LAST UPDATED: May 8th, 2015
Like many modern bowhunters I spend a fair amount of time online searching for good information & websites on whitetail hunting. Since you are reading this you are already at great starting point; bowhunting.com is one of the best resources for all things bowhunting! Late last season I stumbled across another good resource called USPrimetimes.com. The basic description of what the site provides is “the most advanced Solunar system available, using it will make your fishing and hunting trips more productive by giving you the times fish and wildlife are most likely to be active. So you know the primetimes to be in the field or on the water.”
The site is pretty basic in its design; the only information the user is required to input is a date and a location. In this case I will use the ZIP code of my home in Minneapolis (Note the system with automatically adjust time based on your input) and today’s date. Additionally I have checked to include Weather Forecast; this option is only available if you select today’s date.
The next option to select is the 30-day forecast (7-day is the default option). This shows 30 days of forecasts based on each day’s “overall forecast” using the system. Numeric rankings between 1 & 100 are assigned into categories of Excellent, Very Good, Good, and Average.
Each day can be selected for a more detailed view. In this case I selected this Saturday February 19 and you can see details of “peak” times as well as Sun/Moon rises, sets and transit times. The forecast highlights morning, afternoon, and dusk forecasts to assist in timing of hunts.
Finally valuable details in table format including weather, success forecast, moon overhead/underfoot, sunrise/set, first/last light and moon phase. All this great information is organized by date and in table format at the bottom of the page.
The site has lots of other great pieces information for any hunter; the last I will highlight is a “3 hour” detailed weather forecast. Definitely check it out in the weather section of the page.
The key thing to remember with any forecast is that it is a prediction. I strongly believe that the moon plays an important role in wildlife activity. I also think that weather, time of year, hunting pressure, stand location, scent control, and luck play a role. But, I think that good hunters have lots of tools available to them and this is one of them. So next season as you plan your hunts, check out at www.usprimetimes.com and maybe you will gain the extra encouragement (or energy) to stay for little longer sit during the midday rut!
See you in the woods,
Neal McCullough
