Shooting hours calculator
Many US states set legal shooting hours for deer and other big game from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. This calculator works out sunrise, sunset and that window for any spot, seven days ahead. It is a starting point, not the law: check your state’s regulations, because many set different hours for some species, seasons or zones.
Sunrise and sunset are when the top of the sun meets a flat horizon, from the NOAA solar equations (accurate to about a minute). Hills, canyons and timber make real light later in the morning and earlier at night. In a wide state the centre can be up to about an hour off at the far corners, so use your location or a coordinate from your hunting spot.
Check your state’s rule
The half-hour rule is common, not universal. Some states or seasons use different hours for turkey, waterfowl or specific zones, and federal migratory bird hours are set separately each year. The state pages link each state’s regulations: Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Idaho · Michigan · Minnesota · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Mexico · North Carolina · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · Wisconsin · Wyoming.
In the app: WikiHunt shows sunrise, sunset and the daily Hunt Forecast for the spot you’re standing on, offline. See the features.
Questions
What are legal shooting hours?
The part of the day when hunting is allowed. Most states use 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset for big game, but rules differ by state, species and season, so the regulations are the final word.
Which time zone are the times in?
When you pick a state, its main time zone. When you use your location or type coordinates, your device’s time zone. The line under the buttons says which one is in use.
Does this work offline or need an account?
It runs entirely in your browser: nothing is sent anywhere, and there is no account.