Sunset shooting

[Doc]

You have to have some standard for legal shooting hours, or people would be out shooting at shadows that they THINK might be deer. I suspect that if you made it 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset, you would still hear people talking about shooting way outside of legal hours. Of all the regulations, this seems like the easiest to get along with. Also, I am struck with how many hunting accidents happen outside of legal shooting hours. Coincidence????? I think not, especially when there are those that insist on wearing full camo during gun season.

I have to admit that during bow season, I have actually quit early at times when I conditions warrant. There are conditions of dense over-story and fog and heavy clouds that really put in question the ability to locate that critical first blood. Those conditions have driven me off stand early, and I really don't regret doing so.

I don't suppose the argument will ever end, but for me it is not something I would call an important priority. I get along just fine with the rules the way they are.

[Nomad]

No time to comment , I’ve got to drop off five thousand dollars worth of items at the church ,so I can deduct it from my taxes . The same church I give several thousand a year to , and as my accountant says “ a little more at Christmas too ,don’t you ? “ 

 

As it stands now it’s self regulating, I’d say 1/3 of the gun take is outside NYS legal hours maybe more , that’s based upon shots I hear .

The law is on the books , I’d say less the 25%, and I think that’s being generous follow it . It’s like the one guy going 65 on the thruway .

Changing the law will ,not change things much at all as far as when guys shoot .

Edited October 26, 2018 by Stay at home Nomad

[philoshop]

I generally live by the rules, even the ones with which I tend to disagree. It's called being a part of civilized society. But if the biggest buck I've seen in 10 years walks under my stand 20 minutes before legal light, I'm probably not going to pass on the shot. It is what it is. I didn't wake up thinking ,"Today I'm going to break the law."

I'll wait for "legal light" to tag him, though.

[G-Man]

i just wish the regulations were consistant 1/2 before sunrise and sunset for everything but deer.. may as well make it the same across board 1/2 hr before and after sunset... imo

[Steve D]

On ‎10‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 5:16 PM, wildcat junkie said:

A Coleman lantern with a good reflector makes blood trailing after dark much easier. If I have a blood trail to follow as it gets dark, I go to the house to get wifey and the Coleman lantern. Something about the lantern light makes the red color of blood pop out.

Wifey can spot blood a lot better than I can, day or night.

The point I was trying to make was why make a late shot and risk having to track in the dark. If I have to track in the dark I will just break out the thermal vison and not waste time with a lantern, wife, or "blood" light.  My choice is to not make a shot where I don't have a good chance of recovery the same day. I made that mistake about 5 years ago and coyotes made me pay for it. The next morning it was half gone.

 If I have to sacrifice a 1/2 of hunting light so be it.

[wildcat junkie]

18 hours ago, Steve D said:

The point I was trying to make was why make a late shot and risk having to track in the dark. If I have to track in the dark I will just break out the thermal vison and not waste time with a lantern, wife, or "blood" light.  My choice is to not make a shot where I don't have a good chance of recovery the same day. I made that mistake about 5 years ago and coyotes made me pay for it. The next morning it was half gone.

 If I have to sacrifice a 1/2 of hunting light so be it.

You are sacrificing the time when deer activity usually peaks. The only time I am concerned with being able to follow a blood trail is when rain is a factor.

Thermal vision only works if you have some idea of where the animal went. Unless the animal only went a short distance, how can you use it without some sort if trail to follow in heavy cover?

Edited October 27, 2018 by wildcat junkie

[Steve D]

20 minutes ago, wildcat junkie said:

Thermal vision only works if you have some idea of where the animal went

Not true but that is a different discussion.

 

20 minutes ago, wildcat junkie said:

Unless the animal only went a short distance, how can you use it without some sort if trail to follow in heavy cover?

I prefer to leave myself a reasonable amount of time to track a deer I have hit. With a good hit most times that won't be to far. If I am not sure I have a good shot I am not going to take it and don't care how big of a buck it is. If I should happen to make a bad shot I am prepared to track in the dark and have had to on occasion.

