Moon Phase & Solunar Hunt Planner — Best Hunt Timing

Rank hunt dates by moon phase, illumination, solunar timing, and rut windows for elk, mule deer, whitetail, and pronghorn.

What this planner covers: moon phase and illumination, solunar timing, and rut windows — all calculated from the date you pick. There is no weather data in this tool. Check a forecast service for temperature, wind, and pressure, then feed those conditions into the Game Activity Predictor.

Date

Species

Hunt Start Date

Hunt End Date

Moon Phase

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Illumination

Hunting Rating

Peak Movement Windows

Moon phase and illumination are calculated from the date. Moonrise, moonset, and overhead/underfoot times are rough approximations derived from the phase, not an ephemeris for your location. Dawn and dusk come from a US mid-latitude monthly average — real legal light can differ by an hour or more between, say, southern Arizona and northern Montana. Check your state's legal shooting-hours table before you hunt.

Hunting Activity Prediction

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Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Excellent

Good

Fair

Poor

Rut Peak

Best Hunt Days

Select a hunt date range above to see the top recommended days based on moon phase, rut timing, and dawn/dusk windows.

Set a start and end date to calculate best days.

Hunting Tips for Current Conditions

How Moon Phases Affect Hunting

Moon phases directly influence animal movement patterns. During new moon and waning crescent phases, nights are dark and animals feed less at night, leading to increased daytime activity — the best scenario for hunters. During a full moon, animals feed heavily at night and are less active during legal shooting hours.

The "overhead/underfoot" theory suggests that major feeding periods occur when the moon is directly overhead or directly underfoot (opposite side of the Earth), creating gravitational pull that triggers movement. Minor feeding periods occur at moonrise and moonset.

Combine moon data with rut timing for your target species and you can pinpoint the absolute best days of the season. During peak rut, bucks and bulls move regardless of moon phase — but dark moon + rut = the best possible scenario.

Hunt planning intel, weekly

Draw deadlines, tag strategy, and updates to the Moon Phase & Solunar Hunt Planner — one email a week.

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