What Time of the Day is Best for Hunting Deer During a Full Moon?

July 12, 2011 By Bill Winke

Conventional wisdom has always suggested that you should be out there at midday when the moon is full.

However, I have talked with several biologists regarding studies done to determine how moon phase affects deer behavior. There seems to be no consensus on this subject; the biologists I respect the most now conclude that there is no strong correlation between moon phase and periods of high activity.

As a result, I have come to disregard moon phase. More important are rut phase (which is dependent on the length of daylight — so it falls the same every year) and weather patterns.

In my experience, temperature is much more important than moon phase in predicting activity.

Recent Videos

Gear

Mathews Launches 2025 Bow and Accessory Lineup

Gear

Mathews Launches 2025 Bow and Accessory Lineup

It's launch day 2025 for Mathews and Editor-In-Chief Christian Berg gives you a first look at the brand new LIFT X. The new flagship model builds on last year's top-selling LIFT platform. Available in two versions — the LIFT X 29.5 and LIFT X 33 — both incorporate a trio of new features. They include Limb Shift Technology, ARC7 Limb Technology and BOND grips, and Berg touches on each of them in this video.

Bowhunting

Think Differently When Hanging Treestands

Bowhunting

Think Differently When Hanging Treestands

How often do we consider the wind when hanging our treestands? Almost always! That's a good strategy, except for the fact that we're not hunting the wind — we're hunting deer. With the benefit of Ozonics, it gives us the opportunity to think about where we need to be in order to best hunt our target bucks, even if that means we're not in the perfect place for a particular wind.

Bowhunting

Hunting the Right Way

Bowhunting

Hunting the Right Way

The right stand, on the right day, with the right wind — that's when success tends to occur. But what if you only have a few select days to hunt because of work, family activities, life events, etc. and the wind is all wrong? That's where Ozonics can come into play. Bowhunters can do more than good if they hunt certain stand sets in the wrong wind. An Ozonics unit, however, is just what the doctor ordered to continue hunting the “right way” — even at the wrong time!

Bowhunting

How to Hunt Small Acreage All Season

Bowhunting

How to Hunt Small Acreage All Season

When it comes to hunting small properties, our success can be boiled down to how much pressure we put on it. And most of the pressure, Cole Tanner explains, is the scent that we produce — and leave behind — in the field. While we're constantly trying to pattern deer, these odors actually allow the deer to pattern us. On smaller properties, our margin of error is razor-thin, so we need to adjust our strategy accordingly.

Gear

Do Animals Smell Ozone?

Gear

Do Animals Smell Ozone?

Ozonics' Cole Tanner tackles one of the most frequently asked questions the company receives. His in-depth answer is that while animals can indeed smell ozone, there's a very limited opportunity to do so. In our experience, even if deer do recognize that something is a bit different, they simple won't see it as a threat. Our entire staff has trusted Ozonics on our hunts for many years, and we can't begin to tell you how many swirling wind situations their units have guided us through.

Bowhunting

Baseball & Bowhunting with Ben McDonald

Bowhunting

Baseball & Bowhunting with Ben McDonald

Sr. Digital Editor Drew Pellman talks bowhunting — and a little bit of baseball — with Ben McDonald, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1989 Major League Baseball draft by the Baltimore Orioles. McDonald, who is a diehard bowhunter, currently serves as a color commentator for the Orioles on MASN. Inside the hunting community, he has a longstanding relationship with Realtree and has enjoyed many hunts with Bill Jordan and family for many years.

Gear

30 Years of TenPoint Crossbows!

Gear

30 Years of TenPoint Crossbows!

TenPoint Crossbows reached a significant milestone recently — 30 years in business! With over one million crossbows shipped since 1994, TenPoint has always been at the forefront of crossbow innovation, and the company shows no signs of altering that path anytime soon.

Gear

APX — The Newest Pattern From Realtree

Gear

APX — The Newest Pattern From Realtree

Jim McGinn, VP of Marketing at Realtree, shows off the latest camouflage pattern from this industry giant. The new APX pattern is an all-purpose pattern that will help you blend into your surroundings whether you're in a treestand hunting whitetails, or bellycrawling your way into range of a mule deer out West. It took years to develop APX, a pattern that met the strict standards of Realtree Founder, Bill Jordan, and it will meet your standards as well.

