When Will a Giant Whitetail Move in Daylight?
written by staff writer
Depending on where you are in the US, finding whitetail isn’t that big of an issue, especially in the midwest. However, finding a BIG whitetail buck is hard no matter where you are. They don’t live long enough to grow to that size without learning a few things, one of which being that it’s safer for them to move under cover of darkness in the Fall when hunters can’t take shots at them. Thankfully, Adam Hays of Team 200 has identified some factors that will cause those big bucks to make a mistake and move during the daylight hours in this article published on his blog.
“There are a few natural factors that can give a cagey old buck a little nudge to move a bit earlier than normal, giving us the opportunity we are looking for.”
Image from 200inch.com
Hays, a prominent whitetail hunter who’s successfully killed at least 4 bucks with antlers over 200-inches, says that the three factors that will give those older bucks that “nudge” are:
The Wind
The Weather
The Moon
“It’s the days when 2 or 3 of these factors happen simultaneously, that’s when things get bloody!”
While “any of these factors can be a trigger,” he says, “it’s the days when 2 or 3 of these factors happen simultaneously, that’s when things get bloody! Stack the deck in your favor.”
Hays recommends “clear days with blue skies and high pressure” as well as “a sudden drop in temperature after a spell of warm weather” as ideal weather patterns for daytime whitetail movement. He also notes that the deer tend to move right after an afternoon shower. “Once the rain blows through and the sun comes back in the evening,” he remarks, “it seems like deer come out of the woodwork!”
Hays is a well-known proponent of the MoonGuide and credits its use to helping him harvest the largest bucks of his life. “I’ve followed the moon and its influence on whitetails for over 20 years now, it does make a difference,” he explains in his article, “There are only a handful of days each month when the Red Moon peaks at primetime in the evening…these are the best days each month to catch a big buck moving just before dark.”
To learn more about how these factors can affect whitetail movement (and how to “stack the deck in your favor”), check out Hays’ full article below on 200inch.com.
This is what it’s all about right here, a giant whitetail buck making a mistake and moving during daylight
200inch.com
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