Showing times for Missouri (statewide average). Enter your zip code for exact local times.
| Day | Activity | AM Major | PM Major | Minors | Sunrise / Sunset |
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Deer feed most at dawn and dusk. Solunar theory adds two more windows: major feeding times (about 2 hours, when the moon is directly overhead or directly underfoot) and minor feeding times (about 1 hour, at moonrise and moonset). When a major or minor overlaps first or last light, that is the sit you do not want to skip.
How These Feeding Times Are Calculated
The calculator above computes the actual position of the sun and moon for your zip code, in real time, right in your browser. Majors are centered on the two moments each day the moon crosses your local meridian, overhead and underfoot. Minors are centered on moonrise and moonset. That is classic solunar theory, the same math behind every feeding chart and hunting app, except here it is free, exact to your location, and not buried under ads.
The activity rating stacks the deck in your favor: days near the new and full moon rate higher, and any day a feeding period collides with sunrise or sunset gets a bump, because that overlap is when the theory earns its keep.
Major vs Minor Feeding Times
A major feeding time is the roughly 2 hour window centered on the moon's highest and lowest points relative to your position. Solunar theory says game moves and feeds hardest inside these windows. A minor feeding time is a shorter window, about an hour, around moonrise and moonset, with lighter activity.
Because the moon's cycle runs about 24 hours and 50 minutes, these windows slide roughly 50 minutes later each day. That is why a chart, not a habit, is the right way to plan a week of sits.
What Time Do Deer Feed in the Morning, Evening, and at Night?
Whitetails are crepuscular, which is the biologist's way of saying they move hardest at the edges of the day. Morning feeding typically runs the first hour or two after sunrise, evening feeding starts an hour or so before sunset and runs into dark. Deer also feed overnight in short bouts, usually four to six feeding sessions per 24 hours, which is why a moonlit food plot at 2 a.m. is often standing room only and your 9 a.m. sit is quiet.
You cannot hunt midnight. What you can do is pick the days when a solunar major stacks on top of dawn or dusk, and be on stand early for those.
Does the Moon Phase Matter?
Hunters have argued about this around every tailgate in America. The honest summary: research on moon phase and deer movement is mixed, but the solunar crowd and plenty of trail camera data agree that the days around the new and full moon concentrate daylight activity best. The calculator folds moon phase into each day's rating, so you get the benefit of the theory without doing lunar math in your head.
How Accurate Are Deer Feeding Times?
Treat them as a tiebreaker, honestly weighted. Weather fronts, the rut, hunting pressure, and food sources move deer more than the moon does. A cold front dropping the night before a rated 5 day is a gift. A warm spell can flatten the best solunar week on the calendar.
The right way to use this page: plan your sits around dawn and dusk first, use the ratings to pick between days when you cannot hunt them all, and verify what your deer actually do with a camera. If you are not running one yet, start with how trail cameras work, then check times against your own photos. Your property's data beats any theory.
Feeding times are half the equation. The feeder is the other half.
If deer on your ground expect dinner at your feeder, the moon matters a lot less. Browse deer feeders from 5 gallon hangers to 350 lb tripods, then set the schedule right with our deer feeder timer settings guide. Round it out with minerals and attractants that keep deer coming between corn drops.
Hunting Missouri? Line these times up with the Missouri deer season calendar so your best-rated days land inside your season dates.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time do deer feed?
Mostly at dawn and dusk, with several shorter feeding bouts overnight. Solunar theory adds two major windows (moon overhead and underfoot) and two minors (moonrise and moonset) each day, and the calculator above shows exactly when those land for your zip code.
How many times a day do deer feed?
Research on whitetails puts it around four to six feeding bouts per 24 hours. Most are short, and the biggest ones cluster around first light, last light, and the middle of the night.
What are major and minor feeding times for deer?
Majors are roughly 2 hour windows when the moon is directly overhead or directly underfoot at your location. Minors are shorter windows around moonrise and moonset. Both slide about 50 minutes later each day with the lunar cycle.
How accurate are deer feeding times?
They are a useful tiebreaker, honestly weighted. Weather, rut timing, pressure, and food dictate movement more than the moon. Use the ratings to choose between days, then confirm patterns with your trail cameras.
What is the best time to set a deer feeder?
Most hunters run feeders 30 to 60 minutes after sunrise and 2 to 3 hours before sunset, so deer stand up for an easy meal in shooting light. The full reasoning, timer run seconds, and schedule templates are in our feeder timer settings guide.
Keep Going: Feeder and Deer Movement Guides
Feeding times are calculated from real solar and lunar positions for your location and shown in your device's local time. Solunar periods are a planning theory, and deer are wild animals. Weather, rut, pressure, and food sources will override any chart.
Feeding and baiting laws vary by state and season, and some states prohibit hunting over feed. Always check your state's current regulations before placing or hunting near a feeder.
Free deer feeding times from Double D Hunting. Built by hunters, for hunters.