When are you "hunting" in the eyes of C.O?

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If I am travelling by Quad from Camp to hunting area.

Bow is in case and locked up.

Am I allowed to travel to and from my hunting site from 1/2 after sunset to 1/2 hour before sunrise.

Once 1/2 before sunrise comes ONLY then does my bow come out of its case.

I myself think that you are ONLY hunting if the rifle(or in this case a bow) is within your reach un-cased or in your hands.

The reason why I ask this is some visitors to my Moose camp last year tried to say I was poaching by riding my quad back to camp after 1/2 hour past sunset.

I am pretty sure I am right but have NEVER asked a C.O to confirm.
 
long as its encased after dark..feel free to carry it all you want..its like going to your stand way before sunlight..
half hour before light,and half hour after light..must be encased
 
The rules vary greatly from province to province.In certain areas of Alberta you can't legally transport a firearm or bow on an atv,on public land,even if it is cased,between one hour before sunrise and noon.
 
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poaching is illegally taking game. How is travelling to camp illegally taking game?
shooting animals during the hours of prohibition is poaching, travelling back to camp late is a simple misjudgement of time.

but what do I know?
 
I'm from northern sask as well and I have travelled the same as you, with the bow encased on the quad before and after legal hunting time, and I am sure that is perfectly fine to do. I sure hope it is anyway because I've been doing it that way for the last 10 years, and by next weekend I'll be doing it again. I'm leaving for 2 awsome weeks of moose camp...yee haw.:dancingbanana:
 
I'm from northern sask as well and I have travelled the same as you, with the bow encased on the quad before and after legal hunting time, and I am sure that is perfectly fine to do. I QUOTE]




I thought you could only use a ATV in the afternoon to hunt in Saskatchewan? Thats what we have been told, but we hunt with rifles.
 
Each Zone has it own rules in Sask.

In the Zone that I hunt in the ONLY rule is...All firearms must be encased while on a Quad.

There is NO time slots.

In some Zones they ony allow quads at certain times.

Certain Zones only allow the use of quads to retrieve game.

I am going to carry on as I have in the past....as long as my bow is locked in case from 1/2 hour after sunset to 1/2 before sunrise I am NOT hunting...just travelling from Camp to hunting area and vise versa.
 
The key word being" illegally".Poaching or not, if you knowingly violate the rules,you deserve to be punished.

Which rules are you referring too?

There are NO rules about transporting a firearm/bow in the zones that I hunt...except that it is to be encased(therefore CANNOT be used to hunt)

In order to kill an animal you would have to hold...aim...and shoot a rifle/bow?

Simply travelling from camp to hunting location is NOT Hunting.

To be hunting one would have to have access to your firearm...meaning in YOUR hands or riding beside you on your truck seat UNCASED...that would be hunting.

By using some peoples logic, after hunting for the day if you were NOT back at your house/camp by 1/2 hour AFTER sunset with your firearm locked away in gun cabinet you would be poaching?

Here is another scenario...

Your out Deer hunting and your hunting from home. What happens if you stop for dinner at restaurant in Town after a day of hunting ...your rifle is encased and in behind the seat of your truck...you drive home AFTER dark and get pulled over...and CO finds encased rifle behind your seat....are you hunting? Are you charged with hunting? Don't think so?

IMHO, In order to BE hunting the firearm would have to be IN your hands or readily accessable. A firearm that is encased and not readily accessable would simply mean you are transporting it. Last I heard it was NOT illegal to transport a firearm from Point A to Point B after sunset. Unless of course you had a spot light and you stopped to night light deer. At least not is Sask. but Alberta maybe different.

By making broad statements like that Hunters would NEVER be allowed to travel to and from home after sunset if they had a firearm encased. Even if you were travelling 6 hours to go on a Mule Deer hunt in Southern Sask I would NOT be allowed to travel AFTER sunset?

Think of it like a closed box of beer...perfectly legal to transport from Point A to Point B, but if you open it and start drinking then you are commiting a crime.
 
Varies form province to province...

No such "guns must be in a case at night" rules in BC.

I often walk back to my truck in pitch black wiht rifle on my shoulder.
 
