Hunter "Blaze" Orange

[Buckskin Dave]

I'm from Pa and we have to wear a blaze orange hat and 250 square inches of orange visible on your chest and back for most of our hunting seasons.   The  main exception to this law is flintlock muzzle loader season, no orange required. . Which is my favorite season to hunt.     I've always hated walking around glowing like a pumpkin but its a fact of life if you want to hunt.   Ive always heard it saves lives and maybe it does.      But if it really makes that big a difference why doesn't NY require it be worn?  It may be that PA at one time had a great many hunters in the woods at once but  this isn't the case in most areas any more.  I hunt the ANF and often don't see another hunter for days.    I'm looking forward to hunting the NZ this year and I'm glad I don't have to wear orange.     If I find there is more hunters than I expect maybe Ill wear a blaze orange hat.     How many of you hunting the NZ wear orange and whats you opinion on it? 

[ATbuckhunter]

Not sure why NY doesn't require it, but you only risk your life even more if you don't wear it. I only hunt private land and you'll never see me with out blaze orange during gun season now. It only takes one trespasser. 

[Lawdwaz]

Optionally choosing blaze orange is the way to go. I wear it when walking in gun season but not too often on stand. 

My choice.......

 

[Dinsdale]

This could be as good as the 223 thread......

[rachunter]

I wear camo blaze orange hat and/or gloves up in the NZ .Doesn't bother me one bit

[Bionic]

I wear an orange hat, until in my stand.  I want to make it back to the cabin to eat until I am uncomfortable.

[Gencountyzeek]

The way ive heard it, if its required to wear orange and billy bob sees movement and doesnt see orange hes feels safer to shoot. I guess it should make u think twice about shooting at movement. I wear orange bibs during gun, always seem to kill deer.

[Lawdwaz]

58 minutes ago, Dinsdale said:

This could be as good as the 223 thread......

Gawd I hope not..................

[Pygmy]

Where's BUBBA when you need him ??...Hehehe...

[Buckskin Dave]

1 hour ago, Dinsdale said:

This could be as good as the 223 thread......

I doubt it gets that bad.   Maybe if I could have worked big foot into it. Well see. 

Edited March 15, 2018 by Buckskin Dave

[G-Man]

Not required. I wear it gun season usually a hat or a vest..sometimes both.. I own my own property but someone always sneaks on

 I know people that dont and i think they are crazy.. deer dont see it or al least dont seem to care. Like camo patterns it's all in your head if it looks good to you want it. No one shows you or thinks about what it looks like to deer...

[The_Real_TCIII]

We don't need another regulation

[Hunter007]

From what I seen most guys  use it or at least put it on when they see you coming down the trail  to let you know there location .

At least a hat I use in small game season and jacket and hat in deer season  . 

[fasteddie]

I don't hunt in the NZ . I wear the Blaze Orange during gun season as I don't want to be a statistic . 

[Doc]

I cannot count the times that I have seen the blaze orange long before I could see the form of the hunter. Many times that has been the queue that it is time to move or put some distance between us to avoid hunting too close.

On the other hand I have had a few occasions where I didn't see hunters in full camo, and got way too close for safe hunting until thankfully they said something.

So blaze orange is not just something to avoid target misidentification. It can also be a clue to unsafe conditions setting up around you. Another part to that is that it sometimes can tip you off that you are wasting your time when you see that little piece of orange up where you are expecting deer to be coming from.

[erussell]

Short a few old old timers who were probably praying to get shot and end their suffering ive never run into anyone who wasnt wearing orange.

[mowin]

Only wear it when were doing drives. My hunting area is private. All the surrounding lands are private and do not allow any hunting and some are patrolled during the season.  One landowner had a 5' fence installed on the border of his 600 acre parcel.  People in my area know not to trespass on these lands. If you get caught, you will be arrested.   

Now admittedly, my area isn't typical. One needs to make thier own choice depending on the situation.  

I've never hunted public lands or in the NZ. I'd definitely wear some blaze orange if I did.  

