I live and hunt in Ohio. Spot Lighting deer is against the law. Anyone taking taking game by any manner other method than legal,ethical methods flat make me sick to my stomach. And since their is always a few bad apples messing things up for honest folks. I know this law will never change. I have often thouhgt how fun it would be to drive around with a spot light to see the deer. Just for the sheer enjoyment of watching them. Guess I'll never know.

it is aginst the law here in florida too.

we spotlight late at night but we dont have any firearms at all, we see many deer at night, if we get pulled over by the DNR, they just check to see if we have any weapons then let us go. the local cops do this also, so i think that it is ok.

be careful who-else up here in Maine if you are spot lightinng deer they will arrest you even with no guns in the car. I don't know how far they will persue it in the court system,and it's not worth it to me to find out. ( I asked a local cop on this as I thought it would be a neat thing for my kids to see the deer feeding in the High Schools football field ...he quickly changed my mind)

Here in PA It is legal to spotlight deer until 11pm. After that you must leave them alone. I have done this for about 6 years. We have been pulled over by DNR 1 time for spotting in the woods, but it wasnt illegal just wondering why? And we told them they werent in the fields like they were in the woods. I would hate to not be able to spot deer. Always do it night before hunting. During the season its illegal to though.

Tim

We spotlight a lot on our own land just checking out the population of deer and coyotes. Its legal to hunt with a shotgun own our own land for varmits with a spotlight. Its a no no anytime during deer season. We got stoped one night during deer season looking for a cow that didn't come in. Lucky for us there were no guns in the pickup gun rack since it was our land and we didn't have a gun they didn't bother us. Just checking to see what we were doing.

Spotting and shooting two diff thangs! We used to go spot the fields at night (without guns) and it was fun, particularly when a monster looked up in a group of smaller deer. Can't be good to spook em night before a am hunt although somw say it doesn't matter. Gary

Here in NY it is legal to use a spotlight to observe deer as long as you are over 500' from anybuilding unless you own it or have permission to spot it. You must either not have a gun in the vehicle or have it securely fastened in a case.
I like taking my son (he's 4) for a ride on a nice night so he can see the deer. He really enjoys it. But we do have a fair share of people who cann't resist to shoot w/ their light. My uncle caught 6 different people jacking in his meadow this year! You'd think people would learn.

In Indiana it is legal as long as there are no firearms in the vehicle. I enjoy spotlighting very much. Many times I take along the camcorder. It is also a good way to get a 3 year old kid to go to sleep.

I believe it's illegal here in Ont as well!

nubo