Shooting Your Animal at Dusk on the Last Day of the Season

October 7, 2009

Question: You recently answered a question about shooting your animal at dusk and then retrieving it after shooting hours. What if you shoot an animal on the last day of the season in the last hour of daylight and can’t find it? You’d need to get up the next morning and continue searching until you find the animal, and it is either dead or not. Can you legally finish it off (if necessary) and field dress it and take the animal in for validation of the tag, then go home or to the butcher? (Russ W.)

Answer: It is the same answer as before. No “take” is allowed after shooting hours and/or season closure. You may also be subject to prosecution for wasting game if you have to leave it in the field. You need to plan your hunt to allow time for finding your animal before sundown.

Hunting requires a hunter to use good judgment and to follow all the rules. Sometimes situations can lead to illegal activity. If you have done everything you can to follow the rules and find yourself in a situation you described, it may be best to contact the local game warden and discuss the situation so you are not cited for an illegal activity while attempting to recover game you do not want to go to waste. (See related question and answer from July 23, 2009 at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/QandA/2009/20090723.asp).