Legal Hunting Hours

[davisd9]

We hunt all day in SC.


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[GobbleNut]

Colorado is 1/2 before sunrise to sunset as are many states I hunt...NE, KS, etc.

MT is 1/2 before sunset to 1/2 after sunrise. That's too late IMO.

WI is 1/2 before to sunset. WI use to quit at 1:00 then went to a 5:00 pm quit time then went to all day hunting. There turkey population has not suffered as a result of all day hunting. In the fall in WI the hours extend to 20 min after sunset. A lot of other fall game can be hunted until 20 min after sunset (deer grouse etc) and I think that's why they extend turkey hours in the fall.

I don't think there is a good biological reason to have noon or 1:00 quit times. May be a reason to manage hunters, but I just don't see how it affects turkey numbers.

  ...Might want to go back and edit that....

[LI Outdoorsman]

I think an all day hunt in NY would be fine if the DEC reduced the bag from 2 birds to one . The real problem is poaching in my opinion which is nearly impossible to contain.

[OldSchool]

New York turkey numbers are plummeting and 5 short years ago there were plenty of them.

I'm glad they cut the fall season from 7 to 2 weeks and glad New York gives the birds a break in the afternoon.  They don't need to be doing anything to increase harvest opportunities.

I agree with you completely and just to be clear, I'm not pushing for an all day hunt at the present. When I realised what shape the birds were in here this past spring, I stopped hunting them. I didn't hunt this past fall for the first time in many years for the same reason. I love these birds and I'll do whatever I can to help them. Whether it means shorter seasons, smaller bag limits, or even a closed season. There have been many times over the years though, that I've wished we could hunt all day.

Bob

[Meadow Valley Man]

We've been hunting all day in Wisconsin for many years with no documented effect on the turkey population.

We have, however, documented an effect on the members of our fifth season turkey camp. Rising at 3:15 a.m. and hunting until dusk is killing us!

The good news is that we've taken gobbling birds as late as 7:30 in the evening.

[LI Outdoorsman]

Although I do like to chase birds in the fall if I had to give up something for the good of the population it would be the fall season...close it all together..let the birds be for a whole year till spring..Then when you get your 1 gobbler in the spring your tagged out..Some guys will dog them the whole season till the end to get another bird...Me when I get one I'm content...Then I can move on to fishing or call in a bird for a buddy..I say NY one and your DONE! But you get all day to do it...

[Happy]

I would be all for a ban on hens here. Tho I don't think many hunt them in terms fall so it probly wouldn't make much difference. Our biggest problem is poaching. Wv is horrible for it and having rifles legal doesn't help our numbers any. Can't tell you how many times I've heard a rifle Crack as soon as it was light enough to skyline em. That and a ton get shot in deer season. Had a buddy have two shot of the roost in front of him here in Md. They were trespassing to boot. He tried to catch them but failed. People that have no respect for the animal really tick me off. But I am glad there are still some people that can be adults and have a sense of decency. If everyone followed the rules we would have twice as many birds.

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[LI Outdoorsman]

 

[Hook hanger]

Missouri has a 1:00pm closure. I like it and that gobblers are not hearing people yelp all day long and chasing after them. They seem stupid after resting a half of a day with our any one after them. It sure seems like they are easier to hunt than some states I have hunted later in their seasons that have all day hunting.

[OldSchool]

I would be all for a ban on hens here. Tho I don't think many hunt them in terms fall so it probly wouldn't make much difference. Our biggest problem is poaching. Wv is horrible for it and having rifles legal doesn't help our numbers any. Can't tell you how many times I've heard a rifle Crack as soon as it was light enough to skyline em. That and a ton get shot in deer season. Had a buddy have two shot of the roost in front of him here in Md. They were trespassing to boot. He tried to catch them but failed. People that have no respect for the animal really tick me off. But I am glad there are still some people that can be adults and have a sense of decency. If everyone followed the rules we would have twice as many birds.

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We have the same problem here and I'm sure every place does to some extent. We live on a road that's perfect for it. My house on one end and another about a mile and a half away on the other, with several fields in between. The road "hunters" start about sunup, and drive back and forth all morning long.

I know one guy that drives it regularly and uses a rifle, shotgun only here. He shoots everything he can, including spring hens. It's the same during deer season too, and it all makes me so mad I could scream. Sometimes they don't even take the birds and deer, I've found both dead in the fields more than once. They never seem to get caught, and if they did the fine wouldn't come close to the damage they do. I've chased them them off, given the DEC plate numbers etc, but nothing seems to do any good.

Bob