Hunters orange

[Pegen]

I just bought an orange camo fleece vest at cabelas for $15. it's small, only 1/2 my torso length. I believe it to be just as good as plaid or camo, and it will keep me safe

[Catskill Longbow]

If the day ever comes here in NY that blaze orange is required to bowhunt I will become an outlaw.  I believe the deer see the solid color, even if it looks brown to them, as out of the ordinary.  I guess I am spoiled in a way because I don't have to hunt state land, and know that everyone in my woods knows the difference between a deer and a man, and if he can't tell then he shouldn't shoot.  I also know there are guys out there that don't follow this rule, hence I avoid state land during rifle season, but anyone that shoots at a human at bow range should be shot on the spot. (lol)

[wapitimike1]

I know a bunch of them and the one's I know are good guys. They still do walk in the woods if they notice you I believe, it's in there training. However all the poachers I've seen and it's plenty none of them had orange on!!

[monkeyball]

Read Guru's story in Hope and Faith 2009 and you will spray paint your whole body flo orange if you hunt the gun season.There are some crazy people out there,

                       Be careful,
                                Craig

[mcgroundstalker]

Here in the southern part of NY we have a Late Archery Season that runs along with Muzzleloader Season. (December 14th thru 22nd) Great time to be in the woods! BUT... Due to the in-line muzzle loaders with scopes and road hunting, you can bet your broadheads I'm gonna wear some blaze orange!

... mike ...

[**DONOTDELETE**]

You need to wash your vests in UV killer soap

[mjdglobal]

yep. i HATE orange, but here's no way i'm goin out there during gun season without it.  i'm in michigan and the previous posts are no exaggeration,  there's A LOT of hunters here.  Honestly, it can be very scary on public land.  I personally avoid it unless some friends and me head up north later in the gun season, but in the southern part of the state, be careful!

[Ian johnson]

I hunt with a guy who hunts sometimes in a blaze orange snow suit and he has killed more deer than any person i know and i have seen him get so close to deer in that suit that he could reach out and touch them, my first bowhunt two years ago was during gun season so I was wearing a blaze orange vest with a blaze orange hat and came within ten feet of a big doe while I was sitting at the base of a pine tree,  I dont beleive orange has an effect on deer, but thats just my opinion

[Neutron]

I once hunted rifle season on Thanksgiving day after a serious ice storm.  I had to drive about an hour to my hunting spot and I think maybe I saw only one other car.  No one was out.  I was sitting in a tree stand and got picked off by a buck, I believe he saw my blaze even with ice over everything.  I got some camo blaze cloth and made a serape kind of deal out of it.  Yep like Clint Eastwood in a spagetti western except its blaze camo. (If I could figure out how to insert that whistle from the sound track right here I would     Its a large rectangular piece with a head hole with velcro tabs on the sides to hold it in place.  The sides are just open except for the velcro.  I can wear it over anything.  Ususally wear a fanny pack belted over it to further keep it from blowing or slipping.  I have had several critters including turkeys get really close to me with it on.  Sometimes they stop and look me over and if I am still they relax and keep walking.

[Killdeer]

We had a fatality here in Virginia a week ago. A 23-year-old forestry student was killed and her companion wounded by an idiot with a scoped rifle.

I have had no bad experience with game wardens, I consider them to be allies with a difficult job. I miss the one who retired, as I could count on a friendly chat each fall when he would visit. He probably had a lot of doubts when I showed him my arrows with knapped heads. And yes, a couple of days after I killed a doe, he "happened" by, and I delighted in showing him the heads, the deer, and the vertebrae I was boiling, with the holes in them where the points had struck. His eyes and his grin widened, and I think he changed his mind about me.    

Killdeer

[Bill Kissner]

Safety in the woods is nothing more than educating the hunters. Seeing, knowing your target, and whats behind it, is all that is needed for hunter safety. Most accidental shootings are caused by novice's or people that are infrequent hunters.

We had a young man of 16 that shot his 20 year old friend in the back with an arrow. He mistook him for a turkey. This happened this fall about 10 miles from my house on public land. This teenager will have this on his conscience for the rest of his life.

He was hunting on an apprentice license and was supposed to be with a parent or guardian. He had NOT taken the hunter safety course. Whether that would have changed the outcome, we will never know. Probably if his friend was in orange, it might have been different although it is not required in bow season. Again, education is the key, the orange is so the dummies that are out there will not shoot you.

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

As many others have said I wear the solid blaze orange fleece and have never had a problem with being spotted.  Maybe the solid color is a little more alarming if the deer notice your movement.  For example if a deer notices your movement in a broken pattern like camo deer may be more likely to dismiss it as the wind blowing tree branches or such, but when wearing a solid color if they notice the movement and look up there's a solid unbroken outline that is easier to see.

[amar911]

Wearing blaze orange while around any firearms hunting is a good thing, including shotgun bird hunting. It is just too darn easy for someone to shoot you without really seeing you or recognizing what you are. Greg Lemond, the first American to win the Tour de France bicycle race, was shot and almost killed by a shotgun blast when his brother-in-law thought he was a turkey. And that was when Lemond was wearing blaze orange. The brother-in-law thought the orange was a gobbler's red head, as stupid as that sounds. It is comforting for me to see blaze orange spots in the woods during gun season and know that people can see what might be behind the animal they are trying to shoot. It is next to impossible for me to see most hunters in camo in the woods when they are not moving. It would be easy to think they were just bushes behind the target animal.

For deer hunting I prefer the blaze orange camo versus the solid orange too. The camo pattern breaks up the solid outline. Fortunately, here in Oklahoma the orange camo is legal, and bowhunters only have to wear it during gun season -- and then only a relatively small amount of it. Here is the Oklahoma regulation.

"Deer hunters using archery equipment during any antelope, deer or elk firearms (muzzleloader or gun) season in any open hunting area (zone, county, or area) must conspicuously wear either a head covering or an outer garment above the waistline consisting of hunter orange. Camouflage hunter orange is legal."

Allan

[Don Stokes]

"It is just too darn easy for someone to shoot you without really seeing you or recognizing what you are."

Just ask our former Vice President!

[far rider]

Have to wear in NC during the gun season, reguardless of weapon used. Requirement is that your orange must be visible from all angles, and doesn't address the type of clothing so I use a blaze orange head band made of fleece about 3" wide. I seldom hunt public land though, but when I do, I wear a fleece vest during the walk in or out, and my head band while in the stand. I spook so many deer through all seasons, hard to know if it is my clothing or my poor stalking skill!!!  

[rambo1993]

deer cannot see color but no matter how much cover there is on the ground they will see you trying to draw or pull the bow up take my advice and hunt from a tree stand 20 ft up

[Mo. Huntin]

I agree with uncle buck 100%.  One of the biggest rules in rifle hunting safety is to know your background.  It is easier to see a hunter 250 yards away with orange on than not.  I often will let small bucks walk by me sometimes at very close range and I worry a little about that even with orange on.  I use a soft material type vest instead of the really cheap plastic ones.  I have stood in an open field and had a deer walk by me at 15 yards and he did not even notice me untill he got down wind at 10 yards.  If you know and are following the rules it should not be a problem at all for a warden to stop you at your truck.  I will admitt that sometimes you almost need a lawyer to understand the rules sometimes though.