BIG DEER Annual Report: Best Moon & Rut Days to Hunt 2012
Yesterday buddy Mark Drury and I compared calendars and notes and came up with our annual prediction of the best days to shoot a monster this fall. This is setting up to be a tricky year (the full moons are late in the rut months) and we took into account the epic drought and EHD outbreaks (Mark has found 13 dead deer on one of his farms so far and he’s worried).
We generally don’t talk about the September full moon, but Mark believes it is significant this year. With corn burned up and the soybeans barely hanging on in drought-stricken areas, deer patterns to and from feed will change, sometimes drastically. If your bow season opens in September, and if you have a green food source to watch (fall food plot, forbs in a hay field near a pond or creek, etc.) Mark believes you have an awesome big-buck opportunity: “should be great deer movement around green feed the 5 days prior to the full moon September 30.” I hadn’t thought about it that way, but it makes sense with this drought. If you have green feed and your season is open in September, you might want to take your vacation super early. I add that if you get rains in September that green up the feed, your chances will be better than ever.
Based on the full moon October 29, we predict good to great deer movement October 24 to November 4. This is one of our favorite windows to hunt any year. This year the full moon will kick bucks into scraping and prowling in late October, and as it wanes, bucks should seek does hard those first days of November, which “will be the best week to grunt and rattle,” says Mark. If you have the flexibility during this 12-day window, watch the weather and be sure to hunt the 2-3crisp, high-pressure days after a dry or wet cold front moves through. Bucks should really move.
Over the years, there have been more record-book bucks shot November 8-12 than any other days; that week will be great again in 2012. With the moon moving toward dark on the 13th, expect to see the most bucks at dawn/dusk, though a stud on the prowl for a hot doe might come through at 11:00 am. Sit all day.
Most biologists say deer movements/sightings and rutting activity fluctuate with the weather, acorn crops, pressure, etc., but actual breeding dates are amazingly consistent from year to year in any given location, regardless of moon phase. I agree with that—if your peak breeding (lockdown) has always been around November 15, it will be close to that again. BUT, both Mark and I are more adamant than ever that bucks move more and harder during a “rut full moon” than during the darker phases. That’s way we think giants will fall Halloween week.
As for the full orb November 28, I am not putting much stock in it. Some bucks will still prowl for the last does, but the rut is winding down and there has been a little to a lot of pressure in most areas. Some big deer will be killed, though the hunting will be hit or miss and helter-skelter.
If you have any preductions, tell us. And at the end of season write me and tell me if our predictions helped you out. Good luck. comment
here. All the corn fields around us are irrigated and look great, nice tall and green. Our 2.5 acer clover plot looks pretty good too! Im
not really sure what to expect. I was planning on taking Nov. 3rd thu 6th to hunt the rut good.....now you have me thinking :)
Halloween day has always and will always be one of my favorite days to see deer up and moving out of their comfort zones. I have seen and killed deer that day that are deer I hadn't seen in the area before.
last year Halloween was good, but it turned out Thanksgiving day was the day we got trail cam photo's of 3 different bucks while we were sitting at the family dinner.. Should of been hunting!
I think that here in the Mid-Atlantic Mike and Mark's guessing will largely be correct.
But Mike, I think that November moon may be more productive than you think. Between most gun seasons opening up around than, if you have a low pressure area with a good number of does, even if the area doesn't hold bucks year round, you might just have your honey hole so to speak. Between that late full moon and the last of the big boys out looking for the does that haven't been creed, hunting pressure, and the dwindling food sources by that time, given the right area you could see multiple bucks still after does and have some great hunting.
Otherwise I totally have to agree and will be in my treestand a large percent of those dates!
Good Luck everyone, only 2 weeks from Friday here and Maryland and we can hit the woods :-)
However, I believe that they will chase all night during a full moon which may result in less movement during the day.
In my area it has been consistant over the last 15 years. The bigger bucks will be chasing the 2nd week of November.
It can be warm with a full moon, or cold with a new moon. It doesn't matter, if the does are hot, there will be chasing.
And the does always seem to be hot during the 2nd week of November.
thrown in for good measure. I will be hunting hard morning and evenings regardless of what the moon is doing or whether the rut is
on or not. Hard core persistance is the key.
the full moon in late October, and see if like Mark and me you see bucks moving. it took me a long time to break the old moon
habit, but now i never let a full moon bother me. i wil reiterate one point i made in the post--Nov 8-12 are prime this year and
any year, no matter moon and weather (though colder the better).
!
the last 3 yrs i have shot 140+ deer during this time. Of course watching weather plays a major factor watching for a cooling front can increase odds. But, during the full moon is when i take
vacation every year and always sleep in and sneak to my rattleing spots around 8am. Good luck and happy hunting