Has the idea been approached

[Grizz1219]

To go with blaze orange during gun season and shooting times from 1/2 hour before sunrise to a 1/2 hour after sunset??? We all know guys are shooting at that time any ways... And the guys following the law are losing out... Other states around have it, even my backward azz state does it...

[Guns&ReligionCop]

100% AGREE , GOOD SUGGESTION. I wear orange anyway

Edited December 3, 2012 by Guns&ReligionCop

[13BVET]

Wow! Even Mass. has it? Boy, we're behind the eight ball here!

[First-light]

I agree. I could had a nice 120-130lbs doe hanging Saturday morning but it was just about 6:30.

[Grizz1219]

Exactly... I can see PERFECT long before sunrise and long after sunset... And with mandatory hunter orange, safety is a non issue with the time... No clue why we can't bow hunt those times now... Unreal... Have your state bow hunter org's work with the state....

[MACHINIST]

I would love it,2 deer that I can think on some state land I hunt are still walking because of this

Edited December 3, 2012 by MACHINIST

[sampotter]

That would be a decent compromise.

[Sambuca]

I am all in favor of the hunter orange requirement. I always wear a vest and cap even on my own land. I wouldn't go out without it. Can't hunt next year if I get shot this year. And if you are out there, I really want to see you so I can be as safe as possible. I grew up hunting in WI and there never was a shortage of deer killed even with the blaze orange requirement.

I'm fine with the sunrise sunset rule. Idiots will shoot before legal time even if its set at 4 AM to 9 PM. First shot I heard this year was 6:22. Dozens followed before legal time. I just sit tight hoping that got the deer moving. From a deer management perspective though, if the DEC wants the tags sold to be filled, 1/2 hour befor and after would help.

[fasteddie]

I am totally against making Blaze Orange MANDATORY . I don't gun hunt without it . I wear a Blaze orange vest , hat and back tag . I wear it for my personal safety .

Making it mandatory could prove to be less safe . Guys won't wear it and shooters will think that if they see something move that doesn't have orange , they may shoot .

As for the shooting time . If it was the same as duck hunting 1/2 hr before sunrise , etc , there still would be those that would shoot earlier because they have enough light , blah blah blah ......

[ELMER J. FUDD]

I wish there was a way to make mandatory "know your target"...

[New York Hillbilly]

Hey Elmer I think there is a way..........."outlaw stupid people". Nothing ever "looks like a deer" and gets shot at in my book. Accidents can and may still happen, but anyone that ever claims they "thought it was a deer" and shot should do "mandatory jail time" as far as I'm concerned. No exceptions!

[fasteddie]

Another problem is , the laws don't get enforced tough enough . The court doesn't come down hard enough on killings / woundings as a result of careless accidents . Makes you wonder what value is put on a human life .

[SteveB]

I don't know anybody who gunhunts and doesn't wear bo.

Don't understand how another law would change that.

[growalot]

I sure the Hell do!...and when I climb into one of my stands and see a guy dressed in full camo scurrying away from my property line it ticks me off royally...what if I had a deer come in as I was walking to the stand ...on my land and missed...hitting the idiot in total camo hiding in the briars just the other side of the line....even if I wasn't charged...my life...his life and the lifes of our families shot to hell!...There are a bunch around here that wear no orange at all...in hill country with a ton of brush

[Doc]

I don't know anybody who gunhunts and doesn't wear bo.

Don't understand how another law would change that.

I have had two occasions where I ran into guys dressed head to toe in camo, during opening day, on a very heavily pressured parcel of state land. One even even had face-paint on. I didn't see either until I was practically on top of them.

According to some of the NYS accident stats, it sounds like there are quite a few of them out there. It's a simple act of safety to wear BO, and it is true that most of us already wear it (because we seriously place some value on our lives). As far as hunters becoming conditioned to shooting anything that isn't orange, that's an interesting theory, but is not something that I have heard of as being a problem in states that have the law. On the other hand maybe not having the law is a way of applying Darwin's Law. Perhaps we can get some of the bad genes out of the pool by leaving the BO decision up to each individual....lol.

As far as extending shooting hours, I have to say that the other night, when it was heavily overcast and there was a slight bit of fog, and I was heading home through an old hemlock woods, 1/2 hour after the end of legal shooting hours was not even close to being safe shooting light. We always judge these things by what we can see on a clear night and ideal weather, and out in relatively open areas. That's not always the case. What the heck, get a full moon and a layer of snow on the ground and you could hunt all night with a good scope. Should we base the shooting hours on that? Look, if I have to rely on near nocturnal hunting for success, maybe I should take up some other form of recreation. I think I can easily live with the hunting hours that have been in effect. Those limits are as good as any. Yes, we hear plenty of shots outside the legal hunting hours (some that are actually in the dark). And just because there are those that don't abide by the laws, that doesn't mean that we should change the laws to accomodate law-breakers.

[Makwa]

Why does everyone want to make everything a bloody 'LAW'? How about leaving it up to the individual and the game department just saying we recommend it. It is because of this way of thinking that the US is inundated with so many regulations that your average person is guilty of doing something wrong avery 5 minutes. You have to wear a helmet riding your bicycle, blah, blah, blah!!!!

