28 replies to this topic

[RabbitSlayer48AL]

I am trying to figure out all the laws I need to know for night hunting in CA.Zone 1 I did not define because I never hunt those counties. I will be hunting zone 2. I very carefully followed the zone 2 description in the regs and highlighted it on a map. Anything East and South of the pink highlighter is zone 2. All of Riverside, Imperial, San Diego, and Orange counties are also zone 2. Anything inside the green highlighter is the night hunting closure area. Took me a few hours to make this map so I hope you guys enjoy it. Inside zone 2 you can spotlight from a vehicle with any kind or power of light if the vehicle is stopped and not on a road. You may also have a weapon mounted light.Sorry the line fades at Barstow, grease on the map. It turns south from 58 just west of Barstow. Turns east, running just south of I-40 to the Marine base Training Area. At the boundary of Marine Base it turns South, crosses HWY 62 just to the west of 29 Palms, and ends at the Riverside/San Bernadino County line.zone 2 continued for N. CA. Sorry it is blurry, you can see Mono Lake.I have some additional questions.I'm aware of he San Bernadino County Shooting Map and that there is a lot of area closed to night hunting. 1. Are there any other night hunting closure areas inside zone 2?I will also be hunting the remainder of the state where you can only have hand held or head mounted lights with self contained batteries 9v or less. 2. Are there any additional closure areas around Gorman, Kern County, Angeles NF, Los Padres NF, or in the Eastern and southern Sierra Mono, Inyo, and Sequoia NF?3. What is the legality of having more then one light. Lets say in zone 2 I have a hand held light for scanning and a more powerful weapon mounted light for shooting, is that legal? How about remainder of the state? Can I have a small scan light mounted on my head and the kill light in my hand?4. Do you night hunters prefer shotgun or rifle? I would think shotgun is a lot safer.

[BPS]

Good first post & welcome to CPC.I can't help on the night hunting regs as I don't hunt at night.I recognize you from PM, good to see you made it over here to.Lee

[Inoculation]

1. Don't get caught night hunting in Riverside County, it's illegal to discharge a firearm throughout the entire county. People do it, but I don't recommend it.2. Don't mount any light to any weapon you plan on taking home after the hunt. This law has been covered before on this forum a few times. Even if it is legal, you would have a hard time convincing a warden. 3. There is no legal rifle hunting zone in LA County, unless you are in the National Forest, where night hunting is illegal. 4. Imperial County is pretty straight forward for night hunting. Just be aware that the Border Patrol is watching everything you do.....Everything!5. San Bernardino County's map is pretty good. 6. Night hunting is for rifles unless you are targeting grey fox, then a shotgun works well.7. To "legally" and proficiently night hunt, you will need a partner. You will both need to learn the light and the gun. It can be done solo, but you better know what you are doing.

[RabbitSlayer48AL]

As for mounting the light to the gun its right at the top of this forum. It is explained by the DFG in the link. I printed out that page and put it into my box of predator stuff i take with me. How can they go against the regulations explained by the DFG?WHere does it say night hunting is illegal in angeles NF? I read their website and it says nothing about that. Just the typical 150 yards etc. I have had more shots at dogs inside 50 yards then past 50 yards so why is a shotgun not good?Luckily I don't hunt san diego, imperial, riverside, or orange county at all. I don't like all the boarder patrol down in brawly pheasant hunting.I plan to have someone with me most the time to take turns working the lights and being the shooter.

[RabbitSlayer48AL]

http://www.californi...rt=#entry208897I mean it looks pretty cut and dry to me. Weapon mounted lights are OK. I hunt such remote spots I go days without seeing another person, let alone the law. 30 miles one way on dirt into the mojave its not too likely you will see anyone at all if its not upland hunting season. I make sure i'm compliant always but think harrasment is unlikely unless you are hunting near populated areas or paved roads.

