Hunting hours. When is it to late to shoot?

Cyclic-Rivers · December 02, 2010, 07:17:00 PM

If an officer is a stickler for times, in some states it is legal to hunt for predators at night.

So if you are walking out of the woods an hour after sunset (due to a longer walk or deer in the area) and an officer is on your case, simply state you were hunting for coyotes or fox.

It doesn't mean take an unethical shots at a deer after legal shooting but does give you a scapegoat from any jerk officers breathing down your neck.

TxAg · December 02, 2010, 07:45:00 PM

Seems like that law is best interpreted as the Spirit of the law, not the Letter of the law. Obviously, nobody should poach a deer at night, but who's to say a person's watch is set the same as somebody else's. Conversely, what if it's an overcast day, and legally you have another 15 minutes to shoot, but in reality it's too dark.

Frankly, it's one of those things that each person has to figure out in the heat of the moment. I certainly wouldn't be calling anyone a poacher....I'd be high fiving someone who comes into camp with a nice deer.

GingivitisKahn · December 02, 2010, 08:29:00 PM

A previous poster mentioned it but in Ohio, we can legally hunt until 30 minutes past sunset. That said, I tend to bail about 30 minutes til sunset or earlier.

Trying to recover and clean and transport and check a deer after dark. Bleah - honestly, what a pain. I'd rather go home and say howdy to the wife, etc. and try again later.

SEMO_HUNTER · December 02, 2010, 08:39:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by Terry Green:
Here's what I go by if I don't have a time piece on me.

I find a few pencil sized dead twiggs on limbs at 15 yards away....and I know exactly where to look for them at. When I cant see them, its time to get down.......

You just nailed it Terry, I was thinking that very thing. I hunt where there's lots of brush and only a few places for an open clean shot. When everything around me looks like an open clean shot because I can't see the brush in the way......it's time to head for the truck.
Staying any later than that and hoping for a clean shot at the last minute is just unethical.

Irish · December 02, 2010, 09:13:00 PM

I am a little different in my clue to when it is time to leave. I shoot yellow fletching. When the yellow fletching looks gray, it is time to get down and head home. For me that is around 30 minutes after sunset. Sometimes I still have light to shoot, but I know it is to late, and i don't.

beetlebailey1977 · December 02, 2010, 09:25:00 PM

Down here in SC it is 1hr before sunrise and 1 hr after sunset.

Mike Vines · December 02, 2010, 09:25:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by vermonster13:
It's pretty clear, up until 1/2 hour after sunset you're a hunter, after that you are a poacher. Law is law.

Yep, says it all right there. Better get a watch or a lawyer. You figure out which one is cheaper.

December 02, 2010, 09:43:00 PM

sunset is the only predictable time they can set the rules by because of weather the light changes every day due to overcast and reflection off of clouds, and it takes time to get in the woods and back out, darkness comes aproximatly 30 min. after sunset , and aproximatly 30 min. before it rises. my mere .2 cents

joe ashton · December 02, 2010, 09:46:00 PM

the rules are the rules...

Cyclic-Rivers · December 02, 2010, 10:05:00 PM

So what sunset are they going by, the printed sunset on a booklet or internet or actual sunset based on current conditions and location?

Not trying to start a fight, just trying to avoid a fine.

vermonster13 · December 02, 2010, 10:08:00 PM

Right in the New York Guide

http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/2010guidesun.pdf

TxAg · December 02, 2010, 10:19:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by Grapes:

QuoteOriginally posted by vermonster13:
It's pretty clear, up until 1/2 hour after sunset you're a hunter, after that you are a poacher. Law is law.
Yep, says it all right there. Better get a watch or a lawyer. You figure out which one is cheaper. [/b]

Wow. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

Stumpkiller · December 02, 2010, 10:38:00 PM

Printed based on a level horizon and dependant on your longitude.

SEMO_HUNTER · December 02, 2010, 10:59:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by Cyclic-Rivers:
So what sunset are they going by, the printed sunset on a booklet or internet or actual sunset based on current conditions and location?

