Buck blunders: 8 whitetail behaviour myths that might be blowing your hunt

Myth #7  If it’s a windy day, you may as well stay in camp.

It’s long been suggested that deer don’t move on windy days and that it’s generally a waste of time to hunt when it’s blowing hard. The theory is that in strong winds, deer are less able to detect predators, so in response they bed down in thick cover and wait it out. I have little doubt howling winds do render a deer’s senses less keen, but deer don’t quit going about their business just because it’s blowing. If they did that in some regions I’ve hunted, they’d end up with bedsores and die of starvation.

Deer know their territory like you and I know our houses. When the weather turns—whether it’s snow, rain or wind—deer know exactly where to head for maximum protection. They still want and need to eat, sleep, drink and breed, and wind isn’t going to prevent them from doing just that. They will, however, move to the parts of their territory that offer an escape from the harshest winds. Preferred haunts include creek or river valleys, natural draws or bowls, swamps and densely wooded thickets—anywhere that affords them protection.

The fact you’re not seeing deer in the same places you patterned them before the wind picked up means you have to rethink how and where to most effectively hunt them. Actually, a windy day can be a deer hunter’s friend—it narrows your search radius and, with the wind in your face, it ensures your scent won’t betray you. And as a bonus, any noises you make while moving through the bush will be muffled.

Myth #8  The timing of the rut is determined by moon phases.

It’s the photoperiod—the number of daylight hours in a 24-hour period—that determines the timing of the rut, not the lunar cycle. In short, autumn’s shorter days trigger whitetails to start breeding. Across most of Canada’s whitetail habitat, you can generally count on the third week of November as being at or near the peak of the rut, irrespective of the moon phase.

This evolutionary trait is timed so that when a doe gives birth, the availability of food and cover for both doe and fawn, and the prevailing weather, will be the most favourable. There should also be ample time for the fawn to grow strong enough to withstand the coming winter. All this gives the fawn the greatest chance for survival. Photoperiodism never betrays this biological imperative—it’s as regular as, well, clockwork.

The notion that the lunar cycle is the primary trigger, on the other hand, simply makes no biological sense. Lunar cycles can be highly variable on an annual basis, so those who suggest the onset of the rut is influenced by the second full moon after the autumnal equinox are sadly misinformed. Similarly, some suggest the moon’s phase affects deer movement and feeding patterns. That’s probably true to some extent, but weather has a much greater influence on how deer behave on any given day.