[Robhuntandfish]

i think the question for me is why not wear it?  

I wear an orange hat and a vest.  The deer arent going to see you any better/worse.  

When i used to hunt public land i was real happy when other people wore it.  

and i even wear it on our private land.  In case anyone comes over or is looking for a wounded deer etc.  Its also a good showing to the neighbors that we are out there hunting often and dont sneak onto the land.  

 

[Steuben Jerry]

I hunt 99% on my own land. I wear an orange hat and vest walking around, and usually take them off in the stand. Unless my grandson is with me, then our orange does not come off.

Last year, on the opening morning of rifle season, a new neighbor trespassed on me and shot a doe in the woods between where my wife and I were sitting. My wife and I were about 400 yds apart, and the trespasser was about 150 yds from my wife. My wife and I went in before sunrise like we always do, and this guy walked in at about daybreak.

Obviously he never saw us, and admitted as much during the confrontation afterward.

My wife and I both wore orange in the stand for the rest of our season after that.

It really changed my mind, especially when we both retraced his steps and realized he had the muzzle pointed in her direction from 150 yds. BTW, she had her orange on, but was in a stand with three trunks. Probably was blocked from view, but I still got the point.

 

 

[grampy]

I mostly hunt our own properties. I never wear the orange during bow season. But ALWAYS wear it, while hunting during firearms season. Killed a pile of deer over the years, and can't remember one instance, where wearing blaze orange cost me a deer. Better safe than sorry. 

[GreeneHunter]

13 hours ago, Buckskin Dave said:

I doubt it gets that bad.   Maybe if I could have worked big foot into it. Well see. 

Is Bigfoot required to wear Orange ?

[left field]

@Steuben Jerry

If you don't mind sharing, how did this confrontation go down and what was the result?

Thanks.

I too wear a lot of orange on my property as I am surrounded by hunters, some with little sense of boundaries.

Edited March 15, 2018 by left field

[Hunter007]

10 hours ago, Doc said:

I cannot count the times that I have seen the blaze orange long before I could see the form of the hunter. Many times that has been the queue that it is time to move or put some distance between us to avoid hunting too close.

On the other hand I have had a few occasions where I didn't see hunters in full camo, and got way too close for safe hunting until thankfully they said something.

So blaze orange is not just something to avoid target misidentification. It can also be a clue to unsafe conditions setting up around you. Another part to that is that it sometimes can tip you off that you are wasting your time when you see that little piece of orange up where you are expecting deer to be coming from.

Yes great point doc with Orange you can get a better idea of who is around and get to a better hunting  locaton . With out it you could be hunting right on top of other hunters and having game be pushed away from you .

[Steuben Jerry]

38 minutes ago, left field said:

@Steuben Jerry

If you don't mind sharing, how did this confrontation go down and what was the result?

Thanks.

I too wear a lot of orange on my property as I am surrounded by hunters, some with little sense of boundaries.

I don't want to derail the thread, but he got out with the deer before I got to him. I saw where his tracks went and I went to his house around noon and "introduced myself to the new neighbors"

I wrap around a 200 acre hayfield (corn this year -yay for that), and he was a new tenant at that farmhouse. He got permission to hunt the field, but not my woods obviously. I'm posted tight, and of course "he didn't see my posted signs". I told him I picked up his casing 5 feet from one of the signs and he must've leaned on that one. Busted in so many ways - lol.

I was amicable considering the circumstances, even surprised myself about that. We exchanged contact info, and I let him know where we were going each morning and afternoon. He quickly realized it's not so good to hunt an open field when other hunters are in all the surrounding woods, tromping in and out. He wasn't any further problem and I don't expect him to be.

BTW, he shot a 70 lb fawn. Between his shooting of the fawn, and my meeting at noon, I shot the buck in my avatar.

End derailment.

[landtracdeerhunter]

Here we go..............................................................

I don't mind glowing like a Christmas tree when I walk in my Breakup Orange. I like to reduce the chances of being shot. Ninety nine percent of the people are smart; but it just takes the one.