Best hunting times today: sunrise, sunset and solunar windows

How to find the best hunting times for today: legal shooting light, sunrise and sunset, solunar major and minor periods, and how to pick one window to hunt.

You have one morning or one evening. Which hours should you be in the stand? The best hunting times today come from three layers: legal light, sunrise and sunset, and solunar windows. Stack them and the answer gets clear.

Layer 1: legal shooting hours

Before anything else, know when you're allowed to shoot. Rules vary by country, state and species:

Many US states allow deer hunting from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset; some end at sunset.
US migratory waterfowl hours are generally half an hour before sunrise to sunset.
In Italy the general rule is one hour before sunrise to sunset, with selective hunting of ungulates allowed until one hour after sunset.

Always check your current regulations. Solunar shows today's exact sunrise and sunset for your position, so you can work out legal light without a signal.

Layer 2: dawn and dusk

Most game is crepuscular. Deer, boar, turkeys going to and from roost, ducks flying to feed: the first and last hour of light are the busiest of the day. If you can only hunt one block, hunt one of these. The daily rhythm of deer is covered in deer feeding times.

Layer 3: solunar windows

Solunar theory adds up to four windows per day:

Major periods (about 2 hours), centered on the moon overhead or underfoot.
Minor periods (about 1 hour), centered on moonrise and moonset.

They move about 50 minutes later each day, so a window that falls at dawn on Monday is mid-morning by Wednesday. Full explanation in major vs minor periods.

How to pick today's best window

Open today's rating. 3–4 stars: worth rearranging your day. 1–2 stars: hunt your usual hours with low expectations.
Look for a sun stack. A major or minor overlapping sunrise or sunset is the best hunting time of the day.
No overlap? Hunt the dawn or dusk block anyway, and if a major falls at midday, consider a midday sit near bedding cover, especially in the rut.
Check the weather. A cold front or a big temperature drop outweighs the table. See deer movement forecast.
Arrive early. Be settled 30 minutes before the window opens.

Example

Sunrise 6:52, sunset 17:21. Today's major runs 16:30–18:30 and the day has 3 stars. Evening sit it is: the major covers the last hour of light, a classic sun stack. The morning minor at 10:15 is a backup if you can't make the evening.

Different quarry, same method

Deer: dawn and dusk, rut middays. See deer hunting and the moon.
Wild boar: mostly night and twilight; the moon's light matters more than its position. See wild boar hunting and the moon.
Waterfowl and turkey: first light dominates, with windows used to choose which morning.