How many of you that say it is okay to stretch shooting hours would be extremely pissed off if your neighbor killed your number one target buck after hours?[/QUOTE] If it is shot in the dark. I'm sick. If shot while light out then I'm fine. I actually don't mind other people shooting big deer even if I was after that specific deer. Not saying I wouldn't be jealous, but I can still be happy for the other person. I imagine that has a lot to do with the relationship with neighbors. Not everyone has good neighbors that are respectful. I do bring a phone with me. I've checked the time at night a couple times when I've been done hunting because it is too dark to shoot. It was still legal shooting times. I wouldn't shoot in this example because the light wasn't good enough, but technically it would be legal. Again, good luck with getting the deer. Karma will come back to you in a good way at some point.
You made the right choice for yourself. It would have bothered you forever and taken most of the TRUE pride and enjoyment away. For myself, I likely wouldn't be terribly bothered by a few minutes. Yes I know, a minute is no better than an hour. But to me it's like driving 56 MPH. I will say this much though. We have a 1/2 hour before rise and 1/2 hour after set. Much beyond that and you cant see squat. I can't see myself missing the time by more than just a few minutes.
Great story. I give you praise for not pulling the trigger. Not sure I would be able to resist the temptation. Hope he makes it thru the gun season and you get another chance at him.
You are a strong man to pass on that. I respect the law and a poacher you are not if you had taken that deer. Laws are there for safetyand i respect that. But if i could see that deer and it was a bit before legal shooting time and it was a property of MINE, the shot is taken. Much respect and best of luck.
You that wave the safety flag .... what is unsafe about shooting a deer at noon the day after the season? You would agree that is poaching ...
I responded in the poll thread but ill respond here too. I think unless the law states a specific clock time as a cutoff then shooting hours will vary by hunter and eyesight. If the law says 7 am but the biggest buck in the woods walks by at 645 and I can see my pins, id take the shot. I like to think of myself as a man of character and integrity, but if I'm honest with myself, I take the shot. How many of you NEVER break the law? Never drive over the limit? Never have a drink or two and hop in the truck anyway? Never smoke a little pot or take a prescription medication that's not prescribed to you? I dunno, there are a lot of stupid f-ing laws on the books, many largly political serving only some special interest group. But I digress. If my Target buck walks by, it will not diminish my experience to kill him. If I hunted him ethically, no bait or Bullsh*t then I'd be proud to look at him on my wall. Do not attack me for being honest with myself. I would've taken the shot.
I'm ashamed to say, I'm not sure 100%. I believe its 30min before sunrise and after sunset. It almost couldn't be a set clock time because the sunrise/sunset times change so radically. Just 3-4 weeks ago it was getting dark at 7-730 and now its dark by 530 so I hightly doubt they list times. I'll call my buddy after work and verify but I think, no.
If it is, then there are definitive times ... and yes, sunrise and sunset change every day. In NY it is sunrise to sunset ... the gamies around here will drive around and listen for shots before and after.
Congrats on doing the right thing! Here in IL it's 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset. (and they even divide the state up into different zones to be exact about the times) 15 mins. past either way and it's really freaking dark. Will you see where your arrow hits? What the deer's reaction is? Where he went? Did he bed down or run off? What about those arrow deflecting twigs that disappear at dusk and dawn? Those are the practical questions that make it a bad idea to shoot after shooting hours are up. Then, of course, there's the legality issue. I wouldn't ever feel really proud of a deer that I took outside the legal parameters set by the state or local area I'm hunting.
This story reminds me of a sit I had last season during rifle season (this season is my first with a bow). I had just gained permission to hunt a 133 acre property and the landowner gave me strict guidelines as to where I could shoot, and where I couldnt shoot to avoid the small likelihood of a round ending up near the house or horses . About 10 minutes into legal shooting light I spot a doe making her way up an embankment, followed closely by the biggest buck I've ever seen in my life. I squared my body, put the cross hairs on the buck, but didnt pull the trigger. He was about 3 feet within the "dont shoot" zone. 3 more feet to my left and he would be on my wall. There was plenty of backdrop, thick brush and trees behind the buck, I knew there was no way the bullet would have a chance to travel to the house (about 350 yards away) and there would have been no way the landowner would have found out. But I still could not pull the trigger. I havent seen that buck again, he was probably long gone by night. That encounter still haunts me to this day, I feel ya on this one.
What day is this hunting log from again? Reason I ask is I am not to far from you and 6:40 is within legal shooting hours. LOL! I would have let it fly.... I suppose you are one of those guys that doesn't get ready to leave the office until its 5 PM or just one the other end, there 20 minutes early to be ready to start work. I am just jerking your chain... but you are more of a man then I am. I have never been a clock watcher.... Light enough to make a clean kill without any "help" then the arrow flies....
Believe me Heckler I know when legal time is...watch it like a hawk...besides I always strive to be on stand an hour before it.
Yeah I never look at the time. I wish I could say I'd do the same thing, but I'm sure I wouldn't have. If I can see my pins, and make out the deer clear enough to make an ethical kill, I will shoot. As said above, I believe it is more of a safety and respect for the animal thing, I can safely make out that its a deer and respected enough to be sure I can hit vitals. I would be proud I made the shot and picked the right stand that morning. But, you are a great man for what you did, no doubt about it, and you made the right choice for you, which is what matters most.
I am the same was as a lot of you and don't even know what legal shooting hours are. If it's bright enough to shoot, I shoot. If it's too dark, I don't. Simple as that. I've passed on deer (never one like this) before because I didn't feel confident that I could see arrow flight or couldn't see my pins.
There will be plenty more big bucks in your future. You only have one chance at maintaining high integrity. You son, have great integrity. Dont ever sacrifice it. You can never get it back. The Good Lord will reward you, if not with a giant buck, with knowing you didnt sacrifice your morals no matter what the "reward". I commend you
Based on what you've said here it is clear you did the right thing. If you had compromised your values to shoot that deer you would not be proud of it despite having an amazing trophy to put on your wall. That is the value of a trophy, it is something you earned and display with pride. If you can't feel proud of how your got the trophy then what's the point? Good job.
