A Guide to Hunting Laws in Maine
Hunting is an age-old American tradition that many Mainers and visitors enjoy each year. The regulations surrounding hunting in the state of Maine are intended to promote safe and responsible practices to protect both the people and the wildlife. While we all know that legislating common sense is not something that will work in all cases, the rules and regulations help every hunter to understand the law and what they need to do to stay on the right side of it.
One of the most important regulations for a hunter is understanding the proper legal shooting hours are. Maine has very specific definitions of legal shooting hours that fall with specific times that can vary by season.
All game birds and mammals are included in this rule – except waterfowl which has its own specific list of legal shooting hours . The rule is as follows:
Maine has a very specific statute regarding the legal shooting hours: 12 M.R.S. ยง 7451-A, Legal Shooting Hours Maine Statutes. Many people who are not familiar with the rule will not know that this concept has a very specific definition in the statutes of our state. The statute relates to the time between a half-hour before sunrise and sunset, and states that rifle and handgun hunting is permitted only during that time, all while taking into consideration the other regulations we have mentioned above.
The most important thing to note about the above statute is that it does not apply to waterfowl hunting. It also does apply to shore birds hunted from a boat (except coots). Timing is everything when it comes to legality or even safety when hunting in Maine. So visit the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife website to educate yourself on hunting safely in Maine.
Clarifying Shots in Daylight Hours
The setting of legal shooting times is governed under Title 12, Chapter 907 of the Maine Revised Statutes. The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (DIF&W) is authorized to set shooting hours for all game species, except migratory waterfowl. For migratory waterfowl, the rule is promulgated by the United States Fish & Wildlife Service which has set the hours at one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. The DIF&W sets the hours for all other game species. Those hours are from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. There is an exception for predatory birds which is set by rule at sunrise to sunset.
Shooting hours for deer are extended 30 minutes into the evening for deer hunting only from November 1st to December 11th inclusive.
Shooting Hours By Seasons
Laws regarding shooting hours may vary seasonally depending on the species of animal being hunted and where in Maine the hunting occurs. For instance, this time of year, the rules are different for deer hunters than bear hunters. In southern Maine, deer cannot be hunted at night. However, the "Southern Zone" of the deer hunting season occurs from August 29 through the end of September. At this time, shooting hours may go to 30 minutes before sunrise, but no later than 30 minutes after sunset. So for example, in Cumberland County, where sunset today is 6:05, shooting hours would end at 6:35. In other words, you must stop shooting at 6:30. Bear and moose hunting. For all moose permits not drawn in Aroostook County for moose season 2011, you are required to stop hunting at 1/2 hour after sunset. Shooting hours for moose hunters in Aroostook County have no ending time, but no permit holders are allowed to shoot a moose in the evening hours. Bear hunters have an exception to the rule. The August bear hunting day begins one hour before sunrise and ends one hour after sunset. This shooting period does not apply to bear hunters who are participating in an organized hunt, as opposed to the license-bear hunting lottery winners.
Penalties for Mistaken Shots
When it comes to hunting in Maine, the legal ramifications of violating the hours when a hunter may legally shoot are strictly followed by the law. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, with authority granted to them by the Maine Legislature, can define times when shooting is permitted.
No matter what specific times are established or if those times are listed in a particular hunting season, they are set in stone. If you are out hunting at times established as illegal shooting hours and get caught, there are specific actions that can be taken against you.
The first and most immediate of these actions is a ticket. The ticket in itself is not very much, usually only $100. But these tickets are usually given out on the spot, while you are out in the woods or in your hunted area. This means that you are subject to being fined on the spot. If you do not like that ticket, your only option is to go to the district court. Once the case is out of the hands of the Game Warden, if you feel that you are not guilty of the aforementioned infraction, you have the right to fight it.
The problem, however, is that often the person who is basically judging you in this instance is the same Game Warden who caught you in the first place. They may be willing to meet you in the court system, but they may not be willing to give you a break there either. In most small communities, the Game Warden is well known enough to make an annual hunting trip or fishing trip into civil interoffice politics. If they want to punish you , they not might have the clout to make it happen.
Aside from getting a ticket, if you are known to be a regular violator of the legal shooting hours, the Game Warden may put pressure on the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to revoke your hunting license. If revoked, you will have to go back and take the Maine Hunter Safety Course again – even at your advanced age of 70 or 80 – and retake the test.
Bear in mind that if you are caught hunting during illegal hours, you cannot just wait until the morning or the next day to go take the class. The Fish and Wildlife Service will want to charge you a fine for having violated their rule.
This isn’t the only consequence of violating shooting hours, either. If you are out in the field hunting at all times when you aren’t legally supposed to be shooting, you could easily be giving yourself dozens of infractions. If the Game Warden in your area has a vendetta against you, they can easily accumulate enough points to revoke your hunting license for a specific number of years. It isn’t even an uncommon behavior. Even for games with an open season, like bear hunting, a client was once caught shooting on land that wasn’t his. The infraction cost him his hunting license for several years.
The bottom line is that it is best to obey the legal shooting hours while out hunting. Get a shot off if you need to take a shot for safety reasons, but always strive to wait for the earliest possible moment when you can take a legal shot.
Best Advice for the Hunter
A common mistake that many seasoned Maine hunters make is presuming that they know the legal shooting hours for the area they are hunting. Indeed, as a 1992 study from the University of Maine found, issues surrounding the legal shooting hours confused many Maine hunters. Legal shooting hours are defined by the sun’s position, which means that the hours at which you can legally hunt vary throughout the year. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife advises that hunters be familiar with the state’s sunrise/sunset tables to determine the time of these events. A better option is to download a digital hunting app such as HuntStand that has this information readily available to users. This app (and others) can also provide GPS maps of your hunting area, elevation information, property lines, weather forecasts, and, in some cases, the locations of other wireless HuntStand users in the vicinity. For the vast majority of us, the smartphone will eventually replace the traditional hunting tools that we once relied on.
FAQs in the Woods
Frequently Asked Questions on Maine Legal Shooting Hours
FAQ: What are the legal shooting hours for moose in Maine?
FAQ: Is there a difference between moose and deer legal shooting hours?
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) published a notice about shooting hours for moose hunters on August 31, 2015, clarifying legal shooting hours, which are from one half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset (for all seasons) in all locations, unless a specific regulation governs that area. There is an exception to the normal rules for Maine residents who are on their own property. Those residents can legally hunt on their property from sunrise to sunset.
FAQ: If I live on property, do I have to follow the normal rules?
No. Maine law, 17 MRSA Chapter 59, Section 104, states that shooting hours "means one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset during any day related to the shooting of wild birds or animals . " State law contains different shooting hour requirements for several game birds and animals, including deer and moose. Moose are pelagic mammals and they do not sleep at all. Because of the lack of sleep in moose, shooting light does not affect them as it does deer.
FAQ: Does the law make an exception for morning groundlights for moose hunters?
No. To be considered legal shooting hours, the moose must be hunted during regular legal shooting hours. It is not legal shooting hours to use a groundlight, which fits under Maine law as "principal light for hunting at night" or "deer decoy device" to find a moose.
FAQ: Can I hunt a moose at night?
No. According to 17 MRSA 104, section 1, "A person may not hunt, shoot at or kill any wild bird or animal except during natural daylight. Killing coyotes at night is not permitted, except by permit."
FAQ: Is it legal to hunt moose at night?
No. Any violation of Maine shooting hour laws can be prosecuted under the Unlawful Acts surrounding 12 MRSA 11854, and that law has civil penalties or criminal penalties.