Please email us with any questions
Phone - 440.344.6432
Moon Phases Explained
The phases of the moon are caused by the relative positions of the earth, sun, and moon. The moon goes around the earth, on average, in 27 days 7 hours 43 minutes.
The sun always illuminates the half of the moon facing the sun (except during lunar eclipses, when the moon passes thru the earth's shadow). When the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the earth, the moon appears "full" to us, a bright, round disk. When the moon is between the earth and the sun, it appears dark, a "new" moon. In between, the moon's illuminated surface appears to grow (wax) to full, then decreases (wanes) to the next new moon.
The edge of the shadow (the terminator) is always curved, being an oblique view of a circle, giving the moon its familiar crescent shape. Because the "horns" of the moon at the ends of the crescent are always facing away from the setting or rising sun, they always point upward in the sky. It is fun to watch for paintings and pictures which show an "impossible moon" with the horns pointed downwards.
How the Moon Affects Wildlife
The phases of the moon are known to affect wildlife movement. Many hunters, especially deer hunters, believe they can increase their odds of success by hunting during certain phases of the moon.
The different phases of the moon determine the amount of reflected light we see. This is caused by the position of the sun, earth and moon. As the amount of light on the moon, moving from right to left, is increasing, the moon is said to be waxing. When the amount of light decreases (or the darkness increases), the moon is said to be waning. This is only true in the Northern Hemisphere; it's the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere.
John Alden Knight took folklore, along with some research, and came up with the Solunar Theory. He found the sun, moon, and tides affected fish and wildlife activity. Knight published his Solunar Tables in 1936. The tables, now published in many sporting magazines and online, provide the best times for fishing and hunting.
The Solunar Theory states the closer you are to the sun or moon, the stronger the influence. The day of a new (dark) or full (light) moon provides the strongest influence each month.
Hunters know that game tend to feed during dawn and dusk. What increases wildlife activity is the effect of a moonrise or moonset along with the specific monthly phases of new and full moons. When a Solunar Period falls within 30-60 minutes of sunrise or sunset, it's good. When there is a moonrise or moonset during that same period, it's better! The peak time, however, is when all of those times occur during a new or full moon.
This is where solunar tables come in. You must calculate the precise times from each table by taking into account your geographic location (east or west) of a base point (Time Zone) and adjusted for Daylight Savings Time. The tables help a hunter find the days and times of peak wildlife activity.
Keep in mind that other factors will affect wildlife activity, such as the weather, the rut, hunting pressure, etc.
More Information
Visit the following Web sites to view and purchase solunar tables:
Trophy Scoring
Pope and Young
The Pope & Young Club is recognized as the official repository for records on bow-harvested North American big game. Together with the Boone & Crockett Club, the Pope and Young Club maintains the universally accepted scoring system and sets the standards for measuring and scoring big game.
Statistical data collected from the scoring are added to the Club archives as part of the organization's ever-growing file on North American big game species. Record books, supplements, and statistical summary pamphlets are periodically published to update the compiled information. These publications are available to interested individuals, wildlife agencies, and conservation organizations.
The P&Y Records Program archives provide great insight into the past and present management, health, and trends of North America's wildlife populations. The records are a testimonial to wildlife, traditional wildlife management, and the importance of hunting as a management tool.
Boone and Crockett Club
The Boone and Crockett Club is a non-profit organization founded in 1887 by Theodore Roosevelt. His vision was to establish a coalition of dedicated conservationists and sportsmen who would provide the leadership needed to address the issues that affect hunting, wildlife and wild habitat.
The Boone and Crockett Club’s Fair Chase statement was the first document outlining a code of conduct and ethics for sportsmen, which later became the cornerstone of the game laws we have today. Past Club member accomplishments include: the protection of Yellowstone, Glacier, and Denali National Parks; the foundation of the National Forest Service, National Park Service, and National Wildlife Refuge System; the passing of the Pittman-Robertson and Lacey Acts, and the establishment of the Federal Duck Stamp Program.
Pre-Season Whitetail Scouting
With bow season nearly upon us, I thought this would be a good article to check out.
When you are getting ready for the whitetail season you should begin scouting in late summer by watching likely food sources. Does, fawns and bucks will be loading up on succulent grasses, clovers, ripening grains, berries and sedges at this time. Bucks don’t always use the same food sources as the does, they often stay closer to their bedding areas. If they use the same food sources as the does they may appear either earlier or later than the does. By cruising roads with a good set of binoculars near agricultural crops and meadows during the morning and evening you can learn which fields the bucks use.
If you are there early enough in the evening you may see the bucks arrive and be able to determine where they came from. If you stay late enough you may be able to see them go to either another food source or back toward the bedding area. Because buck’s don’t travel very far at this time of year their bedding area should be nearby.
When you see bucks at early morning food sources stay long enough to see which way they leave. In the morning deer usually work their way slowly from open areas, to high grass or brush and finally into heavy brush or woods where they feed and bed intermittently throughout the day. Once you know the route they take back to the bedding area you can setup along it during the hunting season.
The buck’s rub route usually winds through several doe use areas before ending up at a night time food source, then through other doe use areas as the buck moves back toward the bedding area early in the morning, before daylight. You should find several rubs along the evening rub route, and scrapes in transition zones, near food sources, along field edges and near doe bedding areas.
Following the buck’s route back to the bedding area in the morning can be difficult because they often travel under cover of darkness in the early morning which makes them feel secure enough to travel in the open, where there are few trees and consequently few rubs and scrapes, until they reach the safety of the trees in their bedding area during daylight hours.
If you have time to watch buck rub-route trails you can learn not only where, but when the buck uses the trail. Finding the rub route and knowing when the buck uses it helps you choose the right time and place to hunt. If you don’t have time to watch the trail you can use a Trail Timer or Game Camera to let you know what time the buck comes through the area.
If you don’t use a timer or camera to find out the buck’s travel time the best strategy is to find it’s bedding area and setup as near to it as possible, using different stand sites for morning and evening and varying wind conditions. By getting close enough to the bedding area to watch it but far enough away so you don’t alert the buck to your presence you increase the chances of seeing the buck during daylight hours.
By spending extra time and effort Observing, Scouting, Patterning and Recording the food sources, and travel and rub routes prior to the hunting season, you cut down the amount of nonproductive hunting during the season. Then you will know where to find the buck and at what time, so you can use techniques to ambush or attract it to you.
