The Science Behind Deer Movement

[bowhunterfanatic]

These studies always amaze me. Especially when the moon gets involved. I've become a pretty big believer in the moon guide. It's been uncanny accurate for me on days where the weather isn't extreme one way or the other. These studies always make me wonder if I just have more confidence on those days at those times, or if there really is something to it. I'm not sure that it matters one way or the other, but 95% of my hunting revolves around hunting food, as we have very little good cover available to us.

 

[alaska_av8r]

All good points and I too have been trying to keep up with the latest studies. I used to put a lot of stock in what I would call "the old lore" of how to hunt a whitetail and by old lore I mean all the tidbits of information passed on by the pros of 40 plus years ago when I was just starting out. Over the years I kept finding inconsistencies with those concepts relating to the environmental aspects of hunting, wind, moon, temp and list goes on. When I first read some of the conclusions of some of those studies related to deer movement I was quite surprised but the more I compared what they presented to my past experiences the more sense they made. And of course not wanting to admit I'd been wrong all those years I tried tearing the studies apart. I spent hours delving into the methods, the numbers anything I could to shoot down their observations and in the end I couldn't. My own perceptions and stubbornness likely held me back more than I'd like to admit, but with the introduction of gps tracking collars and the newer technologies to come I think we will be learning more about whitetail behavior over the next 15 years than we have in the last 100.

Some of those old habits are gonna be hard to break but I do find it amusing to listen to conversations among other hunters and if you even mention some of the latest findings they look at you like you have three eyeballs...lol. I know it took a bit to open my mind at first but when you really delve into the data and spend some time reflecting some of those pieces of the puzzle are gonna fit.

I can't find the links but if I do I will post them but if you want to really twist your mind, start looking at some of the herd management and reproductive studies specifically related to how bringing a deer herd down closer to 70 percent of lands carrying capacity then moving toward a 1 to 1 b/d ratio ends up with having to take more does each year just to maintain the 70 percent (killing more does causes you to have to kill more does). If you do this take notes because you will need them to put the whole picture together and I'll warn you if you are as inquisitive as I am this will take a while. I have a pretty so so grasp of the concept now but talk about a mind bender.

In the end I still take a what works for me might not be a what works for you mentality and still have a lucky buckeye in my pocket cause you never know when you'll need it.

 

[TX300mag]

Thanks for sharing, docpoco. I can't wait to dive into these podcasts.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[fairchaser]

Fascinating podcast. I'm still gonna hunt when I think it's the best times but it makes sense that deer move based on several factors not all of which are environmental. I can't wait to see the study on hunter behavior and what makes the difference in why some people observe more deer than others.

 

[gtk]

This study found this:
snip....
2. The moon has no effect on movement or deer observations
snip....

i disagree completely. I had a little over 7 years of trailcam data (usually Sept-March) with which i tied to moon data and barometric pressure. Both the moon and barometric pressure effected the way deer move (especially moon). it was consistent across all years, that deer moved more in a waning gibbous phase.

 

[muddyboots]

I've learnec a lot this year. There was about a week on my lease that I was seeing tons of deer. Everyone else was swearing the deer were gone. I believe they move every day if you are where they are.