Hunter orange??

brnsvllyjohn · Aug 2, 2018

Since I deer hunt way more often than I hunt other big game I will ask on the deer forum.

Do you wear hunter orange if the state where you hunt does not require it?
I do not typically hunt areas that require hunter orange but I wear it 95% of the time. I wear a hat and an upland bird vest that has a lot of orange. We try to get everyone in our group to at least wear a hat but some do not like to wear any orange.

This of course refers to gun seasons and not archery.

nrpate05 · Aug 2, 2018

If it wasn't required I probably would only wear a hat at the most. I hunt CO and you have to wear a vest and I can't stand it for whatever reason. Just another thing to take on and off when swapping layers, etc. It is nice to be able to see other people so you don't hunt where they are, however.

scubohuntr · Aug 2, 2018

I'd rather wear orange than splattery red. So yes, I would wear orange even if the state I was hunting in didn't require it. I'd probably go to orange camo, but I definitely want other hunters to see me. This is not really so much about not getting shot as it is about not having some bozo set up thirty yards away because he had no idea I was there. If I'm wearing orange, I can assume he knows I'm there, and is just inconsiderate. Being a fairly snarky person myself, I'd probably stay put and take this opportunity to practice my elk bugles (especially if I'm not in elk country), and maybe start in on the semaphore version of Wuthering Heights (obscure Monty Python reference). Go ahead, Sparky, you just hunt right there. Good luck with it.

Carlin59 · Aug 2, 2018

In CO our regs are pretty strict (must wear a hat for example, if your pack covers too much orange supposedly getting ticketed for not having 500 inches of orange visible). However, with some of the craziness I've seen here, it doesn't really bother me to "orange up". I really like WY's system of one article (seems like most guys wear a hat, that is what i do). If i were to hunt a state that didn't require any orange, i think i would still stick with an orange hat, except maybe for a final stalk or peaking my head over a ledge to set up a shot. A hat is also useful for waving at someone, or a quick reference marker like "i shot from this position" when you go to check for blood.

nidahunter · Aug 2, 2018

Even though Idaho doesnt require it, I wear an orange camo vest. Just makes me feel better, and is one less thing i have to think about when i am sneaking through brush hoping another hunter doesnt mistake me for something else.

Meat Whack · Aug 2, 2018

If the state doesn’t require it no.

TLowell02 · Aug 2, 2018

Absolutely not. I can't stand wearing orange. I spend a pretty penny on quality gear that includes clothing for fit and function to then throw a poorly fitting and rather worthless piece of orange clothing over everything makes me angry the whole time I am hunting.

Plus there is something psychological crippling knowing that I am not completely stealthy, if only to human eyes. I want no creature to know I am present.

Dougfirtree · Aug 2, 2018

My home state of NY does not require it (one of the few examples of things in NY being less regulated than elsewhere). But, I wear it all the time, because it makes me and my wife feel better and I don't really think it hurts my chances. When I hunted in Wyoming last year, it depended on the country. In the open, I just wore a hat to be legal. In the "thick" timber, I did kinda miss my vest. I generally err on the side of wearing it, especially since a coworker lost her husband to a hunting accident about 10 years ago. He was shot in the head by another hunter, who thought he was a deer. Around here, most hunters do not wear blaze. I'm the exception.

grandejuan · Aug 2, 2018

AZ doesn't require it, and in over 40 years hunting here have never felt the need for it here. In other states where its required, of course. It still feels weird to wear it. In So. Dakota pheasant hunting, I always wear it. I've been peppered several times. I've heard the shot fall often in unharvested corn fields. Sounds like a swarm of bees. GJ

Jape · Aug 2, 2018

I like other hunters to see me, but have found an orange cap is sufficient for that purpose.

bobbydean · Aug 2, 2018

It depends on the area. War zone with a buttload of hunters wearing orange is a must. Hunting a remote area without the army of hunters I do not!

deer_shooter · Aug 2, 2018

I only wear it when required by law.

VikingsGuy · Aug 2, 2018

I want people with guns and questionable judgement to see me. In open ground a hat gets it done. In thicker cover a vest + hat are in order.

Laelkhunter · Aug 2, 2018

I wonder why the law requires only the hunter wear the orange? I see hunting shows all the time where the hunter is wearing orange as required, but the guide, the spotter, the camera man, etc are all in camo with no orange at all. If the orange is required for safety purposes, so that the hunter is not mistaken for game and shot at, why doesn't it carry over to "anyone in the field during rifle hunting season"?

And, I only wear it when required. I hunted in NM for quite a few years, and did not wear orange. I now hunt in Colorado, and am required to wear it, so I do.

Huntkook · Aug 2, 2018

deer_shooter said:
I only wear it when required by law.

Same here.

HighDesertSage · Aug 2, 2018

I would refer you to this thread: https://onyourownadventures.com/hun...hamber-or-not-to-chamber-That-is-the-question and let you decide for yourself.

I am of the opinion that an orange hat, at the very least is very easy to do.

AvidIndoorsman · Aug 2, 2018

Laelkhunter said:
I wonder why the law requires only the hunter wear the orange?...why doesn't it carry over to "anyone in the field during rifle hunting season"?

It would be impossible to enforce. For instance is a hiker/biker/etc. supposed to scour the regs every time they go out to determine if there is a rifle season going on in the unit they are recreating. There are so many seasons and game species and overlapping season in CO that I can never keep track. You might have rifle bear and sheep hunters in the same unit as bow elk hunters and deer hunters.

