........and when I saw today (Dec 21) as the best day of the month to hunt with the prime time being 10:30am to around 2pm, I decided to hunt. And when I saw the total eclipse of the moon in the wee hours Tuesday morning, I was more excited.
Saw nothing and heard nothing....not even the normal squirrel and bird activity. Hope you guys had better luck.
Imo, the conditions where you hunt, such as a front moving in, food sources, rut, etc. are far more important than solunar tables.
We tried it one day last week. The peak was suppose to be at 9:30am, so we headed out, on our one hour drive, about daybreak. On the way is a high fence area. When we passed it, at 7:30, we saw one doe, three eights, two tens, and two bull elk feeding. Don't know if the bulls were 4x4s or 5x5s, but I do know they were large by huge. Saw nothing while hunting.
I wonder if the higher vertabraes, like deer or mammals in general, are less affected by solunar phases than say the lower, like fish. It "seems" I have better luck fishing just prior to, or on a full moon. Thought I had the deer figured out but found its really just a roll of the dice. IMHO they do what they feel like doing at the time, regardless. Just need to go anytime when the opportunity arrives....Phil
Not only was it the best day of the month, it was the best day of 2010!
I don't hunt according to the tables, but I do watch them and have more confidence when the major feed is on.
ps; I didn't see or hear anything yesterday either 8-(
Where do you get this information? Is there a solunar book that can be purchased, hate to go online everyday. Thanks, Mike
Pete, The good news is, after yesterday, you have more time to hunt each day as the days start getting longer!
I don't know anything about the tables, but I hunted most of the day...only saw a doe and a fawn and they were in a hurry to get somewhere else. They came through at 9:00 am. I hunt in Laurens county.
Wayne
I like to hunt during the solunar peaks when they coincide with dawn and dusk.
Hunt when I can , musky fish by the tables .
Jack
I like to hunt weather fronts as well. But most of the time it's around the kids and the wifes schedule.LOL
The reason I hunt the tables frequently is I've paid attention to deer sightings over the passed several years and compared the sightings to the tables (after the fact mostly). They matched up in about 85-90 percent of the the time.
In addition to the peak time, and the eclipse, there was a front coming in; normally a great sign. I'm still scratching my head on this one. Maybe I'm misinterpreting the affects of the eclipse. Maybe it had the opposite affect.
I pay no attention to the tables or the moon. I hunt every chance I get unless it is raining or wind is blowing more than 20 mph.
Now, if a person is more restricted in their opportunity to hunt than I am, they might have to be more selective about which days they go. But, I still wouldn't trust any of the charts - I'd pay attention to wind direction regarding the stands I want to hunt. If good wind, go.
Ok, whats a solunar table? Is it the moon phase?
Onestringer, yes it is; with the addition of the affect the sun has on game movement.
Ok, thanks. I once scheduled a bear hunt around the moon phase. Out of the 5 weeks the outfitter had hunters, the week I hunted the least amount of bears were seen.
I have had better luck just hunting the rising Moon. It seems like every thing like to feed when the Moon is coming up..
I look at them but don't base my whole hunt on it. I have good luck right after a new moon, right after cold fronts, and right after a rain. I also set up on well used trails so I see deer sometimes even in poor conditions.
It's been my experience the deer don't read the solar luunar tables in this area.
Our deer are smarter than your deer..........
i was gonna post that i hunt when i can, and then Biggie posted his response. i just got my computer screen cleaned off enough to respond. :D
I hunt and fish when and every time I can. I did have a boss that hunted comptley by the moon and he has killed a lot of huge bucks. I can't bring myself to believe in that stuff too much.
I have an app for that on my Iphone. it is called huntcast.
I hunt when I can, but I like to make sure I am out at peak times when possible so I check them. Weather and other factors have to be taken into account also. I have seen a good amount of activity at listed times when the weather cooperates and other factor are in place like I am in a spot close to deer. I know there have been quite a few times I have set for hours and seen nothing only to have deer move as predicted by the peak times of the tables. One thing for sure is that squirrels are real tuned into the times around here. They have peak movement times very much in line with the tables most days. I also find they will move in rain and wind when other animals will not. They may not go far or be real active, but they get up and move around at those times very consistently. When I hunt and don't check the tables, I never pull out when there is good squirrel activity.
I like hunting the rain, very quiet, and quite a bit of deer movement. As for the moon, my best opinion is that if the moon is up during the day, it triggers additional feeding activity.
QuoteOriginally posted by guspup:
I like hunting the rain, very quiet, and quite a bit of deer movement. As for the moon, my best opinion is that if the moon is up during the day, it triggers additional feeding activity.
Makes me hungry too. :D