Legal shooting hours.

[Ridgeratt]

So I am trying to understand how this state comes up with the legal shooting hours.
When I checked what they said is legal.  I think they are running either running lights or sidemarker sidemarkers.
At 6:20 tonight unless it was skylighted you could not tell.

[Hectocotylus]

At 6:33 tonight I could see through my scope and would have been easily able to identify the animal I was looking at within a couple hundred yards.


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[brokentrail]

I often find being able to see at the legal start/stop shooting hours are too dark in timber and hit or miss depending on what clearcut I am in.  I do prefer that I can't see and there is still legal time left vs. I can see a target yet time has expired.

[Mtnwalker]

Of all the things they give us to complain about, letting us hunt 15 minutes too late isn’t top of my list

[jrebel]

Half hour before sunrise and after sunset.....very reasonable rule.  If you are in a wheatfield or on a ridge you can see just fine.  If you are in the dark timber or a valley...clearly you will have to stop hunting a little before just because it is to dark to do so ethically. 

[Ridgeratt]

Of all the things they give us to complain about, letting us hunt 15 minutes too late isn’t top of my list

I was just commenting on how low level light there is at the end of shooting hours according to the wdfw published end. I guess if there was snow you would have some extended windows.

[slavenoid]

If I can see antlers and can find him in my scope I'm pretty confident it's still legal hours. I like it like that.

[Dark2Dark]

Of all the things they give us to complain about, letting us hunt 15 minutes too late isn’t top of my list

I was just commenting on how low level light there is at the end of shooting hours according to the wdfw published end. I guess if there was snow you would have some extended windows.

Keep in mind they divide east and west but where you are relative to that line impacts things, as well.

[Ghost Hunter]

Could have hunted all night under this Wyoming full Moon.  The 15 degree temperature kept me inside.

[Doublelunger]

Being in the timber and overcast makes a huge difference. Also hunting out of a ground blind will have an effect. During the late archery ill get an extra 15-20 minutes sitting out of my tree stand over sitting in the ground blind.

[hunter399]

Of all the things they give us to complain about, letting us hunt 15 minutes too late isn’t top of my list

I agree nothing really to complain about.
Common sense goes along ways.
But will say that the mourning I can see through my scope before the time and no way in the evening I would see through my scope in the timber.

It's mainly a tool for game warden to not hear any shots before or after that time.

[Threewolves]

Of all the things they give us to complain about, letting us hunt 15 minutes too late isn’t top of my list

I agree nothing really to complain about.
Common sense goes along ways.


Wow, I agree use common sense. For all the great things about hunting Montana, check out their shooting times and try and keeping up, it changes everyday. It makes you appreciate Washington's shooting times

[Billy74]

I’ve noticed a big decline in my vision in low light the past few years.  I have t been in a place where I could ethically shoot an animal in the 30 min window before or after.  Maybe turkey hunting


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[Bob33]

I've shot a few animals right at the end of legal shooting time. The concerns I have with doing that are finding the animal in the dark and also taking a finishing shot if necessary after legal shooting time.

[Stein]

Washington does it by the week, so the light at legal shooting on the first day is different than the last day.  As mentioned, it also depends a bunch on conditions, notably cloud cover, fog, etc.

Montana does shooting hours by the day so it's more consistent but you need to check for every day.

I fully agree, there are days where it's legal and I wouldn't shoot a rifle.  There are also days it's perfectly safe yet not legal.