I usually wear a vest regardless of the requirements and am planning on bring a hat to AK in a couple of weeks just to make it easier for my buddies to glass me up when I'm on the other side of a valley. That said the statistics show that out west hunter orange makes no difference and I think it should be recommended but that individuals should not be compelled to wear it in the field.

tim629 · Aug 2, 2018

wllm1313 said:
It would be impossible to enforce. For instance is a hiker/biker/etc. supposed to scour the regs every time they go out to determine if there is a rifle season going on in the unit they are recreating. There are so many seasons and game species and overlapping season in CO that I can never keep track. You might have rifle bear and sheep hunters in the same unit as bow elk hunters and deer hunters.

I usually wear a vest regardless of the requirements and am planning on bring a hat to AK in a couple of weeks just to make it easier for my buddies to glass me up when I'm on the other side of a valley. That said the statistics show that out west hunter orange makes no difference and I think it should be recommended but that individuals should not be compelled to wear it in the field.

here in upstate NY muzzleloader is open during some nice weather for horseback riding, I think 90% of the people we pass on the trails (wife & I included) have orange vests, or yellow construction vests on. I agree as to why it isn't a law but just seems like common sense when you don't know who is behind what firearm.

personally I can see why some states out west may not be as big into orange due to how spread out you guys can be hunting, but here in NY as was already mentioned it isn't required and a lot of people won't wear it. My first year up here from PA I just assumed hunting= orange so was a bit surprised when a guy was sneaking along a fence row in full camo on a property he didn't have permission to be on.

some will say orange vest/hat is harmful to the hunt, last year in PA had the same 4-6 doe walk past me within 10 yards on 3 occasions while I was leaning against the base of a tree wearing carhartt bibs & coat and an orange vest & had

Laelkhunter · Aug 2, 2018

wllm1313 said:
It would be impossible to enforce. For instance is a hiker/biker/etc. supposed to scour the regs every time they go out to determine if there is a rifle season going on in the unit they are recreating. There are so many seasons and game species and overlapping season in CO that I can never keep track. You might have rifle bear and sheep hunters in the same unit as bow elk hunters and deer hunters.

I usually wear a vest regardless of the requirements and am planning on bring a hat to AK in a couple of weeks just to make it easier for my buddies to glass me up when I'm on the other side of a valley. That said the statistics show that out west hunter orange makes no difference and I think it should be recommended but that individuals should not be compelled to wear it in the field.

As it is now, you must be aware of the regulations if you go hunting. I guess same should apply to recreaters (hikers, etc). Posting signs at the trailhead that "Gun season in progress, Orange required" could work. Just like a person on a 4 wheeler that isn't hunting has to be aware of restrictions on motorized transport on the trails. If a gun season is in progress, then you are required to wear the orange, but I don't know if people bow hunting are required to wear orange, just because the rifle season is in progress. I was told by Colorado Game & Fish (via phone call) that you must comply depending on the "method of hunt season" bow or rifle as to when you have to comply with the orange requirement. Since I didn't bow hunt, I didn't think to ask if bowhunters need to wear orange during rifle season. I called because I was wondering if I still had to wear orange if rifle hunting on a private ranch with no other hunters. Answer was "Yes, still required if a gun season was in progress".

AvidIndoorsman · Aug 2, 2018

Laelkhunter said:
As it is now, you must be aware of the regulations if you go hunting. I guess same should apply to recreaters (hikers, etc). Posting signs at the trailhead that "Gun season in progress, Orange required" could work. Just like a person on a 4 wheeler that isn't hunting has to be aware of restrictions on motorized transport on the trails. If a gun season is in progress, then you are required to wear the orange, but I don't know if people bow hunting are required to wear orange, just because the rifle season is in progress. I was told by Colorado Game & Fish (via phone call) that you must comply depending on the "method of hunt season" bow or rifle as to when you have to comply with the orange requirement. Since I didn't bow hunt, I didn't think to ask if bowhunters need to wear orange during rifle season. I called because I was wondering if I still had to wear orange if rifle hunting on a private ranch with no other hunters. Answer was "Yes, still required if a gun season was in progress".

Again... just wouldn't work, and your analogy to the 4 wheeler is the way the current law is setup... the person doing the activity has to comply with the laws pertaining to that activity, i.e. rifle hunter has to comply with rifle hunting laws.

As far a bows and orange, an archery hunter with an archery only tag does not have to wear orange, regardless of whether there are rifle hunters in the field. However they must wear orange if they have a rifle tag or a tag that allows for take with any weapon that requires.

To your archery question; OTC Elk hunter doesn't have to wear orange even though it may overlap with a rifle season, someone choosing to use a bow to hunt an elk during a rifle season does need to wear orange. In MT if you hunt spring bear with a bow you have to wear orange because it's any weapon, during the fall you don't have to wear it during the archery season but would during the rifle season.

If you have an OTC archery elk tag you could be hunting contemporaneously with muzzleloader elk, early season rifle deer, rifle sheep, rifle goat, and rifle bear. In fact there is probably a orange required hunt going on somewhere in the state from August to February, those same lands are used by hikers, bikers, skiers, dirt bikers, etc. Should the 200+ people hiking a popular CO 14er have to wear orange because 1 guy has a sheep tag that for that unit even though they aren't even hunting that part of the mt range. Should people at a ski resort have to wear orange while they are skiing, resorts are on public land you technically can hunt them (exceptions exist) and there are late season cow tags that go for a huge portion of the ski season. There is no way I'm going to wear 4 months out of the riding my bike...also hunters make up a tiny fraction of those enjoying COs public lands. There are 960,000 hunters and anglers in CO each year and over 86 million tourists...

Obviously I'm being hyperbolic but you see my point.

Hunter orange??

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