Thanks.
Keeping notes over the years, lunar phases haven't anything to with the rut. Peak rut happens the same dates year after year. Deer farmers will confirm that. Weather has more to do with daytime activity than lunar phases.
Think about it, if it had to do with lunar phases, the whole whitetail world would come into peak rut at the same time which isn't so.
Here are some quotes I totally concur with from a guy over on the whitetail forum who also kept records:
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From: bowriter ........ ....... Date: 16-Oct-09 I have never, ever seen one piece of factual, hard data to show that the moon affects a single aspect of deer movement. The only things I have seen were done by people who had a product to sell. Kinda that way with a lot of deer hunting information. Do deer feed more at night on a full moon and therefore don't move as much during daylight hours? Prove it. Show me that hard biological data that proves that. Does a full moon mean more midday movement? Are you sure it isn't weather related? Or is it just that you happened to be hunting during the midday? We now know, beyond any doubt, the moon doesn't have a thing to do with the rut. We have hard biological data to prove that. For sure, the moon has an effect on all animals especially humans, ask any school teacher or cop. But does it effect the feeding patterns or movement? For fish sure. But mammals? Prove it. Show me the hard data.
From: bowriter ........ ....... Date: 17-Oct-09 Mammals. Moon has nothing to do with it. 28 days give or take. Many women and I would assume does, have irregular cycles. That's what keeps my wife in business. Moon has nothing to do with estrous cycles. If it did, they would never cycle regularly. For many years, it was thought sleeping in full moonlight caused insanity. That's where the term lunacy comes from. So be carefull about getting out on a full moon night. You might go crazy. Or a werewolve might get you.
From: bowriter ........ ....... Date: 19-Oct-09 After two years of thermal imaging at night. Our data showed the moon didn't mean jack in terms of deer's nocturnal feeding. It was temperature in the number one spot. Rain number two. We saw no more deer at night during a full moon than we did during a dark night.
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Another thread:
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From: bowriter ........ ....... Date: 01-Jan-10 I doubt that anyone can accurately because it doesn't in any consistent manner with whitetail deer. I live with a herd of deer...I mean a HERD. I see the every day and every night. They are wild, free ranging. The only thing I have seen effect them is weather, that being mainly temperature and cloud cover. The moon has no noticeable effect other than sell a product to hunters. I can't speak to exotics. I only studied elk and deer and I only have years of experience and data.
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