# Shooting Hours?



## NEMichsportsman (Jul 3, 2001)

Boehr a hypothetical-

After consulting the guide for legal shooting hours I go out hunting...I hunt until the legal hunting ends and in the last legal minute I am able to safely target a deer for harvest... I shoot, retrieve the deer, tag it, and drag it out of the woods to my truck. I run into Lt. Ray who happened to be standing next to my vehicle when I shot....according to his watch it- turns out my watch is one minute slow. Did I just get a ticket? Who sets the time? And how did he sychronize his watch? How should I go about doing this???

I am not trying to be smart, realizing that there has to be a start and stop time...I don't think I have found conditions favorable for a shot that late anyhow... but wondered if CO's have any discretion? is 1 minute viewed different from 5,10,15,or 20...?


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## GWPguy (Feb 16, 2004)

I am sure most officers have discretion. I am sure that they don't sit there with their watch and count down the seconds. 

Even if they did they would have to prove it was you that fired 30 seconds too late. As with any law, I would think common sense prevails.


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## Brian S (Apr 5, 2002)

NEM, I won't try and answer for Ray, but I can tell you from personal experience that COs use discretion.

I can think of probably a half dozen times where I could have gotten a ticket but didn't because the CO used his/her discretion. The most recent was last year when a CO was waiting by my truck as me and my friend dragged out our deer. My friend had shot a buck with tines less than 3". I think they may have been 2 3/4 inches. Did the CO measure them? Nope. He shined his light at it and said "Looks like 3 inches to me".

They're out there looking for the real violators. From my experiences, as long as you have your liscense, act appropriately and aren't doing something stupid, you have nothing to worry about.

One or two minutes after, probably not a problem, 15 minutes after, I'd be worried.

Now, someone like Fred T. may have a different opinion.


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## Fishfoote (Jan 2, 2001)

I would think it is both their descretion and your attitude. Last winter we were checked by a CO out on the ice. My buddy didn't have his registration sticker on his sled..didn't think it looked good  He did have it in the storage compartment on the sled in a zip lock. The CO offered to allow him to put on right there on the spot to avoid a ticket.


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## boehr (Jan 31, 2000)

All Conservation Officers have the authority to use whatever discretion they feel necessary. Supervisors put no requirement of how much or how little they use discretion simply because every circumstance/situation is different.

As to the one minute after shooting hours, I doubt that anyone has ever gotten a ticket for one minute after even in waterfowl hunting which times are watched closer than other type of hunting and even other hunters complain about it more.

I know one of my personal pet peeves was people that had fawn deer in early summer. Without saying I never gave a person a break, it wasn't very often that I gave a break for having a fawn. So even though when I worked the field I could have never issued a ticket for someone having a fawn, or baby raccoons for that matter, they almost always got a ticket for having an animal in possession without a permit. In other matters I have given breaks, big breaks, to some but it just all depends on the circumstances which every CO has that authority.

I have a saying that I tell every new officer which is; *It's better to go home wishing you had wrote the ticket then to go home wishing you hadn't!* I also sometime remind experienced CO's the same.


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## Robert W. McCoy Jr (Jan 18, 2002)

N.E.

Use the time on my gps to set my watch.


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## NEMichsportsman (Jul 3, 2001)

Thanks for the replies. This came up in another thread and I made the comment that I thought an officer would give some leeway in such a case...but just was curious if my hunch was correct. Great idea about the GPS and clock Rob...don't know why I never thought of it before...but I usually dont cut it close enough to be an issue anyhow!


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## Huntsman27 (Sep 29, 2004)

Post was the one I was talking about. I wasnt trying to jump they guy about time, was just curious turns out he was right I was wrong. However you asked how do we know what time it is? you call time and sycro.

At the managed waterfowl units, they have a clock there and EVERYBODY synchros with that clock there is no excuse. 

Now, Im sure there are Officers who may give you a minute or three, but as its said a lot is attitude...PO the officer and look out nice ticket. I think most are decent guys....Then again Ive dealt with some real morons. Happens with all walks of life.

Often times the first thing a Judge or Magistrate says is.......Ignorance of the law is no excuse! Rich


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## Robert W. McCoy Jr (Jan 18, 2002)

Huntman,

You asked how do we know what time it is.

As I said earlier set your watch to your gps time.

Your Gps time is the automatically set to Greenwich time.


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## FishTales (Feb 13, 2002)

Curiosity just killed the cat!!! I checked my GPS and someone forgot to tell Greenwich about Daylight Savings Time. Mine is an hour different than my watch.
If I went by that, I would be getting a ticket for sure. :yikes:


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## Ferg (Dec 17, 2002)

FishTales said:


> Curiosity just killed the cat!!! I checked my GPS and someone forgot to tell Greenwich about Daylight Savings Time. Mine is an hour different than my watch.
> If I went by that, I would be getting a ticket for sure. :yikes:


Greenwich is correct - there is NO daylight savings time with GMT/CUT/Zulu whatever you want to call it - you just have to remember how many hours to subtract 

ferg....


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## Robert W. McCoy Jr (Jan 18, 2002)

The gps is right.

The rest of the world has to account for day light savings time etc.


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## Joeker51 (Jan 25, 2002)

Just a suggestion. The time on a cell phone would work. Mine automatically accounted for the time difference when I went to Iron Mountain for openning week. Just make sure you turn off the sound.


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## William H Bonney (Jan 14, 2003)

Not to get off the subject but my GPS is sync'd with the "Atomic Clock" in Colorado Springs,,,, I believe.. But anyway,, I had a guy this morning, shooting at, 7:05 (waterfowl, 7:20 was legal). On top of that,, the guy says he was shooting at a pintail.


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