The Extra Half-Hour

[Musky Buck]

Remember the days when shooting was over at sundown ? Has this extra half-hour payed off for you ?

[Gissert]

I would not have got my doe this year. Got her at 10 minutes past sundown.

[Big-Al]

It has allowed to take several deer in the morning, but I'm not sure if I have shot any after sunset. My personal shooting hours end at about 5 or 10 minutes after sunset. I often stay in the stand till the end of legal shooting and have passed on numerous deer during the waning light. Just my personal choice.

[paceman]

I have shot a few over the years in the last half hour. This year throughout the season I heard a lot of shots during the last half hour. It is always amazing how fast it gets dark.

[walleye vision]

I believe it's too dark, ie too dangerous after about 15 minutes after sundown, and the rule should be changed. 30 minutes before sunrise however, seems to be light enough. Doesn't seem like they'd be different, but they are.

[BigWadeS]

it has helped me out, but can honestly say depending on the area and the sky at times it seems so dark when you do shoot all you see if fire and other times it appears to be just fine...

[CMKURT]

For me it all depends on how close the deer is. Being in shot gun zone if it is getting to close to dark & the deer is 50+ yards away I will generally let them walk. It also depends upon many conditions & comes down to comfort zone.

[slopmaster]

Sure has for me. i shot a doe this year with my bow 20 min after sundown with my girlfriend in the stand and then this slug season me my girlfriend and mom went out to a stand we have built(heated for my mom man was hunting in a t-shirt in 30 degree weather nice ) and there was 5 minutes left until we had to quit and we were closing all the windows and i flung the door open and a 8 pointer was walking 40 yards away quartering to us! so i said grab your gun and the deer came within 15 feet of the stand and i grunted at him and she nailed him! It shows that the rut really has an effect on those bucks casue there was no way i could ever imagine getting away with that much noise and not getting busted but it all worked out.

[brassman]

I shot my buck this year a couple minutes into legal shooting light, if hours were sunrise to sunset I would have had to wait about 10 minutes. It was a long wait, 15 minutes on stand is really hard!

[winniewalleye777]

I believe it's too dark, ie too dangerous after about 15 minutes after sundown, and the rule should be changed. 30 minutes before sunrise however, seems to be light enough. Doesn't seem like they'd be different, but they are.

What do you mean it's too dark? It all depends on the type of day and the location you hunt. Some days it is black as midnight just ten minutes after sunset and other days it is light enough to shoot 45 mins after sunset. I have spent countless hours in the duck blind after sunset just watching the ducks work the decoys and I usually can pick out the drakes flying at least a half hour past sunset. I also have stayed in my tree stand bowhunting 30+ mins after sunset because does or fawns have been right underneath me and i did't want to spook them. I would have easily had a good clean kill shot if I chose. It is only dangerous if the hunter isn't smart about it. I think it is a good idea. Some of the best times to see deer up close are just before dark, which sometimes falls after "sunset."

[Mark Christianson]

Right on Winnie.

Hunting in the woods during archery season, its blacker than heck after sunset with all the leaves still up. Hard to see the sites at times.

Then last weekend I was rifle hunting the middle of one of our fields and was shocked when I looked at my watch and it was almost closing time.

Depends on the time of year, where you are sitting and what the weather conditions are.

Has that 30 minutes before sunrise or after sunset helped? OMG yes!!!!!

This year I have shot 2 does in the last half hour of legal shooting with bow. My son shot his first deer ever with 10 minutes of legal shooting left on opening day of rifle season.

The list goes on and on for those magical 30 minutes early and late in the day.

Tell ya what, that last 30 minutes of legal shooting time is golden. Amazing what it does for deer movement.

[archerystud]

I totally agree with BLB on this one.

[BLACKJACK]

I agree with BLB also.

I love that first light, when you're looking out, is that dark spot a deer or a bush? I've learned to have my bow IN MY HAND during that first light because all of a sudden deer will just appear in your shooting range.

