Do you wear Orange? If so why? If not Why not? :)

[burmjohn]

My apologies. Good luck this hunting season.  I bet you wont see me lol

Now that was funny.

[EagleCrag]

I never wear it in the northern zone where I do most of my hunting, but I always wear it in the southern zone, except while bowhunting.

[bubba]

since I a in northern zone and say it is necessary, can you tell us why you do not feel the need not to wear in the north.  In other words please explain how the whole attitude in the north is different

Ty

[onemore]

Yes I wear it, even on private land.

[buckshot]

??? yes i wear orange hats also during gun-seasons also anybody who shoots at movement or sound really don't need to be in woods don't shoot till you know absolutley that it's a deer.

[bubba]

ok here is a run down of my weekend.  yesterday I was in my treestand during muzzleloading. I was wearing camo. I got shot at when I was 17 feet in the air. I used my cat like refexes and ducked the bullet.  Unfortunately, I was not wearing a safety harness, so I fell out of my stand.  Luckily, I landed on a tree branch and then onto the back of a deer that was under the stand.  He took off running and crashed into a tree.  I was not wearing my motorcycle helmet, so I got a bump on my head.  I know this will be removed and I will say it is meant to be taken lightly.  In other words all laugh a little.  It keeps the Dr away better than any apple grown. 

[burmjohn]

We never remove posts so dont worry, and I hope your bump is OK.

[ny_deer_hunter]

http://www.kboi2.com/news/local/105268488.html

Pretty much sums it up.  I know in PA you have to wear Orange anytime your not in a treestand for archery. 

[SteveB]

http://www.kboi2.com/news/local/105268488.html

Pretty much sums it up.  I know in PA you have to wear Orange anytime your not in a treestand for archery.

yep - its a law in Pa. Yet the actual rate of compliance is higher in NY where it remains common sense.

[steve863]

If it isn't law in NY, how can the compliance rate actually be determined?  If it's just random sampling like they do for who is for or against AR's, or for the annual deer kill totals calculating in the people who don't report their deer, I don't know if I would believe this high compliance rate.  I have seen plenty of hunters wearing full camo during the gun season in southeastern NY over the years.  It is mind boggling why they trust their fellow man so much, but I don't know if I would say that the compliance rate in NY is anywhere near 90%.

[ny_deer_hunter]

Compliance or non-compliance, I would never go out in the woods without orange.  Now with turkey opening up this weekend in the southern zones I even put orange around the tree when I am up.  Never know what people think or see when out in the woods.  I understand the use of full camo for archery and turkey hunting, but it all comes down to common sense.  If your hunting in an area where there is ANY chance you will run into another hunter.  Bring some orange, wear it when walking, and be safe.  No deer, bear, or turkey is worth a chest full of lead or an accident that you may regret.

[nyantler]

I wear an orange hat just so I don't get shot in the head!

[bubba]

why th eneed fo rfll camo for archery. It is said that deer do not see it?

[Jennifer]

Doc,

Many, many pages back you asked about a turkey's color vision. I just today read this thread (what a whopper!!) so forgive the very late response.

Here is an article in color vision in birds: http://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/17B.html

In short, it is understood by science that birds actually see a greater spectrum of colors than we humans do, and some species see well into the ultraviolet range of the spectrum. As an avid turkey hunter, I can attest that turkeys have about the most keen eyesight in the woods and sure do see blaze orange, and sometimes it seems like they see it from miles away!

Deer are dichromats, we humans are trichromats, and turkeys are tetrachromats. This means, essentially, that deer see the least amount of color information, where birds see the most.

Like all other animals, including ourselves, it is movement that causes the most problems. I have had turkey approach orange tree bands and the like in the woods... they seem about as alarmed by them as they do hot pink survey ribbon that everyone uses... which is to say, not at all. The moment an orange hat or vest moves though, and zoom, they are outta there! For this reason we own a few of those 'safety' bands which are blaze orange and are meant to tie around the tree you are sitting at the base of.

Deer, being dichromats, don't see color nearly the way we do. They see movement, and shapes better than any color. If you are wearing blaze orange against a dark stand of trees or hemlocks, you will stand out to them! Break the blaze orange up with black camo pattern (my orange suit is so old that such things didn't exist when it was purchased, so we used black fabric paint to draw lines and blotches on it) and make sure you are not silhouetted and the deer are going to have a very hard time making you out. Combine this with not moving, and your biggest problem is the deer scenting or hearing you, not spotting you.

Being silhouetted or against a contrasting 'background' will make you stand out to a deer, blaze orange or full camo! Based on my experiences and what we know about deer vision today, I feel I can be as safe as possible in my head to toe blaze orange suit, and still go unseen most of the time by deer, especially when choosing a place to set up. Obviously full camo makes this easier, but it is not impossible with blaze orange by any means. Deer will walk right up to your blaze orange.. if it is broken up visually to them, you are not silhouetted, and you are not moving.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Great post Jennifer---and welcome

[Mr VJP]

Deer and turkey do see BO for sure.  They may not see it like we do, but they surely can see it.  It also makes it easier for them to see movement. 

If you are wearing camo and move a little they may not see it.  But if you are wearing BO and move, they will surely see it, as it stands out in the woods against the natural background.  That's why they invented camo BO, to try and make it blend in better.

[Isles323]

What about wearing it only to and from the tree stand?

[Big John]

WOW Doc and Bubba you guys must be married........

[bubba]

nah I like him too much to marry him.

[wztirem]

WOW Doc and Bubba you guys must be married........

I suspect that they were once joined at the hip.

[Hidehunter12]

i wear full camo and a orange vest/hat when i sit i just wear the hat.im a ground hunter never really got into the whole tree stand thing.

[16. ga hunter]

all ways wear blaze soild vest for deer hat & upland vest for birds

[JimS]

Years ago when hunting private land I did not wear any orange. I did keep a hat with me that I could wear or wave if I saw another hunter, which was almost never. Now that I have been forced (kicking and screaming all the way) to hunt on DEC lands I wear orange all the time. Even with a ton of orange on I have walked up on hunters and had some walk up to me and they did not even see me until we were almost next to each other. I am not too sure some of the other hunters can see orange as well as the deer can.

Jim

[sits in trees]

do you think wearing blaze should become law, i think it should.

[JimS]

I really don't know if we need another law that tells us we should use common sense. I make sure of what I am shooting at and what is behind it before I pull the trigger. I don't think making it a law to wear blaze orange will make a big difference. I know I have seen that most of the shootings that take place around here the victim was wearing orange. I think there should be better training for anyone who wants to hunt. I know that the required training in NY is already pretty long but when I went with my wife for her hunter safety course it was only what I would consider the very basics. Maybe if it had some required range time and a marksmanship test along with the Q & A part it would be a bit better. Some of the targets could be a shoot or no shoot type that had an animal with an unsafe background behind it. I bet most of the shooters would fire away at any animal targer regardless of what is behind it. If the applicants were given 6 or 8 targets to shoot at you could see if they are paying attention to what is beyond the target animal. Just don't let them know they are being tested to see if they should shoot or not. If nothing else I think it would be an interesting experiment to see how people would react and what they consider to be a safe shot. It might be fun to see how some seasoned hunters react also. I know some guys that have been hunting over 20 years that I don't consider safe or ethical hunters because of shots thay have taken at deer that I would never even consider taking.