It's a question that seems to have a logical answer, "when is sunrise and sunset?" But the answer isn't quite so simple when it comes to The New York Department of Environmental Conservation hunting laws. You'll need math skills and map reading abilities if you want to be legal.

It's not as simple as, "it's still light outside, so it's not sunset." People are frequently charged with hunting after sunset and in many of those cases, it's hooligans taking deer with lights. But some cases, it involves not understanding the legal definition of sunrise, sunset.

Here's how to determine the legal hunting hours. For instance today, December 5, Sunrise is 7:09 and sunset is 4:21. Using the map below, if hunting in Oneida County, you would add 6 minutes, making sunrise 7:15 and sunset 4:27.

DEC Sunrise Sunset Map
NYDEC.gov
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While sunrise to sunset hunting is the legal hours for most New York hunting there are some exceptions to the rules.

Unprotected wildlife - any hour
Coyote, Raccoon, Fox, Bobcat - any hour
Ducks, Geese, Snipe, Rails - 1/2 hour before sunrise to sunset
Spring Turkey - 1/2 hour before sunrise to noon

Rather than keeping all of that in your head, you can get DEC's App and have it right on your phone. Official sunrise and sunset hours for every day of the year are at the DEC's website.

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