Legal Hunting Hours

[OldSchool]

There isn't much I enjoy more than spending time outdoors and unless the weather is really bad, I spend all day a lot of days in the woods deer hunting and fall turkey hunting. Our legal hunting hours in the fall are from sunrise to sunset, but in the spring It's a half hour before sunrise to noon. The time seems to fly by and there are so many days in the spring that I wish I could hunt all day. I'll take the gun home some days and go back out just to watch the birds, but It isn't hunting.

I understand that our DEC sets the hours to protect the nesting hens, but when I'm hunting spring turkeys I don't spend much time stomping around in the brush, and I doubt many other people do either. Regardless, the law is the law and I follow it.

I'm just curious what the hunting hours are in other places. Till noon, all day, or otherwise?

Bob

[mote1977]

PA is till noon the first 2 weeks of the season then all day the last 2 weeks.

[Gobble!]

MD is till 12 the first two weeks then all day after I believe.

[OldSchool]

That's interesting. Never knew there were places that split it up like that. Years ago, we had a split season here in NY. If you killed a bird at some point during the first 2 weeks, you couldn't hunt till the second 2 weeks. It made you think before you pulled the trigger on opening morning.

Thanks!

Bob

[Spitten and drummen]

Down here in ms. You can hunting all day everyday. I know we are lucky. Couldn't imagine working a hot bird and having to quit at noon.

[jepcho]

Here in Iowa it's half hour before sunrise till sunset. I have hunted Missouri a couple times and I believe they close at 1 in the afternoon if I remember right.

[OldSchool]

Down here in ms. You can hunting all day everyday. I know we are lucky. Couldn't imagine working a hot bird and having to quit at noon.

It stinks to say the least, but it is what it is. I've had to walk away from gobbling birds many times over the years.

Bob

[ncturkey]

All day hunting in North Carolina. Never had any hens get busted off the nest while I was hunting. That is a stupid law. Most Biologist disagree with needing stop hunting at noon due to hens being on the nest. Where I hunt most folks hunt mostly in the morning. So there is not that many hunters in the woods in the afternoon. I love hunting in the afternoon. While the hens are on there nest the gobblers are a tad easer to call them in.

[OldSchool]

I agree with you guys. In over 30 years of hunting, I've moved one hen off her nest that I know of and I'm sure within a short time she went back to setting.

It's actually kind of funny, but it was almost tragic. I came up to a small creek that I could usually walk across. The water looked to be over the top of my boots that day so I took the shell out of the chamber, backed up a couple steps, got a running start and jumped. I was in mid air looking at the spot I picked out for a landing, when a hen flew up in the exact spot, I never saw her. The next thing I saw was a nest with ten or twelve eggs in it right where my feet were headed. I landed spread eagle with one foot on each side of the nest. It threw off my balance and the momentum carried my body beyond the nest and into the wet stuff face first. It was worth it though. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I'd landed on those eggs.

Bob

[paintbrush]

Minnesota is 1/2 hour before sunrise to sunset each and every day that our spring turkey season is open.

[Bowguy]

 Jersey is til noon only until the last 2 weeks, than its all day.

[turkey_slayer]

Close at 12 then all day rest of the season. This is one of the dumbest laws I can think of ever. The reason is not to disturb nesting hens. Ummm well ok, the last 2 weeks of the season when we can hunt all day is when most are sitting. Kinda defeats the principle.

[LI Outdoorsman]

Yeah I wish NY would at least adopt what PA is doing...all day hunting the last 2 weeks..I've hunted other states with all day hunting and it can be very effective sometimes the difference between tagging out or not..But DEC wont do it...I've walked away from many hot afternoon birds and it SUCKS....
I have on a few occasions spooked hens off nests...do they just come back and sit on them again? or is that considered a dead hatch?

[mgm1955]

MO is til 1300. KS is 1/2 hr before and after

[fallhnt]

IL is till 1:00 years ago it was till 12:00. The hen nesting is false. You would be more apt to bump a hen off early when it is cool out. The 12:00/1:00 closing is old school tradition and politics. I hunt public land so in IL if they did change it to all day hunting,public ground would still shut off at 1:00 due to mushroom hunters. This is why I like fall turkey hunting and going out of state in the spring.