I know my property good enough, if I can see the deer. Then I know 99.9% were im shooting and what obstacles are in the way. If I can see the deer im shooting. End of Story.
i understand that shooting 15min early is technically illegal but would you put it in the same boat as murder??????? come on now!!!!
may be not warrrant a death penalty but it is grand theft and cheating(gets you shot in some card games)
Since we're analyzing results.... I wonder how many of the 'never have never wills' have good intentions but in the actual moment fall to temptation. It happens... Just saying. Or how about this how many of the POACHERS wouldn't shoot if they had a shotgun in their hands. Making their poach kill obvious to everyone else in the woods. I guess this only applies to public land poachers though, I mean hunters. If your in a state that doesn't have a shooting hours law then I'm not calling you a poacher but if you are breaking a law to harvest a deer well............
I know this doesn't have to do with shooting light, but last week while out hunting I had a nice 6 pointer just across my property line on the State Forest side and I did toss the idea around some but didn't shoot in the long run. I was back in the sticks, and probably could have gotten away with it....but law is law even though he was only about 35 yards over into the State Forest. Same applies here, states have different laws regarding shooting light...if you don't wanna follow them, that's your call and hope ya don't get caught.
If you merely decide based on the ability to see...what if one is in backyard and the shed light is casting light on him before legal hours making him visible...just a what if and why it's never "end of story".
Okay so I was thinking about this thread last night. We had a full moon and I was close to a field edge so I just kept sitting (with no intent to shoot) I could see well enough still at 6:30 PM to make out individual leaves on the ground and could identify an o'possum from a racoon. That was more than an hour after legal hunting and I would have easily been able to still shoot a deer. I suspect I could have sat there all night and my vision would have only gotten better as my eyes adjusted. So here's my analysis... When legal shooting is over... get down... go home. If it is not yet legal, don't nock an arrow. When your choices are already made ahead of time, there is nothing to decide.
Muzzy my man that last sentence of yours is what I live by. I almost didn't follow that though, but within myself am glad I did, and it makes future instances even easy for me to "decide". To each their own, but if this thread does nothing more than what your last sentence says I'll be happy. That may mean for some shoot, others won't shoot...but either way know what you'll do and do it....we all love this sport too much to have regrets about a harvest.
Then you dont mind breaking some game laws. To each his own. To me, its illegal, so I could never be proud of the deer I killed. Maybe you can. Just a difference in what feels right.
And to disagree isn't wrong for sure. Perhaps to some it's like the Christian faith (just an example and I'M NOT PREACHING). However it fits for myself and possibly others. The Christian faith preaches no sin is greater than another, you break one commandment you in fact break them all for any "breaking" breaks the you shall have no other Gods before Me. In that instance a sin we deem "small" is no less a sin than one deemed "huge". Opinions and such affect this but it holds true if you believe in the Christian faith. Now game laws, if you hold to the above and carry it into your life your views of game laws will reflect such. I feel choosing to break one small game law (this example of shooting light), no matter how minor, is in essence no different than breaking a major game law (baiting in my state or trespassing). Do they hold the same severity, no. Do they hold the same punishment, no. But in their essence, both were done with a choice to ignore the game laws I'm choosing to follow by buying a license. I have no clue if that helped at all but perhaps those trying to understand the "No side" better it will help. Please don't bring up the then "do you speed" and stuff like that. I do speed occasionally, if only a few mph, but I "choose" to do so and wouldn't argue a ticket outside the normal calibration errors of a speed gun. In the same token, speeding doesn't directly end in a life being taken. I know a deer's life isn't as valuable as a human's and would never claim such, but for myself the respect I have for the animal makes me want to harvest them under the game laws I choose to play within by buying the license. This is just a touch of my thoughts on this. I stand by my last comment though that Muzzy Man nailed it. THERE IS NO DECISION TO MAKE IF YOU'VE ALREADY THOUGHT ABOUT IT AND MADE IT BEFORE HAND. NO REGRETS.
The problem with "feelings" is they get us in trouble. Some people actually take medication to control their feelings. Maybe that is why the laws exist. Again, I am not carrying a watch... but I know when it is dark and that line isn't really that hard to decipher, no matter how much we try to rationalize it.
It's not too dark to shoot ducks before legal shooting time. It's not too dark to shoot ducks after legal shooting time. So, do you? If not, why? It's not always too dark to shoot deer with a bow before or after legal shooting time. But I wont do it. Will you? Why are you comfortable with breaking a game law? I am not. Call it feelings, call it morality, call it right, call it fair, I dont care what you label it. To do otherwise is making a conscious decision to ignore a game law. I wont do it. Some will, they would not be welcome on my land. Like I said, to each his own. But, I cant respect them for it.
I don't see it in the ten commandments. Those are the only laws people need to abide by. I don't think God is going to reward you for following one of man's laws. In Wisconsin Indians can shoot at night from cars. How is It ok for one man to do it and not another because he has different blood running through his veins. People want to take the "moral high ground" but until God says it's wrong I see no problem. Now if I'm a native American and I shoot 15 min. After Wisconsin shooting times it ok but for any other nationality it's wrong and should be considered immoral?
You have posted a lot of illogical and mind numbing ramblings before, but this one might win you a Darwin Award.