Which rules are you referring too?

I was quoting the post by Hoochie,where he used the word "illegally" as he was trying to trivialize atv/firearms infractions.I was merely pointing out that all infractions should still be punished.
I quoted his post so people would know that I was responding to him.
 
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If I am travelling by Quad from Camp to hunting area.

Bow is in case and locked up.

Am I allowed to travel to and from my hunting site from 1/2 after sunset to 1/2 hour before sunrise.

Once 1/2 before sunrise comes ONLY then does my bow come out of its case.

I myself think that you are ONLY hunting if the rifle(or in this case a bow) is within your reach un-cased or in your hands.

The reason why I ask this is some visitors to my Moose camp last year tried to say I was poaching by riding my quad back to camp after 1/2 hour past sunset.

So by their reading of the rules if you had an hrs drive back to camp you'd have to leave your stand an hr before the legal shooting deadline :rolleyes:
 
Varies form province to province...

No such "guns must be in a case at night" rules in BC.

I often walk back to my truck in pitch black wiht rifle on my shoulder.

And the traditional method ?1st nations? have been using in your province for takeing of game is with a spotlight after dark too :D
 
We have these encased after dark rules in Ontario, and while they are well-meaning to prevent night hunting, I learned on a recent bear hunt that there is NO WAY IN FRIGGEN HELL that I am going to encase my rifle on the hike out from the baited stands in the dark.

Yet another law where one has to choose between being judged by twelve or carried by six.
 
Well I beleive that you are correct you can transport your finrearms anytime as long as they are locked or encased until 1/2 hour before sunrise or after a 1/2 hour after sunset any other time of course you can carry it uncased while hunting at least here in Ontario. However I will tell you of an experiance I had last year first was I was coming out of my stand in my truck and took my gear off, my orange vest in the back seat. My gun on the seat unloaded. It was early my Dad had shot a bear so I was on my way out to help him. I was stopped by the Co he checked our guns, license, ETC. and then asked where my hunter orange was I explained the the back seat and he said I was technically hunting and must wear the orange. Sounded awfully crazy to me but I didn't argue. Next was a trapper freind who was baiting bears and was carrying a gun with before season opened and the same CO stopped him and told him he couldn't carry as there was no season open yet and he could be charged!!!
 
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You do not need your gun locked up in your vehicle for travel in Ontario after dark, they key words missing in this thread are what the MNR calls "in a place normally inhabited by wildlife". I can target shoot in the dark using only perimeter lighting and be legal. I do it with my bow quite often, not in the bush though.
If your in the bush after dark it needs to be encased, if you are traveling home from the range after dark it can be where ever you normally keep a gun during transport. It, like many other things in life will be very dependent on how you handle yourself at the moment of interaction with who ever is questioning you.
 
So by their reading of the rules if you had an hrs drive back to camp you'd have to leave your stand an hr before the legal shooting deadline :rolleyes:

There is no reading of the rules...there is NO rule that states you cannot travel from Point A to Point B from 1/2 hour after sunset to 1/2 hour before sunrise. The ONLY rule is NO HUNTING of wildlife at that prescribed time.

Hunting, to me, means firearm in your hands or readily accessible(i.e on seat beside you uncased.) Firearm fully encased(and Locked furthermore) is not being used for hunting...you are merely transporting it from camp to hunting area.
 
You do not need your gun locked up in your vehicle for travel in Ontario after dark, they key words missing in this thread are what the MNR calls "in a place normally inhabited by wildlife". I can target shoot in the dark using only perimeter lighting and be legal. I do it with my bow quite often, not in the bush though.
If your in the bush after dark it needs to be encased, if you are traveling home from the range after dark it can be where ever you normally keep a gun during transport. It, like many other things in life will be very dependent on how you handle yourself at the moment of interaction with who ever is questioning you.

Maybe it is just how strictly they interpret said laws...The owners of a local bow shop told me that a couple of guys got charged with "uncased at night" on their way home after a club 3D shoot:eek: Are you sure about that target shooting (firearms) at night? I though most places had bylaws against it. :confused: If not, you are only asking for the popo to show up, and you might have some explaining to do.
 
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