Where I live we have the blaze orange law during rifle season. I can't even hunt on my own farm without wearing blaze orange even if no one has permission to hunt on it. I can go for a walk, take my dogs for a run, ride a horse, dig in my garden, go out and sit and take pictures of animals from my tree stand, go birding or sit in the bush and pick the lint out of my navel without blaze orange.......... just a hunter has to wear it. When did the act of carrying the rifle make you suddenly more likely to get shot accidentally than if I am just out for a walk??????? You want mandatory blaze orange then it should be for everyone out there doing anything during deer season............... or don't they deserve the same miraculous safety of the blaze orange?????

As for the 1/2 hour thing........ I agree. We have the shooting hours where I live from a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset and there is still actually a lot of light. If it is cloudy and you are in heavy woods this would be the max extension of legal hours that should reasonably looked at as it does get pretty murky and definition is greatly reduced by that time.

[WNYBuckHunter]

I honestly dont give a rats patoot if they make Blaze Orange mandatory. I wear it anyhow, and I personally think youre a dippy do if you dont during gun season. Whether it becomes mandatory or not, anyone that shoots another hunter and says they mistook the person for a deer, or any other game, or says they were shooting at movement or a noise in the bushes, needs to get the death penalty, PERIOD! Theres no excuse.

I would be all for the change to 1/2 hour before sunrise and 1/2 hour after sunset. It works just fine in other states. You are always going to have people that stretch things or just plain break the laws, why punish everyone for their actions? Enforce whatever laws are in place.

[Doc]

Yes, it seems like we have laws that cover just about everything. We have laws against hunting in the dark, we have laws against shooting across roads, we have laws against how close to dwellings we can discharge a gun/bow, we have all kinds of laws that regard safety. I don't know where we cross over the line and actually start over-regulating ourselves on the basis of safety. But so far, I have not seen any of these laws that I cannot live with. I already comply with BO in gun season, and there is no way that I would go out into the woods without it. But I have also seen those that don't have the sense that God gave a goose, wandering around out there like fools with a death wish, dressed in full camo. Like I said above, maybe that is just a way of weeding out the dumb ones. I'll be honest with you, I have no strong feelings on whether it becomes mandatory or not, but of all the safety laws, something like a BO law probably would be the one that makes a whole lot of sense and is the easiest to conform to.

[wooly]

This is one of those debates that will never grow old and never make both sides happy. BO is a good thing for everybody IMO, and I'd have no problem with a minimum requirement of say at least a hat. Yup, even for birdwatchers, photographers, and belly button pickers,lol.

Target identification is obviously most important, but I'll be the first to admit I've had my own eyes play tricks on me out there somedays. BUT, most times that has happened was in the low light periods around dusk and dawn when even BO becomes less effective.

I'm ok with any way the laws are written now or any changes that may be made in the future. Adapting to changes that affect how everyone hunts would just be another obstacle to overcome as a hunter that would make sucess that much sweeter.

Hunter safety should be of upmost importance, not how hard it is for some to kill a deer before sunset or after sunrise.

[growalot]

a dippy do

Hahahahaha...man this was getting depressing on these threads this morning...I needed that...Thanks!!

[Paula]

that is funny

[WNYBuckHunter]

Where I live we have the blaze orange law during rifle season. I can't even hunt on my own farm without wearing blaze orange even if no one has permission to hunt on it. I can go for a walk, take my dogs for a run, ride a horse, dig in my garden, go out and sit and take pictures of animals from my tree stand, go birding or sit in the bush and pick the lint out of my navel without blaze orange.......... just a hunter has to wear it. When did the act of carrying the rifle make you suddenly more likely to get shot accidentally than if I am just out for a walk??????? You want mandatory blaze orange then it should be for everyone out there doing anything during deer season............... or don't they deserve the same miraculous safety of the blaze orange?????

Is it really inconveniencing you that much? Whats the big deal? Honestly? Its like a seat belt law, does it really hurt you to take 2 seconds and buckle up? I think there are alot of better, more substantial issues to worry about, dont you?

[growalot]

Why does everyone want to make everything a bloody 'LAW'?

Because over 50yrs ago we started breeding "Common" sense out of the human race

Edited December 4, 2012 by growalot

[mxsmitz201]

ok so we get the "blaze orange" law passed....then i wear a flourescent yellow vest. do i get a ticket am i now a law breaker!? haha

if it was mandatory for people to wear BO even walking their dog, id see a whole hell of a lot more of my old c-nile neighbor who likes to do hot laps around mine and his properties even though i have 2 foodplots, trail cams, and tree stands in plain site along with a huge hunting hut that i just built that he has to walk right past. no thank you, id rather not see him more than i already do.

[screamon demon]

Just my personal observation but I see a lot of guys who do not bow hunt that do not wear blaze orange. Apparently I get my camo fix while archery hunting because come gun day my ass has on a bo vest and hat.