Pennsylvania Game News - August 2023 - 11

in on days around a full moon, head to
their stands about 10 a.m. and stay there
the rest of the day. Given more-recent
research, maybe it wasn't the right thing to
do. Still, much of the action these hunters
experienced came between 11 a.m. and
dusk. Of course, they often were hunting
during the rut.
Once the rut kicks in, all whitetails
move more. For hunters, the problem is
that does don't roam as far, and bucks
are thrown off their patterns as they seek
out does.
Scouting during the season can become
essential to stay on deer, and that's where
many hunters come up short, relying on
intel from past seasons instead of the one
in which they're looking to fill their tag.
If you're on deer, weather changes,
like sudden drops in temperature and
incoming storms, might put them on the
move. Know, too, you might encounter
deer activity at any time of day on the
heels of a storm, so always pay attention
to the weather.
One factor about full-moon whitetail
movement that was mentioned in nearly
every study I've come across is that the
temperature had more to do with deer
movement during the full moon than
anything else during stable weather conditions.
If the temperature is warm, as it
almost always is early in Pennsylvania's
archery season, then deer movement tends
to be suppressed. If temperatures are
colder or dropping, then deer movement
tends to increase.
All in all, deer still need to eat between
3 and 6 pounds of food per day to survive.
They tend to eat, then lie down and chew
their cud for several hours before getting
back up to feed again. To conserve
energy, they often bed near the best food
sources around, at all times of year and
in all moon phases. If you're not seeing
AUGUST 2023
BLUE MOON
Regardless the effect they might or
might not have on deer, August 2023
has two full moons, on Aug. 1 and 30.
It takes about 29.5 days for the
moon to complete one cycle - from
new to new again. So every now and
then, there are two full moons in the
same month.
When this happens, the first moon
of the month takes the nickname associated
with that month (for August
it might be Sturgeon Moon or Grain
Moon, even Green Corn Moon), while
the second is referred to as a blue moon.
There's another type of blue moon,
too. Usually there are three full moons
in an astronomical season, but when
there are four, the third moon is called
a blue moon.
You're probably familiar with the
phrase " once in a blue moon. "
So how often is that?
For either type of blue moon, it's
roughly every two to three years.
The blue moon based on the astronomical
season will happen next in
August 2024, and we'll wait until May
2026 to again have two full moons in
a month.
The August 2023 blue moon is also
a supermoon, meaning it will be the
biggest and brightest of the year.
whitetails around a full moon, it could
be that they've moved from one part of
their home range to another because of a
change in the availability of prime food
sources.
The best advice for hunting during a
full moon might be to hunt when you can,
and scout more than you hunt, to make
sure you are in a prime location to cross
paths with the whitetails.
The one thing for certain during a full
moon is that you are not going to fill your
tag sitting in camp debating with others
over this decades-old question.
11
Pennsylvania Game News - August 2023

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