Prior to the start of the 2016 deer season I bought a tool called the Deer Hunter's Moon Guide. It is a rotating calendar disk that predicts peak hunting times based on the moon’s position—directly overhead or underfoot, for example—as well as the best types of places to hunt under the given conditions. With a young family at home, I was very interested in a tool that might help me become a more efficient hunter.
The days that predict the best movement are marked red, and the guide really emphasizes hunting the "red" moons. Simply by coincidence I hunted an equal number of "red" and "black" moons in 2016. I killed a doe on a black moon and a doe and buck on consecutive red moon days. I saw slightly more deer on black moon days, but I had significantly more deer in bow range on red moon days.
With a sample size of one, not much can be concluded about how well the Deer Hunter's Moon Guide works. I didn't plan any of my hunts based on the guide and I will continue to hunt when time allows and on days where the wind conditions are conducive for my stand. I will probably give the moon guide another opportunity and next year use trail cameras images to gain more data points to see if there is a correlation to deer movement and moon position.
-KK
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