🌅 Legal shooting hours calculator
Sunrise, sunset and shooting light (½ hour before sunrise) for any refuge, WPA or GPS point — for a single day or a whole season. Times are computed in your browser with the NOAA solar algorithm and shown in the location's local time zone.
How shooting hours work
For migratory game birds — ducks, geese, doves, woodcock and others — federal frameworks set shooting hours from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset, with a few exceptions (for example some light-goose conservation orders). States adopt these hours and may be stricter, and individual refuges often shorten them further (e.g. ending at 1 p.m. or noon on certain units).
Big game, turkey and small game hours are set by each state. Many use ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset for deer, while spring turkey hours often end at 1 p.m. or at sunset depending on the state. Always check your state regulations and the refuge hunt brochure.
Sunrise and sunset here use the standard definition (sun's upper limb at the horizon with atmospheric refraction, zenith 90.833°). Results are typically within a minute of official tables; terrain and weather do not change legal times.