Sunrise/Sunset Table in Regs.
 

Was out hunting today when F/W pulled me over.Everything was good, no problems.Upon leaving the officer told me he checked his GPS and that i had till 4:59 to hunt, already knowing the regulations book said I had till 4:51,I
was unsure of who to go with, Iwent with the book, but stayed to see if the officers time was legitimit.
Question being do you have to go with the book or go by GPS,whos right,
whos wrong:thinking-006:

Regs book really isn't specific enough...it covers some broad regions. Think you'd be okay with either though.

the book is a rough guideline. it lists cities and towns and only every couple days. if you arent in a city and on a date not listed....what do you use?.....

go with the gps. it gives you precise time for your exact location.

Ithink the thing that got me the most was the time difference from book
to the GPS time,8 mins is a long time,I would let 3 min. go,8 is a big difference.Guess im going to have to buy GPS so i can get extra time in.

Where were you and what date and town were you using from the regs table?

Iwas hr. west of Edmonton so i went with Ed.time will have to get i-pad or GPS to get exact time or check the weather network,they have sunrise/sunset for towns and cities, great will have to take lap top
hunting.:angry3:

You'd definitely gain a few minutes being west.

"the officer told me he checked his GPS and that i had till 4:59 to hunt"

Works for me ................. the GPS is accurate for your location

There was a whole week that was an hour late in them regulations as the time change was the week before told you could hunt at 831 or something like that but in actuality it was 730 . I go with what the GPS and or Weather channel sunrise is .

No where in the regulations at least from what Ive read says where you gotta read the sunrise and sunset from .

I'd go by whatever time the F&W officer said. He's the one that's going to charge you if he thinks you are shooting outside legal light. Who needs that hassle?

As for book/GPS, I use the "more legal" of the two. I go conservative on times.

What does the Legislation or courts say to use?

Is it the time published in the hunting regulations , or the time based on a paid program from a private company? :confused:



The Wildlife Act states "Hunting at night" 28 A person shall not hunt wildlife, except by trapping, during the period commencing at 1/2 hour after sunset and ending at 1/2 hour before sunrise the following day."

The Alberta Hunting Synopsis says to refer to the listed Sunrise/Sunset Timetable.



I would suggest that the Sunrise/Sunset Timetable in the Hunting Synopsis is the Legal Guideline. A GPS determination that gave you a timeline outside of these listed times could result in a charge of Hunting at Night.

I'm not sure that the Officer in the OP stated the LEGAL timeline.




The Alberta Wildlife Act and Hunting Regulations needs to get up to speed on several issues dealing with the advancement of new technology. This may be another issue that needs to be addressed.

Guideline being the key word. It's not specific enough. I've talked to lots of F&W officers that rely on GPS for their exact location. The Wildlife Act specifies the time frame and suggests a reference.....a GPS shows due dilligence.

You could probably use that defence if you were hunting in the community listed. But what listed time do I use if I'm hunting around Cypress Hills? Fort Mac???? Not going to actually be the same sunrise time that much further south. FOr most of the places you hunt you are "guestimating" if you use the tables, which is why I intrprete them conservatively. I give myself a buffer of a few minutes.

What happened to reading comprehension? :D

I wrote "Legal Guideline". That has a very different meaning than Guideline.
GPS due dilligence could still result in a charge of "Hunting at Night". If your GPS says sunset at 435 and the Legal Guideline says sunset is 430, which one will win in court? :confused:




But we are a "Progressive Conservative" province. ;)




Do hunters now have to have a GPS Service with a Court sanctioned Sunset Table to determine legal light?

The confusion regarding Legal hunting times is an easy fix.
I think SRD should make the Sunset laws easy to follow without confusion, as opposed to having the courts determine the issue.

This has been a real problem in places such as Cadomin....

Oh boy...

Unless you are hunting in downtown Calgary, I'd say the GPS. I'm not going to fret over it anyhow. GPS and due dillegence for me :)

DU has an phone app that includes a sunrise/sunset calculator that use your lat long co-ords to calculate rise/set. Add/subtract 30mins and you are good...

Table
 

I noticed one day this year that the weather network had a different sunset time than ctv news.
I thought is was kind of strange.

Did notice that my GPS said 4:31, hunt til 5 east of Valleyview this past weekend, and we had always apprx half way between Whitecourt and Peace River, GPS gave us an extra 8 min. Didn't seem to matter to some though, heard 3 shots Fri evening a few miles away at 5:20.

TBark

"The Wildlife Act states "Hunting at night" 28 A person shall not hunt wildlife, except by trapping, during the period commencing at 1/2 hour after sunset and ending at 1/2 hour before sunrise the following day."

Ran into a fellow last week that said "I am quitting now (shortly after legal time) cause its too dark to see. I don't know how guys can see hunting an hour after sunset...."

:snapoutofit:

I mentioned that he might want to (re)read the regs.

sk regs have stated for some time that you add 1 minute for every 16 km west you go and subtract one minute every when you go east. times shown are for 106 degree longnitude. albertas times must be set simularly.