Not trying to start a fight, just trying to avoid a fine.

Missouri posts the times (Central) for each day when the sunrises and sets, we just add or subtract 1/2hr for either morning or evening. The times listed are for Jefferson City which is where the headquarters is, and then depending on where you live and how far away from Jeff City you are, it also gives instructions on how to calculate the approximate time for your area, and then of course do the math for morning or evening........and well you get the idea.
Just get out of your stand at dark.
I don't know anybody who ever got a ticket for sitting in the treestand 5 min. longer than the calculated time from Jeff City, then add 30min. to that time and oh crap forgot to carry the 1, so I must have missed by a few minutes.....oh what should I do officer? Whatever.
Hunt ethical and do your best to be legal with the shooting time, and all will work itself out.
Any reasonable hunter knows when it's time to get down and head back to the truck, we shouldn't need a calculator or a watch to tell us that.

Didn't mean for that to sound nasty or hateful at you Cyclic Rivers, just trying to make a point on the discussion. The chart that MDC goes by is printed in every Hunting/Fishing Regulation Flyer that can be picked up just about anywhere in the state of Missouri.

Wednesday Caste · December 03, 2010, 01:03:00 AM

If your state has a sunset table for hunting, it does not matter how good your eye site is "at sunset". Be a responsible and fair hunter- carry a watch.

Bowwild · December 03, 2010, 06:36:00 AM

Published times. Most agencies print these in their guides or on-line.

The times posted are purely astronomical and have nothing to do with local conditions such as overcast, wooded vs. open, etc. From about Sept. 21-Dec. 21 these hours get about a minute shorter on each end of the day.

Of course if shooting light goes before the clock says so, I too would get down. My effective range shrinks as light wanes. As the last minutes of shooting light tick off my shot distance will go from 25, 20, 15. Even if the clock says I'm legal I get down (if no deer around) when my 15-yard shot disappears.

I don't get down more than a couple minutes before I can't see though. That last 30-60 minutes is often a great time for action. Most of the deer hunters I know focus on the evening hunt more than the AM hunt (but not me--75%+ of my hunts are AM). Since, in 45 years, whether with compound or recurve, my deer have gone down in less than 70 yards, usually in sight, I have no concern about fading light and losing a double-lung-shot deer.

However, if one is concerned about this, by all means follow the umpire on your shoulder, not mine.

I've downloaded the "Daylight Calculator" AP (I-Phone) from the "Bureau of Visual Affairs" (I know, who would have thunk such a bureau existed?).

In my bowhunting life, while hunting I've been officer-checked: 3 times in IN, 1 in Ontario, 1 in Wyoming. All were routine and of course no problems. The IN episode was interesting. It was in October, 1977. I had just returned home from my first job (temp) after college conducting timber inventory in Colorado. I had CO tags on my truck thus the interest from consevation law enforcement -- not too many Colorado folks hunting in Hoosierland. They checked me 3 times in 24 hours -- finally I thought to show them my NONRESIDENT Colorado elk tag. That ended the stake-out on yours truly.

Earl E. Nov...mber · December 03, 2010, 07:25:00 AM

I'm with TG on this one.. When twigs start looking blurry and not clearly defined, it's time to pack it . I've checked this with a watch and sun set table, and it is very reliable

J-dog · December 03, 2010, 07:48:00 AM

1/2 hour after sunset law - I really do not carry a time piece at all -- but I figure I am about right when I come out. 1/2 hour after I gotta use a flashlight.

J

Steve95 · December 03, 2010, 07:54:00 AM

I hunt as long as I can see the color on my arrows. In my State you are hunting if you have a nocked arrow or loaded gun. I keep it legal and safe.

YORNOC · December 03, 2010, 07:54:00 AM

My cell phone, with all sound turned off. When the time from my states table comes up, my arrow goes in my quiver. If I stay later thats fine, but I'm no longer going to shoot, even though there actually IS enough light to for another ten minutes or so.