Effect of moon phase on elk during rut?

[Joe Hulburt]

Do you all think the full moon slows down the rut or causes elk to rut more at night and be less active during daylight hours?

A long time ago I read a study that showed that night time activity of deer was increased during the full moon but so was day time activity. I pretty much dismissed the old full moon excuse as a wives tale and have never really given it any thought when planning hunt's but saw something recently that caused me to question my thinking. I wish I had better records of all my hunts with notes about weather and moon phase. That is one of my resolutions for 2012! Making the most of the limited amount of time we have to hunt is important and good records would show is this is an issue worth considering.

Would or do you schedule hunts to correspond with the dark of the moon? If so do you have evidence to support it or is it just an old trick that has been passed down?

 

[Art Vandeley]

Not sure if you will get a whole lot of response on this, as it was just discussed in a thread before you joined the site. Here is that thread if you want to read through:

http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?t=249891&highlight=Moon+Phase

Mitch

 

[Joe Hulburt]

Thanks! I guess I should have looked a little further down the board. I've been busy reading a lot of old stuff on here but missed that one somehow.

 

[ElkNut1]

Weather & timing of the rut is much more critical to a hunter than the full moon itself! I'm not saying that the full moon phases have no bearing on timing of an elks daily movements, they do, but rutting trumps it! Too, those rainy cloudy nights & the full moon is a moot point! The main factor or difference is that elk bed earlier when the moon is out bright & not cloud covered! Other than that elk do not become invisible as so many hunters think! (grin) Finding bulls is key here as well as any time during Sept.

If you're hunting elk in "the rut" or during rutting times then they'll be bugling somewhere! It may be early or late in the day or both. Midday can be great at times as well, especially cloudy drizzly days & you are within earshot of bedding areas. In heavier hunted areas closer to human activity look for the elk to turn nocturnal, full moon or no full moon. During those bright lit nights elk can become quite vocal, this gives away their position as well as their feeding & night time watering areas. If un-harassed by other hunters there's a good chance of their return to these areas. Make a mental note of this during your hunt!

Many times just listening when dark is the key, much more so than calling! If this isn't producing, then during daylight hours check for areas where sound can travel, choose a 1/2 dozen possible spots, mark them down on a map or on side of road/trail, whatever your area requires? Return there a couple hours after dark or 1 1/2 hours before daybreak. Give out a location bugle, if no response wait one minute & repeat then wait 10 minutes before moving on for a response. If you get a response or two do not return a bugle, you are not trying to call them towards you & there's a chance they will come your way if you continue to coax them! An Estrus Buzz on mid to high volume 5-6 times in a row can also travel a great distance & be an excellent locater sound, consider this sound too if your bugles are not getting much response! If elk are located close to midnight you can be rest assured those elk will still be in the vicinity come daylight, they will not be far from where you last heard them so be there well before daylight to listen for them!
Once you have elk located & return to hunt them hopefully they're vocal on their own so now you can get position on them as you keep cover & the wind in your favor. Terrain features will basically dictate your best plan of attack whether it be calling or silently ambushing! Some areas will be open enough that you can move in the direction of these elk with just the bright lit moon, this will help you get into position before daylight hits. There will be days that these elk are extremely vocal on your return & days they are not! Hot cows create vocal bulls & the opposite can hold true. On these days where they seem to bugle & cow talk for the first 15min-30min of light then shut down you need to really pay close attention to their direction of travel in thickly forested areas where you cannot visually see direction of travel to bedding areas. Get as close as possible but high enough up so you can hear well but not winded. Sit & listen, no need to do much calling during these slow times. Listen, listen, listen! Those elk you heard earlier are there, sooner or later there's a good chance they will talk & now you've got them pinpointed! Come up with a plan & work them accordingly! There are many methods to choose from at this time!

As A Sidenote!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

We've taken bulls with & without the brightness of a full moon, our strategies haven't changed much at all at those times. However I do find that most bulls taken by us during a bright full moon lit night & come morning we catch them in or very near their bedding areas, reason for this is because of their earlier than normal departure because of night time activities. With this is mind, we will hunt the bedding areas or very near them! I have no problem with this at all. I am out there for one purpose & one purpose only & that's to put elk on the ground regardless of where we find them. Using the right strategies or sounds here are crucial for our success. At times we can slip in on a vocal bull as he or they head to their bedding areas. They may be bugling on their own & we "dog" the herd all the way to their destination. If needed we will keep a caller back & keep the moving bull vocal as shooter moves in undetected for a shot opportunity.

Other times we dog these once located vocal bulls to bedding areas & use what calling sequence that fits the encounter best! Rare is the case that we bump these elk out of the area. It's more common for us to kill the bull we're after at this time, as bulls get very defensive once in their sacred spots! You must work elk with the wind in your favor or back-off if things aren't just right! Of course I must make mention that this info is in our PlayBook along with all the different methods we use in detail once in their bedding areas, there's an entire Chapter dedicated to it!

Here's a bull I took during a Full Moon on Sept. 9th I dogged this bull for 1-1/2 mile, fortunately he was vocal as he & another bull exchanged words on the way towards bedding! (grin) I climbed aprox 1100' in that distance as I did my best to keep up, their bugling helped a bunch, I was 54 then! I noticed the bigger bull (by sound) had finally bugled from the same spot several times up ahead of me, I figured that was his bedding area & that's where he & his cows would hold tight, this is where he wanted to be, now was the time to try & take him! (At no time did I call as I dogged this group) I got between the two bulls which were now several hundred yards apart, I wanted the herd bull so got closest to him & cow called excitedly, nothing happened! I kept moving his way calling cutting the distance to under a 100yds. There was good wind in my face & lots of heavy timber so going to him undetected was easy. At 80yds or so the herd bull finally bugled to me (this cow) to get over to the group, I did exactly as he asked! I went straight at him cow calling excitedly & breaking branches with some foot stomping accepting his invite, I stopped all calling at 40 yds, he now had bugled my cow calling a 1/2 dozen times to that point. I went in silent to a tree 20yds ahead that gave me some cover but should put me in his lap at the same time. On my approach the bull had walked to an Aspen tree & started raking it displaying for this cow (me) he was showing me what he had to offer, I liked what I saw & took him at 18yds! (grin) This was done on a brightly lit full moon! Good Luck to you & have full confidence you can do the same!

ElkNut1