What Information Is on a Deer Feeding Chart?
A deer feeding chart contains the times when the sun and moon rise and set at a given day or period, indicating the major and minor feeding times of deer in the area. Depending on the type, a deer feeding chart may also contain the moon illumination percentage and a deer hunting rating.
Deer feeding charts show the best times to hunt for deer. The optimal time to hunt for game is when the deer’s feeding times coincides with the positions of the sun.
The feeding habits and schedules of fish, birds, and animals are heavily influenced by the position of the sun and the moon in the sky, the times of which vary from day to day. This is known as the solunar effect. Due to this phenomenon, the times when game come out in the open to eat can be predicted. The deer’s minor feeding times occur either at the time of the moon’s rising and setting, while its major feeding times occur when the moon is directly over or under the location. Instances wherein major or minor feeding periods occur close to the sunset or the sunrise have a high deer hunting rating. Hunters use this information to schedule their hunting times.
Along with solunar data, other factors to be considered in scheduling hunting times are buck activity, wind direction and local weather directions.
