the mid-day lunar movement periods on new moons can be dynamite during the rut. Bucks will be on the move looking for receptive does traveling between bedding and feeding zones. Transition areas between these major feeding areas where a large concentration of does is present are ideal places to sit during the mid-day lunar hunts.
“Bucks are going to be trolling hard for the next receptive doe, but don’t expect deer to frolic around in open fields too much. Hunt areas with timber or places protected by the cover of shadows, such as: wooded travel corridors, swamp funnels, or the inside corners of fields,” he said.
Expect does to be feeding in their normal places, where rich food sources are protected in the woodlands or in secluded fields lacking significant outside pressure.
From plants and animals on land to fish swimming in the ocean, the moon has a powerful effect on every living creature. If followed correctly, deer hunters can gain a significant advantage over their prey by hunting during the optimal times of the month and of the day when the lunar effects are at their peak.
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