[Inoculation]

You can mount a light if you wish. But don't go crying when Johny law takes all of your firearms and confiscates them until you get to go to court. There, it's your word against his/hers, and you will loose. ANF is the same way. There are areas where it's legal, but you will get harassed by the rangers. The ANF is terrible for night calling in most areas due to the limited access and the way the roads are cut into the sides of the hills. The number of animals isn't exceptionally high unless you want to shoot grey fox all night.....boring. I speak from experience, both mine and my hunting partners. You can read all you want to, that doesn't mean the wardens or the rangers have read it the same way you have. Just another reason to learn to hunt proficiently in the daylight.And if most of your shots are 50 yds and closer, why not use a rifle? A shotgun at night is no guaranteed kill, and looking for run offs isn't fun.The bottom line is this. Just because somebody reads something, it doesn't make it so. Relying on the "law" these days doesn't cut it anymore. If it did, CA would be a different place. Hunt at your own risk, take the necessary precautions, and don't tell anybody anything if you are stopped.

[rude robert]

Hi when you said that it was illegal to night in Riverside county and to discharge a firearm. Do you mean at night only, or are you saying it is illegal to discharge a firearm during the day as well?

[jawbreaker]

Only at night Robert. Why would anyone want to hunt at night anyways, it just seems LAZY to me.

[Switch]

Hmm, this seems a bit like deja vu.As was stated in previous posts, the regs for night hunting are made confusing for a reason. All agencies involved (state, county, LAE) would rather you sit home and watch Jeopardy. The State regulations is a living document, meaning it changes year to year, and sometimes even sooner. Do you think a first or second year warden is going to have them memorized? That answer would be no.Then toss in county regs, Rangers and Sheriff that understand that only bad things happen at night. Legal or not, you will get hassled, stopped, detained and messed with. That is just the inconvenience of it. You also run the risk of having your gear confiscated. Any misinterpretation of the law or a slight infraction is magnified when hunting at night. At the very least it'll mess up your night.Dancing around the boundaries of where night hunting is legal and not legal is asking for trouble in my opinion. But sometimes hunters need to learn that for themselves. When I first started night hunting, I got hassled enough to realize hunting near the boundaries of where it was legal was a big waste of my time.

[ShooterJohn]

Another point to remember is that trying to quote the regulation to whoever stopped you gets you nowhere real fast. In fact it usually gets you cited for something else they are sure will stick. Or at least get your vehicle searched very thoroughly. It's great to carry the pertaining regulations with you but be careful how you present your case to the officer.

[RabbitSlayer48AL]

If you just have handheld light would they still take the gun or just your lights?Maybe I will just return the gun mount and get the headband. I got the hat attachment but I can't wear a beanie with it and its always to cold to go without a beanie. I think it is actually just as easy when by myself to have the scan light on my head and the kill light hanging on my left wrist. Hold the light and forearm together when its time to fire. I have big hands so I can easily have the light in my palm and still grip the forearm. I think I would actually have less movement then raising my arm up to click the light on. Most the time i will have someone with me.

[Switch]

For a number of reasons it's best to have someone with you. You really don't need a gun mounted light if you and your body can get on the same page. It's also easier to have two sets of eyes looking for downed animals. Not to mention just being safe out in the middle of nowhere, at night. Car trouble, getting stuck, crazed, forest hobos, etc. I love night hunting, but I don't go without a buddy.

[RabbitSlayer48AL]

I hunt and fish alone all the time. I hike way up into chukar country alone and that makes night hunting the desert flatlands seem low risk to me. One of these days I'm going to die out there, but hey its better then cancer. Wish I had a buddy to go with me all the time but i don't. Luckily I just made a new friend who lives by me and hunts a lot. If I waited for people to go with I would end up staying home. My xlr 100 just arrived today. It is no problem on the hat. I just turn it slightly sideways and it lines up when I use the gun. In my hand its very easy to use for scanning then grip the gun and light together. The larger hs-802 will be here in a week or two from china. Hopefully the larger bell part doesn't impede holding the gun and light with the same hand. It will be nice just to have a powerful light handy at camp when animals or people come around so I can ID them before getting out the air horn or the glock.

[OrneryOlMofo357]

Hunting at night is not easy from My perspective. Trying to hold a rifle, hold a light, scan and still change calls on an E caller, Especially if a rifle mounted light is not legal.. it will be tough. I have tried it a bit this season, and have only called in Raptors and Cows. Good luck hunting by yourself. Its hard with a headlamp not giving away your position. try it and report back. I wish you the best.