 All I am saying is I don't need to hunt up to the last legal minute especially during bow. To each their own but whether I harvest a deer is not as important to me as how I make that harvest.

Edited October 27, 2018 by Steve D

[Doc]

I hate night-time blood trailing, unless the blood is flowing so fast that you can just walk along wit a flashlight right up to the deer. Blood trailing can get very tricky under the best of lighting conditions without add problems of a quick onset of darkness.

[Five Seasons]

I suspect that if you made it 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset, you would still hear people talking about shooting way outside of legal hours.

I’ve heard this before and will respectfully disagree. Anyone who hunts past sunrise and sunset now certainty doesn’t stop at 30 past. They make their own judgment call.

And when I hunted down south you never heard a shot past or before 30. It just didn’t happen.


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[stubborn1VT]

25 minutes ago, Belo said:

 

I’ve heard this before and will respectfully disagree. Anyone who hunts past sunrise and sunset now certainty doesn’t stop at 30 past. They make their own judgment call.

And when I hunted down south you never heard a shot past or before 30. It just didn’t happen.


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Half an hour before/after pretty closely covers when it's light enough to see.  So most people would shoot within those limits anyway, just like they do in almost every other state.  There's a ton of difference between shooting when you can identify your target and when you can't.  So I totally disagree.  

So the people down south poach with crossbows?

 

[philoshop]

On 10/26/2018 at 2:09 PM, Steve D said:

The point I was trying to make was why make a late shot and risk having to track in the dark. If I have to track in the dark I will just break out the thermal vison and not waste time with a lantern, wife, or "blood" light.  My choice is to not make a shot where I don't have a good chance of recovery the same day. I made that mistake about 5 years ago and coyotes made me pay for it. The next morning it was half gone.

 If I have to sacrifice a 1/2 of hunting light so be it.

I've found that it's easier to track in the dark with a kerosene lantern than it is in bright daylight. It's about focus. That goes back well over forty years. Short of tracking dogs, I'll take a dark night and lantern every time over daylight tracking.

 

ETA: I just need a nap before heading out these days.

Edited October 29, 2018 by philoshop

[TonySkyline]

I think its honestly pathetic with the sunset time. I can 45 mins after "sunset". While i was hunting elk in Montana the regs were much more how they should be.

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[Five Seasons]

12 hours ago, stubborn1VT said:

Half an hour before/after pretty closely covers when it's light enough to see.  So most people would shoot within those limits anyway, just like they do in almost every other state.  There's a ton of difference between shooting when you can identify your target and when you can't.  So I totally disagree.  

So the people down south poach with crossbows?

 

I'm confused with what you disagree with me on. You stated that people align their shooting habbits with the when they can and can't visibly id their target. I agree with this. Doc, was stating that if you wade it 30 past, people would start hunting 45 minutes past. It's the old speed limit argument. My point was, when I hunted in a state with the 30 minute rule I didn't hear any shots before or after 30. Because it's just too dang dark.

 

I have not idea what crossbows has to do with any of this.

[ApexerER]

We wouldn't need these stupid laws if people had common sense. There are times when I hunt in the woods and it is dreary and overcast and I can't see squat 15 minutes before sunset. Doesn't mean I am going to sling arrows at shapes because it is still legal time. On those days it is down right dark 30 minutes after sunset and nobody should be shooting regardless of their state laws. There are plenty of other times when it is a bright sunny day, I am sitting on field edge, I pack up my hunting stuff, climb down and walk to my truck and at least half an hour has passed since sunset and I can still see fine. The government hasn't figured out that you can't legislate common sense into people that don't have any. 

[stubborn1VT]

2 hours ago, Belo said:

I'm confused with what you disagree with me on. You stated that people align their shooting habbits with the when they can and can't visibly id their target. I agree with this. Doc, was stating that if you wade it 30 past, people would start hunting 45 minutes past. It's the old speed limit argument. My point was, when I hunted in a state with the 30 minute rule I didn't hear any shots before or after 30. Because it's just too dang dark.

