Inside Out Outdoors

Here at Inside Out Outdoors we keep a close eye on the always changing hunting regulations, mostly in NC for now.  With that being said, I have reviewed the latest publication of the NC Wildlife regulations here.  A great feature of the publication is that all of the changes from the previou year are written in red text to make them stand out!  One of the regulations that caught my eye was the following:

    "If a hunter kills or wounds a big game animal during legal shooting
     hours the hunter may use a portable light source and a single dog
     on a leash to assist the hunter in retrieving the dead or wounded
     big game animal and may dispatch a wounded big game animal
     using a .22-caliber rimfire pistol, archery equipment, or a handgun
     otherwise legal for that hunting season. If necessary, the hunter
     may also retrieve wounded big game in this manner from 30 minutes
     after sunset to 11:00 p.m. The hunter may not use a motorized
     vehicle when searching for the wounded animal"

I'm happy to see that NC has allowed the use of dogs to find wounded game!  More and more states are allowing this type of retrieval method.  In summary, a hunter who kills or wounds a big game animal during legal shooting hours can use a portable light source such as a spot light, lantern, etc, in combination with ONE dog on a leash to help find the animal.  Not only can you do this during daylight hours but you can also track in this fashion until 11:00pm.  This gives the hunter a chance to find their game that they have shot close to dark!  If the animal is still alive once found it may be killed using a .22-caliber rimfire pistol, archery equipment or a hand gun that is legal for that hunting season.  If we are talking about deer season, this handgun must fulfill the following requirement as documented on page 42 of the hunting regulations:

    "Deer, bear and wild boar may be taken with a handgun during the
    established gun hunting season provided that the handgun is not
    less than .24-caliber.  Muzzleloading pistols are not legal for hunting."

Also remember that handguns cannot be carried during the Archery season except for big game retrieval!

Please give the latest edition of the regulations a read before you head to the field this year to make sure you know all of the latest regulation changes and additions!  I'm really happy about this new addition to the regulations as it should hopefully help hunters find their game without having to wait until morning to finish tracking.  This should also help decrease the number of deer that are lost and/or spoil due to the NC heat during the early season.  If you have any questions please let us know and we can contact the Wildlife commission and get clarification.  Remember, if you just want to give the regs a quick glance to see if anything is different, look for the red text as that indicates changes from the previous year.

-Paul Nicolucci

Just wanted to share something I've been meaning to for a few weeks now.  In this internet age, a lot of us have come to like how easy it is to buy licenses, obtain maps and information and apply for draw hunts.  While many states have been doing this for years now, NC has finally allowed you to apply for permit hunts online.  If you are like me and know more about the NCWRC's computer system than the person working it at your local sporting goods store, then this is a time saver and way less stressful.  So head on over to the NCWRC's home page and click on the button on the side that says "Permit Hunt Opportunities Apply Online".  Hopefully I'll see you out there this season!

-C.B.

As promised, we want to keep you up to date with local wildlife news, specifically here in North Carolina.  Recently the North Carolina Wildlife Commission approved for review about 55 changes to the current wildlife regulations.  What does this mean? Well, in short, there are public hearings held throughout the different districts of the state, sometimes specifically in the areas where the proposals are for (if only for a particular county).  A list of the hearings can be found here. 

A document listing all of the proposed laws can be found here.   What follows is an excerpt from one of the news updates:

"House Bill 432, which was passed by the General Assembly in June, removes this practice from G.S. § 113-291.1 and gives authority to the Commission to regulate electronic calls for all game animals and birds. The law goes into effect October 1. In order for hunters to continue using electronic calls for crows and coyotes after September 30, the Commission must pass temporary and permanent rules to maintain the status quo. If approved, the temporary rules will go into effect on October 1 and would likely be replaced by permanent rules on January 1, 2012. The Commission’s public hearing schedule appears below.

House Bill 432 also changes the status of feral swine to wild animals and deletes the term “wild boar.” All wild animals must have a season set by Commission rules to make hunting that species legal. The Commission is proposing a temporary rule which declares feral swine (hogs) as a species with no closed season and no bag limits. This temporary rule would also go into effect October 1. An identical permanent rule is proposed to go into effect January 1, 2012. 

Please note that as of October 1, all persons shooting feral swine (hogs) must have a hunting license or a depredation permit, except for people who are otherwise license-exempt." 

Public Hearing for Proposed Temporary Rules for Crows, Coyotes and Feral Swine (Hogs)

July 27
7 p.m.
Centennial Campus for Wildlife Education
1751 Varsity Dr.
Raleigh, N.C.  27606

Also, season dates have been decided on for dove and other webless migratory game birds, as well as September seasons for teal and Canada geese.  The season dates can be found here.  I'm excited and can't wait to get out and do some waterfowl hunting this year!!!!

Have questions about the above?  Let us know and we can try to contact the commissioners for more information as well as pass along any specific questions.

-Paul Nicolucci

With this entry being my first on Inside Out, I'd like to give a bit of background about myself to give this post some context.  Up until about two years ago, I did the majority of my outdoor activities in Upstate Central New York.  Upon moving to NC I met Cory, who has shown me around the great state of North Carolina.  In my experience thus far, the hunting laws in North Carolina differ greatly from those of New York.  For example, one can't hunt on Sundays in NC (with the exception of bow hunting on private land).  This has greatly reduced the number of days I can hunt by half, due to holding a full time job Monday through Friday.  In addition to the reduced number of allowed hunting days on weekends, there are many other differences that a hunter must understand to ensure they hunt within the set regulations of North Carolina. 

I recently ran into another unique situation here in NC just a couple of weeks ago.  I was invited to hunt coyote with a friend of mine, who is also from NY.  With my friend saying he would get a spot light, we planned to hunt the evening and continue into the night (In NY, a hunter is allowed to spotlight certain wildlife during their open seasons as long as deer season is not active). I decided I had better look up the regulations in NC just to ensure that the laws in NC were the same as NY.  To my disappointment, they are not!  A hunter in NC can not use a spot light to take any wildlife at night.  We had to change our hunting tactics to try and adapt to this, hunting as close to dusk as possible while still abiding by the local laws.
            
My experiences in the situations mentioned go to show that hunting laws differ greatly from state to state and a hunter must ensure that they understand all local laws in order to take game legally.  Luckily we have the internet in this day and age that we can turn to in order to look up the game laws in each state.  North Carolina has one of the nicest online hunting  and fishing regulation websites I have seen.  If you are ever unsure of a law in NC you should take a look at the posted materials posted here.  From looking at the multiple online forums for hunting I have also found that there are many people who are petitioning their local Commissioners to try and change the laws in NC for night hunting and hunting on Sundays as well as other laws that would give local hunters more opportunities.  To contact your local commissioner see the following link: Commissioner Contacts.

I hope this information helps anyone who is unsure of a hunting regulation, or who would like to see NC adapt regulations that are common in other states.

 -Paul Nicolucci