I've noticed that the newest solunar table I've been using is surprisingly accurate. Especially when I see unexpected deer activity early in the evening and then check the table to see that it was either a major/minor time. I already knew it was awesome with bass fishing but have been surprised lately with the deer.

What have yall's experiences been like with solunar tables and deer?

I've been looking into this solunar table thing but it's so confusing. Does'nt seem to be a whole lot of info on it but the few sites i've looked at don't have enough specific information for us newbies about the whole moon phases/solunar table. I hope someone with some solid knowledge can help out. Is there a calendar with best dates and times based on this?

I've heard that if the moon is up during the day the deer will be moving and that is the time to be in the stand.

Since you asked... I am a huge believer in solunar tables -- so much so that i have invested a considerable amount of time and money into developing a solunar table iPhone app called iSolunar.

Solunar Feeding Times apply to ALL FISH AND GAME, including deer.

We have a lot of info on our site http://i-solunar.com, but here is the nitty-gritty:

The Solunar Theory was originally developed in the 1930's by John Alden Knight, an avid outdoorsmen and sportswriter who perfected his theory fish and game activity over a period of many years making observations while hunting and fishing.

He found that all fish and game - including deer, turkey, bass, and trout - are more active during different times of the day and night. He examined 33 variables to see their effect on hunting times and fishing times. Of the 33, the position of the sun, moon, and tides were determined to be of the utmost importance. He noted that there are two "major" time periods and two "minor" time periods each day that fishing and hunting are most likely to be productive. Because of the effect of the sun and the moon, he named these times "Solunar Periods" which have been compiled into solunar tables for almost 8 decades now.

The Major Periods last 2-3 hours and peak when the moon is positioned overhead (transit) and positioned underfoot. This is when the combined gravitational forces of the sun and moon are the strongest. The Minor Period times occur roughly half way in between when the moon passes the horizon at moonrise and moonset. Minor Periods generally last half as long as the Major Periods.

The best hunting times and best fishing times occur at the peak of the Major and Minor Periods. These roughly correlate with high tide and low tide times. Tides occur roughly every 12.5 hours, but because they are caused by a complex set of interactions -- the sun and moon's gravitational forces, rotation of the Earth, and the shape of the near-shore bottom -- the tide times will vary somewhat from the solunar table periods. Solunar periods have been equated to "equilibrium tide times", which are the times that tides would occur for a specific longitude if the entire Earth was covered by water.

The best hunting times and best fishing times also vary day to day through out the month with the moon phase - with the best activity occurring around a Full Moon and New Moon. This is when the the Moon and the Sun's gravitational forces are the strongest.

Good luck.

Following is a link that diagrams periods.
http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/outdoors/fishing/78748?dayParam=1

I was very sceptical about the i-solunar app so I got the pics off my game camera over the last 3 months and compared the movement on them to what the isolunar app on my iphone said was the "major" times. The the results from my deer lease in hico..... suprisingly there really did seam to be a pattern. Im not saying I will totally go by it for my hunting times but I do think it is a usefull tool.

I have tried and found some correlation for fishing, but none for deer hunting. Guess I'm not holding my mouth just right(?)

This is actually what got us interested in making the app. I had always used the tables for bass fishing, but last year we starting looking at our game cams and were blown away by the number of pics that corresponded to the solunar periods.

http://www.solunarforecast.com/

I don't believe there would be a direct correlation to the times deer are at a feeder compared to solunar times. The correlation would lean more toward the time the feeder goes off. If it goes off at a "major" time and deer show up, it works, if not... oh well, didn't work that time. I can tell as much about deer movement by watching the cows. If the cows are laying down, so are the deer. If the cows are moving around so are the deer. Same thing for fishing.

If I have a choice of going hunting on a "best" solunar day or an "average" solunar day, I will go on the "best" day. Other than that I go every chance I get.

There is no question that the solunar tables work for deer. I have observed a noticeable increase in deer activity, both in person and on game cameras, during the major and minor activity periods. It is uncanny how, as the peak of the major period arrives, the wildlife activity, including deer movement, increases significantly. Obviously, other factors, such as weather, can come into play, but all things being equal, I want to be hunting during the major and minor periods.

When the heck is major and minors??

Major Feeding Periods peak when the moon is overhead or underfoot and last about 1.5 hours on either side of that time.

Minor Feeding Periods peak when the moon is rising and setting add last about 45 on either side of that time.

The solunar tables vary by longitude and are different for each day because the moon rise and sets at different times each day.

I have the iSolunar app and find it has more information than most, that and keeping an eye on the weather has worked for me. Would like to know how often and how the wind info is updated?

I just hunt in the mornings and evenings and a little later in the day during the rut and do very well.

I used this website: http://www.solunarforecast.com/solunarforecast.aspx
you key in your zip code and it gives you 7 days of times, specific to your area. I've compared it to what I've seen deer hunting along with fishing, for several years now. Many times very accurate, but can be inaccurate depending upon the weather, and rut. During end of pre-rut and rut, deer movement becomes less predictable, however I've found it is especially beneficial to see when to hunt in the daytime-good tool, but don't tie your whole plan around it.

I started using the solar tables when fishing but they work for hunting too.

Isolunar app update. Great tool, never crashes. Like the wind that is updated every 15 minutes. Helps me pick which stand I am going to sit. Have noticed more deer during the times on the app. Very useful. Thumbs up!

Thumbs up!

My Garmin eTrex GPS unit has this feature. It will tell you whether a particular day is excellent, good, average, fair, or poor. It lists the "Best Times" (major) and "Good Times" (minor) for any point.

The link above to the Weather Channels graph is a good physical representation. I too went to my camera and noticed the feeding times correlated to the major and minor times.

However, my grandfather gave me the only surefire way to tell when game are feeding:
"If they're hungry, they're gonna eat."

I use the same one but there is a link for the whole month. It is:http://www.solunarforecast.com/solunarcalendar.aspx

Does your app work on Droid devices yet?

I've been using them since the 1970's. My observation is that they can be very accurate for predicting movement and feeding of predatory species, both in the water and on land, but they don't seem to have as much effect on the grazers. If you want to test the tables on some grazers, just keep an eye on the cows and compare what they do to the times in the tables.

I have been using them for years and do see more deer at the major times for sure. Fullmoon periods are intersting, some do not like the full moon for hunting but follow these and you will find major daytime activity is when most huntersd are not in their stands. Sleep late go hunting about 9am has accounted for ome of my better bucks.

It has seemed to hold true so far on my new lease. There've been times when I thought I should see deer and didn't. Got home and looked at the table and realized it wasn't a major or minor time when I was hunting.

Full moons in my experience there's not much use hunting early in the morning. I've had good success in the LATE mornings to early afternoons and a little in the evenings right before dark.

I think hunting pressure can have a big impact on whether the tables hold true for your place or not though. Also, the temperature seems to throw it off sometimes in my experience.