[Inoculation]

In agreement with Tim and John about the regulations and trying to convince a warden that's got you pulled over. I want as few probables as possible.And I'm not saying solo hunting at night can't be done. I know a few who do it. Some guys do it fairly effectively, but legal is a far cry from what they do. Again like Tim and Ornery said, a partner is a huge help at night. Swinging a light/using a call (hand or e call)/seting up for a shot/and colecting animals is difficult to say the least. I will leave you this statement and you can take from it what you will. A profecient daylight hunter can easily pick up night calling and become equally as proficient. A proficient night hunter has a hard time adjusting to the daylight for reasons you will only understand after you have seen enough coyotes in the daylight to give you an idea of their behaviors. I'm not talking about 5 or 10 dogs, I'm talking about 100's of them.Most night callers I have hunted with have a hard time keeping their eyes open for 10 minutes on stand. They move WAY TOO MUCH. They are way too loud. They rely on equipment too much as opposed to tactics and set up. They have a really hard time running and gunning in coyote dense areas and wind up missing chip shots because their hearts are in their throats. I guess eyes are a whole lot easier to shoot at than a 3 denominational animal that is moving while you are choking on your experience.....

[RabbitSlayer48AL]

I'm doing pretty well with day calling. I don't plan to reduce my day hunting at all or go specifically to night hunt. I just get bored when it gets dark at 5 pm and sun doesn't come back up till 7 am.

[Shoot-it]

Is it legal to hold the light in your left hand and press it to the stock as I swing it on the animal and then look threw the scope.Don't give me crap about swinging the rifle around I am on private land.

[tawnoper]

Is it legal to hold the light in your left hand and press it to the stock as I swing it on the animal and then look threw the stock.Don't give me crap about swinging the rifle around I am on private land.

Pretty sure this is legal as long as you are standing on one leg.

[Inoculation]

LMAO! I'm glad I just finished my drink.

[Shoot-it]

I mean the scope not the stock bad typo........Thanks for the answer Mr.smart ass.

[rude robert]

Cool thinks for clearing up the hunting in Riverside issue.

[rude robert]

Inoculation, ? running and gunning what do you mean by that? Do you really run? Are you not worried about scaring them away?? I am asking as I have said before, I don't have much luck with hunting yotes, but I keep trying.

[ShooterJohn]

Running and gunning just refers to moving quickly and covering more ground between setups. Just not spending an extended time at one stand. You don't have to run.

[jawbreaker]

Alot of guys spend 15 or 20 minutes on stand and that is not a bad thing because some coyotes will show up late in a stand but most of them will show up in under 7 minutes so if you give it about 10 minutes on stand you can up your percentage of kills by a bunch. But thats only if you are a KILLER...

[tawnoper]

From what I heard, Inoculation actually does run! Like a Greyhound!For us...run and gun isn't about covering more ground between stands, it's making a lot more short stands...like 8-10 minutes...move. I usually do it more so when calling thick stuff. I also don't run my caller as loud as I would when I can see for ever. Don't want to have a critter coming to me when I can't see too far if I'm going to be moving in 10 minutes.

[OrneryOlMofo357]

Is it legal to hold the light in your left hand and press it to the stock as I swing it on the animal and then look threw the scope.Don't give me crap about swinging the rifle around I am on private land.

As long as the light is not attached to the rifle you are ok. Make sure that you use the proper voltage lights for the area you hunt. I have tried a few methods, flashlight, Headlamp. small spot light, just havent got it right yet. Good luck shoot-it

[tawnoper]

Dancing around the boundaries of where night hunting is legal and not legal is asking for trouble in my opinion. But sometimes hunters need to learn that for themselves.

This...good advice.Tim and I have spoke about this before.Trying to color to close to the lines is usually more trouble then it's worth. Just because you are within the law doesn't mean you won't get stopped, hassled, detained...whatever. Not just by a Game Warden. Highway Patrol, Sheriff, Busybody nosy people...To me that doesn't sound like fun. At night, lights attract attention. A car driving 2 miles away would probably go unnoticed in the daytime, but at night everyone sees it. IMO, the whole 9v area vs 12v area is a joke. In all my years of night hunting (quite a few) I've been stopped a number of times...I have never been asked about what size light we were running. Most of the out and away areas are within the 12v area anyway.

[leftfoot]

Thanks for the info. I apreciate it. Good luck this year.

[MosesNagant]

Wow! I cant believe it is this ridiculous with these retarded laws! It really is a joke. Cant we All as members of a club ban together and get something done about this with city council or whatever?