How to use a hog light legally

[Chasin Bacon]

If it's a spotlight I'd give the GW a courtesy call. Put yourself in his position, you've sat down kicked your shoes off to watch the nightly news or Jay Leno and one of the neighbors in your area calls the operation game thief hotline to report spotlighing, if he doesn't already know what's going on he's gonna be in a bad mood when he gets there, if already knows sombody is hunting hogs with a spotlight in the area where the neighbor reported it he's gonna finish his beer and go to bed.

[cbd10pt]

Thank you guys. For the info

[Fishndude]

So what about a feeder light??

Shoot within legal shooting hours. This would make a feeder light irrelevant as to legality.

[El Coyote]

Shoot within legal shooting hours. This would make a feeder light irrelevant as to legality.

The lights are for hogs at night.

[BigFoot]

Not illegal, but you have to be hog hunting. How you prove that don't ask me. Good luck.

[Fishndude]

The lights are for hogs at night.

Then shoot hogs 24/7 and deer between legal shooting hours.

[Skinny]

The game warden told me that to be on the safe side, and not have any chance of issues, to keep my light in my backpack until after legal shooting hours...after that it was cool to put my light on and hunt pigs.

It is kinda up to the discretion of the game warden...all I know is that I wouln't want to be dragging a deer out of the woods after dark with a hog light on my bow and get checked by the GW. Lol

Skinny

[JW]

I spoke with the game warden about this last year. I called and informed him that I would be staying in the stand about an hour after dark to hog hunt with a light. He said that is fine and thanks for letting him know. If you can call your local GW and let them know. We also call if we plan on doing any varmint hunting at night during deer season. Just keep in contact with them. I have our GW's cell phone number saved in my phone.

Why you gotta let the possum cop know when youre doing perfectly legal stuff?! I don't. And he's more than welcome to come check cuz I stay on the up n up with game laws.

[Horitexan]

It's a kind of grey area. There's nothing illegall about killing hogs at night during deer season BUT if you don't give your local GW a heads up and are found shining a light (at ANY time of the year) by a no-nonsense GW, you are (at the very least) in for a lot of explaining. And, you may just end up with a ticket that you have to fight in court because the GW decided to see it as a spotlighting case (to err on the side of caution) and let the Cory's figure it out instead of him/her.

ALL this can be avoided by maintaining a relationship with your local GW and notifying him of your intentions. Then, if another GW stops you and questions your explanation, you can tell him to call ________ and ask him/her. It's an easy solution! Luckily, because of my job, I have a very close relationship with all the GWs that work our area. I do a lot of predator hunting in our area and it sure helps to know them so that when they come rolling up after seeing a spotlight being used, the conversation goes like, "Having any luck?" instead of, "What the heck are y'all doing?!?!"

If you're going to do ANYTHING that COULD be construed/misunderstood as questionable, it's a serious bonus to have a personal relationship with the GW(s) in your area. Besides, having that relationship makes a visit from the GW more like a visit from a friend than an, 'oh jeez, here we go' moment.

[fleemo14]

Any GW's comment??? I would love to know the actual law. Maybe just to be safe, you walk back to the truck put the bow up and get the rifle with a liight. This would show the intent is to be legal???

It's not against the law. If you are gonna stay in the blind and pig hunt I would prefer a call. If I see a light in the pasture I'm gonna check for sure. This would probably ruin your hunt too seeing how I drive through the pasture to find the light and check you. You don't have to call but I'm not gonna sit around all night waiting on you to come back to camp. I would never check anybody while deer hunting in the field but I will check any and all lights I see burning at night. I prefer a call. I bow hunt too and wouldn't want somebody driving up on me ruing a hunt.

[Chasin Bacon]

Why you gotta let the possum cop know when youre doing perfectly legal stuff?! I don't. And he's more than welcome to come check cuz I stay on the up n up with game laws.

I was doing perfectly legal stuff in Garland a couple of months back when I was cited for a seat belt violation. I told him I was wearing it he said he didn't see it and that I either put it on when he pulled out to pursue me or that I had it under my arm, neither were the case, he didn't see it so I got cited. His word against mine, kinda sucks, I paid the fine because the last time I fought a ticket something major came up the day of the court and I wound up paying more for missing the court date.

[redfish]

There is nothing illegal about having a light on your bow. It is illegal to use that light to hunt deer. So to answer your question, yes your within your right to have it on your bow but better not turn it on while deer hunting.

[Brett C]

I spoke with the game warden about this last year. I called and informed him that I would be staying in the stand about an hour after dark to hog hunt with a light. He said that is fine and thanks for letting him know. If you can call your local GW and let them know. We also call if we plan on doing any varmint hunting at night during deer season. Just keep in contact with them. I have our GW's cell phone number saved in my phone.

X2 This ^^^^^^^^

[cbd10pt]

I just so happen to stumble upon a game warden in Ace Hardware on bay area today he told me I should ask a game warden in the county that I'm hunting in

[flashof1979]

The game warden told me to let him know when I would be using the light at night.