Gear

Buck Commander Releases New Buk Ops Technology

Gear

Buck Commander Releases New Buk Ops Technology

Ryan Busbice from Buck Commander introduces a brand-new technology they call Buk Ops. This is an optical viewing device that does not use infra-red or thermal technology. It maximizes available light to give the user an enhanced view of their surroundings. It's not a targeting device either, but a tool for scanning fields in low light, or even walking into your stand or blind without a flashlight. This is one-of-a-kind technology that holds many uses for all types of hunters.

Gear

Easton's Sonic 6.0 a Versatile Arrow Shaft

Gear

Easton's Sonic 6.0 a Versatile Arrow Shaft

Bowhunter TV Host, Curt Wells, talks to Easton Marketing Director, Gary Cornum, about the Sonic 6.0, a highly versatile arrow shaft that gives the bowhunter multiple options. Wells explains how he's able to convert his Sonic 6.0 arrows to different weights based on the species of big game he's hunting.

Gear

Easton Introduces the Match Grade Pro Series Arrow

Gear

Easton Introduces the Match Grade Pro Series Arrow

Gary Cornum, Marketing Director at Easton, explains to Bowhunter TV Host, Curt Wells, the virtues of Easton's newly released Match Grade Pro Series Arrows. From front to back, Easton has built their latest technologies into these arrows, which are only available from Easton dealers. Everything from high-end inserts and vanes combine with a five-point straightness standard to make the Pro Series arrows the best a bowhunter can buy. It's no longer necessary to build-your-own to achieve the highest quality arrow you demand.

Gear

Primos Double Bull Delivers New Raised Hunting Ground Blind

Gear

Primos Double Bull Delivers New Raised Hunting Ground Blind

On the surface, it would seem almost impossible to keep improving the Double Bull ground blinds manufactured by Primos. But as Raised Hunting founder and television show host David Holder explained to OSG's Lynn Burkhead, this year's new Raised Hunting Double Bull blind raises the standard of ground blind excellence even higher, whether you're chasing elk, mule deer or pronghorn antelope out west in Montana or big record book whitetails living in the Midwestern whitetail paradise of Iowa.

See All Videos

Buy Digital Single Issues

Don't miss an issue.
Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Get the Bowhunter App

Other Magazines

Guns & Ammo

Hunting

North American Whitetail

Bowhunter

See All Other Magazines

Special Interest Magazines

2023 Backcountry Hunter Fall

Buy A Copy

2023 Backcountry Hunter Fall

Buy A Copy

2023 Hound

Buy A Copy

2023 Hound

Buy A Copy

2023 Crossbow Revolution #2

Buy A Copy

2023 Crossbow Revolution #2

Buy A Copy

2023 Tree Saddle Hunter

Buy A Copy

2023 Tree Saddle Hunter

Buy A Copy

2023 Hunting Gear Guide

Buy A Copy

2023 Hunting Gear Guide

Buy A Copy

2023 Public Land Hunter

Buy A Copy

2023 Public Land Hunter

Buy A Copy

See All Special Interest Magazines

More You May Be Interested In

Phone Icon

Get Digital Access.

All Bowhunter subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets.

To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine.

Get Digital Access

Not a Subscriber?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe & Save.

What Time of the Day is Best for Hunting Deer During a Full Moon?

Video That May Interest You

GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Recommended Articles

Recent Videos

GET THE MAGAZINE Subscribe & Save

Buy Digital Single Issues

Don't miss an issue.Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Other Magazines

Guns & Ammo

Guns & Ammo

Hunting

Hunting

North American Whitetail

North American Whitetail

Bowhunter

Bowhunter

Special Interest Magazines

2023 Backcountry Hunter Fall

2023 Backcountry Hunter Fall

2023 Hound

2023 Hound

2023 Crossbow Revolution #2

2023 Crossbow Revolution #2

2023 Tree Saddle Hunter

2023 Tree Saddle Hunter

2023 Hunting Gear Guide

2023 Hunting Gear Guide

2023 Public Land Hunter

2023 Public Land Hunter

More You May Be Interested In

GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Get Digital Access.

Not a Subscriber?

Get a Full Yearof Guns & Ammo& Digital Access.

Get the Newsletter

Don't miss an issue.
Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Get a Full Year
of Guns & Ammo
& Digital Access.