Why I Hunt the Whitetail Rut by Moon Phase—and You Should Too

Check this out before planning your 2022 hunt! “A veteran whitetail expert and host of Big Deer TV on why the moon phase is worth tracking during the rut”

“A flash in the spruce. The glint of an antler beam thick as an axe handle. When you peek a 170-inch rack, there’s no need to glass, you just know. I leveled my .30-06 and pressed the trigger, the concussion of the shot was deafening in the Canadian stillness.

I walked to the buck and wrapped my hands around the wonderful antlers, tall and heavy, points all over. I pushed up my sleeve and checked my watch: 1:28 p.m.

This was the fifth whitetail that scores more than 160 inches that I have shot between noon and 2:30 pm during a full moon. And it’s just one more example of why I tailor many aspects of my hunts in late October and especially November around the moon phases, and why I believe you should too.

Moon Phase Critics

I must first mention that there is a line of deer biologists, some of whom I know and respect greatly, a country mile long who disagree: What you talking about man, the moon has no effect on the rut!

But the most open-minded of these researchers will reluctantly admit that the timing of daily deer movement can fluctuate slightly within the four major moon phases.

One thing I know for certain from a lifetime of chasing big deer across North America: There are no absolutes for killing mature bucks. But if a certain moon phase gives me even a slight advantage, I’ll take it.”

To read more on moon phases and hunting, click here.

Photo credit: Original Author

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