[96trigger]

I always call the first 30 and last 30 minutes of day the "bewitching hour" because the deer just kind of pop up, and are all of the sudden there. So yes, definitely it helps. Its when I see the most deer.

[Quackaddict9]

Quote:

I love that first light, when you're looking out, is that dark spot a deer or a bush?

so true...happens to me all the time and most of the time its not a deer!

[mrklean]

I think its a great time, if you can still see them you should be able to shoot at them.

[rattlem'up]

All the time!!! bow hunting after work get to the woods about 4:30 All the deer that i've see have been close to sunset or almost always past. I use my own judgement to say whether its too dark to hunt. If theres 10 mins left and i look at my pin and if i can't see it well then i just down shoot but i still sit in the stand for a while just to watch the deer or any other critters for that matter.

[Tipup101]

I believe it's too dark, ie too dangerous after about 15 minutes after sundown, and the rule should be changed. 30 minutes before sunrise however, seems to be light enough. Doesn't seem like they'd be different, but they are.

No one says you have to stay out there that long. Also the guys who would take a shot at a target they can't see clearly are still gonna shoot no matter what the time is 15 min after or 30 min after. I think it is great. Due to the fact I will not leave the woods till dark any way so I don't spook more deer than I have to.

[bigbucks]

I think it's fine. I've shot a lot of deer in that last 5-10 minutes with my bow or gun. I'd venture to guess I've shot very few evening deer before sunset. I always figure it's "primetime" when sunset comes.

I've been observing over the last several years, but especially in the last year that people's night vision sharpness greatly factors into their opinion on this subject. I have fantastic night vision, just lucky I guess. It's almost never so dark I really need a flashlight to see where I'm going in the woods. This can be a detriment, because I have to keep track of what time it is & make sure it's not past shooting time. I've shot several last & a few first light deer that when I've checked they have been legal just by a few minutes, so I think the time is perfect the way it is. You have to know if you can see well enough to shoot or not & that isn't necessarily the same for everybody. Just like some people can make long shots or running shots & others can't.

[Double D]

I myself, for simplicity, kind of wish they would just set a time. Maybe 6:45 AM to 5:15 PM or whatever times you want. I know the times are in the back of the book, but they change 1 or 2 minutes a day. By setting a time there is no argument if you hear a shot early or late.

Just my 2 cents for the day.

DD

[spivak]

I usually end the evening shoot 10-15 minutes early. My sub-par bow sight seems to give out before legal light is done and that works out well for me. The morning is a different matter. I think my vision is better being in the dark and then having the light come as opposed to being in the light and having darkness fall. My mornings seem more productive for me. I'd rather take a shot at dawn with the whole day of light ahead as opposed to a late day shot with night ahead.

Anyone else have the sensation of light coming in pulses? It seems I'm staring at something, trying to figure it out, and things lighten as if a wave of light comes through. I'm sure it's an optical illusion but that's how it seems to me sometimes.

[winniewalleye777]

I myself, for simplicity, kind of wish they would just set a time. Maybe 6:45 AM to 5:15 PM or whatever times you want. I know the times are in the back of the book, but they change 1 or 2 minutes a day. By setting a time there is no argument if you hear a shot early or late.

Just my 2 cents for the day.

DD

I am pretty sure people can handle adding and subtracting 30 minutes from the times in the back of the book. If the person is too stupid to perform that simple of an operation, I believe he deserves a ticket for shooting after season.

[lawdog]

If it wasn't for the last half hour, my step-son wouldn't have gotten to shoot his first deer. I nice doe came walking down the fenceline just 15 minutes before the end of shooting. I was dozing off already, he woke me up to let me know she was there...

[fivebucks]

If I remember right, it was only sunrise to sunset for a year or two in the bad winters of the 1990's. Other than that period it's been the 1/2 hour before and after for the last 30 years that I've been hunting. I like that time period and I bet alot of deer are shot during it, especially the 1/2 hour after sunset.