Just finished a great four day hunt in Kansas. The first 2 1/2 days, the birds were active and responsive all day. The last day and half their mood changed. Little talking and not "roaming" like they did earlier in the week. We didn't over hunt the property's, as we had other farms to hunt, all private property. Our group noticed we were at the height of the full moon.
Does the full moon affect turkey activity, as it does deer or people ? We did fill 7 of 8 tags. Five toms and two jakes. There was a definite mood change.
Don't know about it affecting turkey behavior. I know that the full moon has helped me move in tight on pre-dawn gobblers who thought that it was time to wake up and make the donuts!
I think it's all barometric pressure. The change in barometer pressures from low to high.
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We ran into the same thing last week in Kansas. 1st part of week was good as far as activity goes, granted we had some cold and rain in middle of week but thought Thur and Fri was gonna be great. Boy were we wrong, almost no activity what so ever.
This isn't deer hunting. Deer will move and feed all night during a full moon and laydown during the day. Turkeys don't so they will still be on their toes feeding during the day. Do they gobble less, when there is a full moon, who knows, no one knows what goes on in that walnut sized brain. All of us have had days hunting these birds that were PRIMO and the next day nothing. Who knows what happens, that's Hunting.
I doubt it has anything to do with their activity. Turkeys do what they want, when they want
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No
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Not 100% convinced yet on the deer side, I got to meet Charles Alsheimer several times and we got into a short conversation about the moon phases that he would talk about and how they ran on an 11 year cycle. The thing that was interesting to me was that as a Ham Radio Operator we rely on sunspots to propagate the ionosphere to let us talk long distance (Most people will know this better as "Skip" from C.B. lingo) and the fact that it solar flares or spots (Can't remember which right now) run on the exact same 11 year cycle as the moon phases do. He had said that it was an interesting point and it could also be a part of it but he never did do any research on it that I know of.
Just a thought, maybe it is the sun and not the moon, who knows?
Quote from: hd mike on May 02, 2018, 09:23:16 AM
Does the full moon affect turkey activity, as it does deer or people ? We did fill 7 of 8 tags. Five toms and two jakes. There was a definite mood change.
How does the full moon effect people?
Turkeys are in no way nocturnal, and birds will not feed or be active at night... Full moon might make birds a bit "buggy," but I still hunt them the same as with no moon...
I've actually found on calm clear nights with a full moon makes them gobble even more!
I don't know about the full moon, but a northeast wind makes them tight lipped. Oh well, you go when you can.
Quote from: LI Outdoorsman on May 02, 2018, 08:01:35 PM
I've actually found on calm clear nights with a full moon makes them gobble even more!
I will dispute that. I haven't heard one on the roost the last 3 mornings in a row.
Marc wrote: How does the full moon effect people?
I am a retired police officer from one of the most violent cities in the country. I spent 12 years in patrol on midnights in two of the most violent wards in the country and then 9 years as a detective in violent crimes. Sex crimes and Homicide. I promise you, a full moon has a drastic affect on people. Violent crime and property crimes both increase. Especially violent crime. Lots of police officers can verify this very sad fact.
Quote from: tnanh on May 02, 2018, 10:32:13 PM
Marc wrote: How does the full moon effect people?
I am a retired police officer from one of the most violent cities in the country. I spent 12 years in patrol on midnights in two of the most violent wards in the country and then 9 years as a detective in violent crimes. Sex crimes and Homicide. I promise you, a full moon has a drastic affect on people. Violent crime and property crimes both increase. Especially violent crime. Lots of police officers can verify this very sad fact.
This^. Ask any ER doctor or nurse if humans are affected y the full moon. We as humans are affected more by the moon than we know it. We artificially create almost our entire surroundings so we don't realize the small things. That being said, I am sure the moon affects turkeys and their lives in some way but I couldn't tell you how.
My wife is an ER nurse and there have been numerous times where she has went to go to work and made the comment "great, it's a full moon so tonight is going to be hell". I used to think she was kidding until I heard about some of the stories and seen how it affected her emotionally ( there has been numerous times where she comes home after her shift and tells me about it and breaks down). People don't realize how much nurses go through. They are truly overlooked heros. As for turkeys, I couldn't say.
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Thus the term "lunatic ". The water in the brain goes to "full tide". As for turkey,at best they move around on the roost all night. I've seen this during winter hunts.
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Thanks for the reply's and opinions. One thing I forgot to mention in my first post is the four days we hunted, each day was sunny, some days more windy than others. I was thinking about the barometric pressure changes also. We did notice, the later days in the hunt, the moon was in the sky during day light hours. As I mentioned in my first post, the mid day gobbling, and roaming came to a halt. Our group of four noticed the difference in a 4 hr window, continuing into the last day and half of the hunt. Something changed in the birds behavior, and made it very interesting to me.
I know in my own experience how the full moon affects deer movement. Not comparing a turkey to a deer, but does a full moon make the birds restless in the roost, or does it increase activity for the predators ie: owls, coyotes, bobcats.
As far as the people thing, my F-I-L is a retired police officer, and my daughter is also a emergency room RN. too many stories to write here.
I know we laugh at the "walnut sized brain thing", but they are a interesting game bird, we can't get enough of.
Can't believe how you guys ain't got this figured out yet! :TooFunny: ::)
Turkeys aren't mammals and behave differently. I've killed just as many on big moon nights as not