Interesting article on buck movement.

[Bear44]

https://www.qdma.com/10-things-know-mature-buck-movements/

What I get from this is that things are a lot simpler than I thought. Find the sign, be there early and late, don't over hunt the area and don't worry much about anything else.

 

[batoncolle]

Kinda what I always figured about the moon phases. I've never noticed any changes as a result of the moon except for maybe a little increased midday action after a full moon.

And I'll just add that when there is a large food source in the area, you'll find a lot more deer and a higher concentration of big bucks.

 

[GeauxLSU]

Being fortunate to live in a place where I can regularly view the habits of deer over the last 15+ years from my deck, I've learned one thing definitively, you can NOT "predict" what deer will do. I've seen them be out when they aren't supposed to be, chase when they aren't supposed to, eat things they aren't 'supposed to, and react (or not) to "pressure" the way they aren't supposed to. The more I learn, the dumber I am.

 

[chazehen]

Or...these studies prove that deer act weird when you slap a collar around their neck...

 

[Burdy]

Good article. I would have lost a lot of money betting on the moon phase data, confirmation bias may have gotten the best of me after all the years. My home sits on approximately 20 acres that has good deer activity and I take a 2-3 deer a year off my property in addition to hunting in other places. I have been doing this for about 8 years now. I can say without a doubt, the pressure part of the article is spot on. I have to be extremely careful how, and when I hunt the property. I try to only take deer by themselves, I go in very early to avoid getting seen and if deer are present around me when it gets dark, I sit until they leave. Even calling is risky, as it increases my chances of getting busted. It doesn't take long for them to catch on and vanish for the rest of the season. I also keep trail cams running year round and by the third week of gun season, the nocturnal activity goes through the roof and daytime pics are almost non-existent. Get them early season.

 

[Comanche]

Sometimes you can just feel it in the air or how the daylight just has that certain look and feel that tells you to put your camo on and get into the woods now.
Every time I've done that I've seen deer.

 

[Burdy]

Sometimes you can just feel it in the air or how the daylight just has that certain look and feel that tells you to put your camo on and get into the woods now.
Every time I've done that I've seen deer.

Its funny you say that. Because I almost never see deer when I get that feeling. I usually see them on the days I absolutely least expect to see deer, but I force myself to go anyway.

 

[Bear44]

Sometimes you can just feel it in the air or how the daylight just has that certain look and feel that tells you to put your camo on and get into the woods now.
Every time I've done that I've seen deer.

Agreed!
The question is, are they really moving more or are we expecting movement, so we are more alert, thus see deer. This kind of thing also applies to some types of fishing. When I fish a plastic worm and I stay confident that I'm going to get a strike at any second, I am more sensitive to light strikes and catch more fish.

 

[Comanche]

Either you
See them or you
Don't.
I'm always on the same high alert For deer Movement but when I've had that feeling to get in the woods now it was always a blatant "here we are" from the deer usually within the first 15 minutes of getting in a spot.....not a sit and wait for the slightest movement from a wary buck situation.

I could fill a book with stories.