Great, but that doesn't answer Jeff's original question. "What is your definition of legal shooting hours." Also, in theory that sounds like a great idea but there is too much subjectivity with that rule and you know damn well some guy would be sitting out there in a full moon with snow on the ground saying he can see.
I can promise you that at 0800....I would be shooting because even with the least amount of hunting time in a day; it's legal at 0800. I will say though that the fog is another thing, and it is ethics in another manner being whether the hunter is confident in the shot. Again...the bottom line to me is if I'm legal according to the law and a viable shot presents itself great, but I won't step outside the actual hours set forth.
Yes, it does. We use 1/2 hour before and 1/2 hour after. Generally, it's pretty darned close. But........within 2-5 minutes? I'll never know.
I'll elaborate a little more on what I said on an earlier post. One of the pleasures I get while hunting comes in conflict if I would keep checking my watch closely at the end of a hunt. That doesn't mean I am proud or happy about the "unintended consequences" of me not wearing a watch. If I am not going to wear a watch while hunting then I probably should stop hunting before hunting hours are even in question. But I don't (haven't) yet. Maybe I need to make a compromise on one or the other. Both are hard for me to swallow (now). I still would never take a shot when I knew it was past shooting hours or I was not confident in the shot. I'm not perfect and I'll be the first to admit that.
I'm curious as to how many states have a timetable of legal shooting hours in the book of regs?? I can hunt coyotes 24/7/365 days a year, but, I can't shoot a coyote from my stand after legal shootings hours during the bow deer season, I must follow the rules of that season. If I had a gun instead of a bow, I can hunt them all night long!
Is there a timetable in your NC book of regulations of ACTUAL times when it is legal to shoot that changes every day???
I've been "that" guy before..... No shame either. I think often times what we do in "REALITY" and what we say we'd do "ONLINE" gets a little jumbled and mixed up. I'm a pretty straight shooter, and I'll tell ya, if I can't see, I'm done. If I'm in my tree and it's past shooting light, but I have a bunch of deer around me, I wait until they are LONG GONE before I get down. If it's a full moon, and I can still see well enough to put a shot on a deer, just like back in 03, when I DO HONESTLY BELIEVE I was past time, I'll probably still do it. Does that make me a "bad person???" Hell, I don't know, but it's a "stigma," that I can personally live with. The most important thing is whether YOU personally can deal with what YOU personally decided to do. I'm not gonna give anyone hell if they're perfectly satisfied w/ their decision, because that ain't gonna change anything and I'd just be wasting my breath/key strokes, whatever.....
Wisconsin makes it black and white and easy as pie, no temptation to break the law, they print the ACTUAL times when it legal or illegal!
This is what Joe is referring to as to the times Wisconsin shows. Look on page two and three of this document. http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/regs/Deer09regs48-56.pdf
Let me ask all of you a hypothetical situation. No, right or wrong answers. A deer is in front of you 1 minute before shooting hours and it is a decent but not a perfect shot. You are guessing the deer is going to walk down the trail 10 more yards to give you a perfect shot. A slam dunk. But, that will be 1 minute after shooting hours. Would you rather the hunter take the worse shot 2 minutes earlier or take the slam dunk 1 minute late? This is either/or. Not the hunter shoud not take the shot. Edit: In both scenarios the hunter has plenty of light.
OK you got me, I'll try again... is there a printed timetable of legal shooting times for the AM and the PM of each day of the NC deer bowhunting/gunhunting seasons that is printed in the NC DNR book of regulations?? This means the NC DNR has in print what is legal time to shoot and what is not, if you shoot out of these legal times it is illegal and against the law...
It's a damn tough question for me because I want what is best for the animal but I also get what Joe is talking about that shooting hours= Shooting hours. I strongly believe that none of us would take the "hail mary" shot in the dark after shooting hours. It's all about how you self monitor yourself.
