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Importance of staying on stand till dark

Vince1

By Vince1,
in General Hunting

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Culvercreek hunt club Enthusiast

Culvercreek hunt club

Posted
Posted

The hunters of this state lack common sense thus why our useless DEC has a "sunrise to sunset" rule.  That is about as vague as saying a deer generally weighs between 10 and 500 pounds.

 

The fact is, there is safe shooting light sometimes 30 minutes or more before sunrise and sometimes there is NOT safe shooting light 30 minutes or more after sunrise.  Same with sunset.

 

Thats why most other states are 30 minutes BEFORE sunrise to 30 minutes AFTER sunset for "legal" shooting light.  They rely on common sense that if, at 30 minutes before sunrise it is not safe, you don't shoot.

 

Without that idiotic law in NY though, people would be flinging lead in the pitch black with a flashlight (not that we all haven't heard those shots already).

I have to agree on one part of this. NY does NOT have a monopoly on idiots. (and it isn't just hunters...lol )

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Five Seasons Grand Master

Five Seasons

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Posted

The hunters of this state lack common sense thus why our useless DEC has a "sunrise to sunset" rule.  That is about as vague as saying a deer generally weighs between 10 and 500 pounds.

 

The fact is, there is safe shooting light sometimes 30 minutes or more before sunrise and sometimes there is NOT safe shooting light 30 minutes or more after sunrise.  Same with sunset.

 

Thats why most other states are 30 minutes BEFORE sunrise to 30 minutes AFTER sunset for "legal" shooting light.  They rely on common sense that if, at 30 minutes before sunrise it is not safe, you don't shoot.

 

Without that idiotic law in NY though, people would be flinging lead in the pitch black with a flashlight (not that we all haven't heard those shots already).

 

So to piggy back on this, I was in my climber on public land last Saturday evening. MS has a 30 minute before and after rule. 2 doe came in and I was under a deep canopy. At about 10 min after sunset I lost them in the thick stuff, only to shift my weight and realize one was still there at about 20 yards looking at me. I would not have taken the legal shot even if I could have.

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Meat First Newbie

Meat First

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Let me just say I've been hunting 30 yrs and I own and hunt only on my own land and do not bait and I do get out of my tree when I can't see my pins....BUT there are plenty of hunters "we all know" who tresspass, bait, stay out too late (already discussed), and think they own all the deer in the woods...let's be honest....and no laws are going to change these neanderthals because its all about them

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jjb4900 Newbie

jjb4900

Posted
Posted (edited)

Let me just say I've been hunting 30 yrs and I own and hunt only on my own land and do not bait and I do get out of my tree when I can't see my pins....BUT there are plenty of hunters "we all know" who tresspass, bait, stay out too late (already discussed), and think they own all the deer in the woods...let's be honest....and no laws are going to change these neanderthals because its all about them

so you agree that what your Buddy did was a poor choice and a bit "neanderthalish"? and had nothing to do with the law?

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moog5050 Mentor

moog5050

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I have an alarm on my watch set for the precise second of sunrise and sunset.  To keep my fellow hunters apprised of start and stop time, I blow an air horn when the alarm goes off.  Then no one needs to apply common sense.  Works great!  And, for some unknown reason, I never run into deer when exiting my stand.  My guess is that the deer must innately know the scheduled times.

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jjb4900 Newbie

jjb4900

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I will say this, there is NO benefit to leaving your stand early......whether or not you choose to shoot after legal hours is up to you.....and I highly doubt that you will have any problem with an ECO if you pop out of the woods an hour after the legal time, travel to and from your stand outside of legal shooting time has been going on forever, and they would have been having a field day at parking spots if this was the case. The last few years I have hunted at a National Wildlife Refuge, and they allow you out an hour ahead of time and allow you an hour after to check back in, and this has both Federal and State Officers working during these hunts.

Edited by jjb4900
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beachpeaz Rookie

beachpeaz

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I have to agree on one part of this. NY does NOT have a monopoly on idiots. (and it isn't just hunters...lol )

 

lol.  It sure seems that way.  I travel a ton for my job and seriously, I have yet to find anywhere on this continent that has as many idiots as NYS does.

 

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46rkl Collaborator

46rkl

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Depends on the stand I'm hunting. If I'm along a field edge, I tend to leave well before last light so as to not spook a field full of deer that move in at last light. On woodland stands I often hang until dark to see what might be moving and where. Only on land/stands I know well, otherwise it can be difficult to ease out of the woods. So, like most hunting situations, it depends....

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wolc123 Grand Master

wolc123

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Until last season, when I purchased some "bloodglow" just in case, I always left the stand at least 15 minutes prior to legal sunset during archery season.   I am a meat hunter and would not dream of leaving an arrowed deer in the woods overnight.  That always left me with about 45 minutes of so-so natural light to make the recovery.  

 

With the "bloodglow", I stay right up in the stand or blind until the legal sunset.  It supposedly makes the blood glow in the starlight, and works even better in the rain.   I have not tried it (both my bucks- archery and gun, last year expired within 40 yards), but it has definitely added considerable "prime time" to my hunts.   I took one of my largest bucks, a few years ago with a gun, less than a minute before sunset. 

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beachpeaz Rookie

beachpeaz

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Posted

Depends on the stand I'm hunting. If I'm along a field edge, I tend to leave well before last light so as to not spook a field full of deer that move in at last light. On woodland stands I often hang until dark to see what might be moving and where. Only on land/stands I know well, otherwise it can be difficult to ease out of the woods. So, like most hunting situations, it depends....

 

Ya mean the deer you are hunting??   lol.  SMH.

 

Would hate to still be in my stand when they finally come out in the field.

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Elmo Rookie

Elmo

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Posted

or maybe your buddy is an idiot. Just because it's legal doesn't make it right either. Dark canopies don't provide good light even in NY legal hours sometimes. A field on a fresh snow and a full moon can be more than enough with a scope. You need to be legal AND USE YOUR BRAIN.

 

The "and use your brain" part if the major deciding factor.  There are a lot of laws out there that screw over common sense folks all because there are a few idiots in this world who don't use their brains.

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Five Seasons Grand Master

Five Seasons

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The "and use your brain" part if the major deciding factor.  There are a lot of laws out there that screw over common sense folks all because there are a few idiots in this world who don't use their brains.

 

more than a few laws haha. I make a good living in environmental, health and safety. And 90% of the laws originate from idiots.

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