 

I have not idea what crossbows has to do with any of this.

I went back and read the earlier posts and what you wrote made more sense.  I thought you were making the speed limit comparison. My bad.  

The crack about crossbows was directed at you not hearing any shots outside of legal shooting.  The poachers must have been using xbows!

[wildcat junkie]

On 10/28/2018 at 8:08 PM, stubborn1VT said:

Half an hour before/after pretty closely covers when it's light enough to see.  So most people would shoot within those limits anyway, just like they do in almost every other state.  There's a ton of difference between shooting when you can identify your target and when you can't.  So I totally disagree.  

So the people down south poach with crossbows?

 

The old sunrise to sunset rule made more sense when deer rifles were predominately adorned with iron sights.

Good quality optics make it easy to pick out antlers under most conditions long after sunset. If you can ID antlers and see your reticle against the target, you can see well enough to make an ethical shot.

That brings up my pet peeve about illuminated reticles. I can see my duplex reticle long after I can ID antlers so what is the need for an illuminated reticle on a deer rifle?

[Five Seasons]

11 minutes ago, wildcat junkie said:

The old sunrise to sunset rule made more sense when deer rifles were predominately adorned with iron sights.

Good quality optics make it easy to pick out antlers under most conditions long after sunset. If you can ID antlers and see your reticle against the target, you can see well enough to make an ethical shot.

That brings up my pet peeve about illuminated reticles. I can see my duplex reticle long after I can ID antlers so what is the need for an illuminated reticle on a deer rifle?

there is none. it's just a new feature to sell more products. 

[fasteddie]

I have never been desperate enough to need to shoot a deer outside of legal hours . 

[Doc]

On ‎10‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 4:48 PM, fasteddie said:

I have never been desperate enough to need to shoot a deer outside of legal hours . 

This is probably the closest to my thinking. It seems to me that disrespecting the laws that govern the rules of hunting is the same as disrespecting the act of hunting itself and any gains derived from hunting.

[Pygmy]

When I started hunting and when Fasteddie   And Doc started hunting, the shooting hours for deer season were 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM...

I suppose that made hunting during the 1960s a lot more dangerous...  I am aware that the  number of hunting accidents may have been statistically higher then but I also wonder if  the hunting hours were a significant factor..

[OldNewbie]

On 10/29/2018 at 11:29 AM, ApexerER said:

We wouldn't need these stupid laws if people had common sense. The government hasn't figured out that you can't legislate common sense into people that don't have any. 

In other words... if all people had common sense, we wouldn't need laws to protect those that do from those that don't...

[GreenDrake]

From purely a safety standpoint I do think the sunrise to sunset best covers those days when it is a particulary dark or bright day. I want to feel safe and my family and friends feel safe knowing that you can wslk in or walk out outside legal shooting hours without a higher risk of being shot. Most of us on here all appear to be rational and safety conscious. Unfortunately not everyone is that way do if we can minimize injury im for it  

[Robhuntandfish]

2 hours ago, Pygmy said:

When I started hunting and when Fasteddie   And Doc started hunting, the shooting hours for deer season were 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM...

I suppose that made hunting during the 1960s a lot more dangerous...  I am aware that the  number of hunting accidents may have been statistically higher then but I also wonder if  the hunting hours were a significant factor..

Wow guess I never realized that.  So sunup and sundown didn't even matter.  Never heard this before. 

[Pygmy]

5 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

Wow guess I never realized that.  So sunup and sundown didn't even matter.  Never heard this before. 

Yeah, Rob....I would have to do some research to say when the  7:00 to 5:00 rule ended, but I know it was still in effect in the late 1960's...

[fasteddie]

1 hour ago, Pygmy said:

Yeah, Rob....I would have to do some research to say when the  7:00 to 5:00 rule ended, but I know it was still in effect in the late 1960's...

I don't remember what the hours were . I started deer hunting in 1965 when my father in law asked me to hunt with him .