Here in Michigan we are in the midst of our firearms season. Orange is required, regardless of weapon.
This evening, I was about to draw on some more "fast food", when I was spotted, and the deal was over. I believe my orange vest was to blame. Maybe, they see it as white, but, by the reaction I saw this evening, they certainly see it. (I was on the ground, but hidden to a good degree)
Not a question I guess, just an observation.
Tommorrow, I use the climber.
Anytime I use orange(Not required here in VT,in other states I hunt like Maine and NH) I prefer the blaze camo.At least there's somethng to breakup the solid color.
I'd say it caught your movement as I've had deer right next to me while in orange as have others.
Had that trouble a couple years back,bought an orange fleece starter jacket and cut the sleeves off. FIXED!
I think the slick surface of most orange is the trouble JMHO
I wear a cheap orange mesh vest.
Blaze orange camo----have to wear here during all gun seasons.
Have never been picked up while wearing it--including today during the youth season. I had multiple deer in my area and 2 that looked towards me after winding me, but none appeared to have noticed me.
I think the solid blaze would be like any other solid color---a large blob of un-naturalness. Also, try treating it and washing it with anti-UV treatment and sportswash---deer might be picking up the UV brighteners that are probably in it.
i don't hunt well enough to tell the diference / i stumble along / break sticks / crush leaves / get the wind shift all wrong ------- sometimes i wish i was my cat ------ she kills nearly every day
Reguardless if it's a detriment or not please always wear the blaze when hunting during firearms season. You never know who else is out there. Done had one buddy shot and heard about too many close calls...
IMHO I don't think it's a problem, been hunting with blaze for years during the appropiate seasons and killed a bunch of deer while doing so. I honestly don't think I've ever been spotted because of the orange...
Let's be safe out there!!
I when required use the orange camo
Blaze camo fleece in my opion is the answer. No reflection or noise.
We don't have to wear it but you would have to be nuts not too. No deer is worth a life.
Blaze camo is not legal in Virginia, which is a shame, as I have a coverall in that. I wear solid blaze when required. I think the problem, at least with deer, is the expanse of solid color with no breakup of shape. Fortunately, here, all that is required is a hat, and you my hang it from a limb if you are sitting within arm's reach. So, I hang my orange 'scent wick' and sit still, hoping the wind stays steady.
Killdeer
In CT we have to wear it to the stand only then we can shuck it. Even when gun bangen I wear the camo orange just feels better!!
I remember the days when we didn't have blaze orange. We didn't kill any more people than we do now. A fool who shoots at sound or movement, doesn't look for anything but an animal.
I believe the real purpose of orange, is so the Wardens know who is hunting and they can wait by your truck.
If it was for safety, Hikers, loggers, Game wardens, and anybody else in the woods during season would be required to wear it.
There is nothing more strange than a man in full camoflage, wearing a blaze orange hat.
This is all just my opinion, and an old fart's rant.
This is based on nothing but personal opinion and my on observations, but I agree with a previous poster about the importance of the material. Currently wearing an orange fleece vest and haven't seem to have had any problems with them spotting me (well, not because of the vest - they still catch me moving when I should be still).
I feel for you Bonebuster I grew up in Michigan and hunted not far from you, I would not go in the woods on Public land during Gun season there without an orange coat, and hat, two many hunters with no knowkedge of deer, I got busted by deer also but it beats being shot, for you others, You have to have hunted in Michigan on Opening day of gun season to apreciate what a mess it can be
I've had deer walk right by me at very close distances while wearing blaze orange, I've also had them pick me out of ground blinds that were bushed in very well and I was in head-to-toe camo including a face mask and gloves at distances that exceeded my effective range.
We 'feel' different when we wear orange because it is so obvious to us but we don't see the world like a deer does -- we probably don't see the world like each other for that matter.
I think that other conditions occur and it is convenient to accept the blame for the 'orange' instead of our movement, scent, or other factors. Are your bow limbs glossy? What direction did the deer come from in relation to the wind conditions? Were you outlined with the sun?
I don't mind wearing blaze orange, actually I think that I hunt "harder" while I'm wearing it because I think that I stand out more even though I may not be standing out more. Hope that this makes sense?
Scott
Not long ago, I read somewhere that deer percieve the orange more or less like brown. It is required during the rifle season, even for bowhunters. In the last couple of months I have had two deer come in at 15 yards or less and look intensely in my direction. I knew I was not going to try to take the shots, so I simply sat very still. They looked right through me and never showed any alarm - that is until the breeze shifted. Sorry, Bonebuster, but I think you probably got busted by movement.
Here in IL we cant bow hunt during the gun weekends so we dont have worry about the orange. Its also illegal to wear the orange camo for some reason.....Roy
I wear Red and Black plaid when bowhunting during the gun season here in NY and CT.
However, where required, I would opt for the blaze orange where its broken up with black, not the solid. The other option is a mesh blaze orange vest over Camouflage.
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P7280001.jpg)
Here in MS, the law states that the orange must be unbroken. Camo orange is illegal, and I've been told it even extends to mesh.
John, I respectfully disagree. Orange does save lives. As for loggers, hikers, etc., they are foolish to enter the woods without it in gun season, but there's no basis for regulating the general public like that, and shouldn't be. We have enough laws. And in my woods, the Game Wardens are the good guys.
I hunted in Michigan before hunter orange laws; and after; and while I am sure some people didn't get shot because of hunter orange; some of the cases I saw when people did - orange did not help them.
For instance: one guy climbed to the top of a huge oak tree; so that he could ( as he told his friends) see where the deer were moving.
He was shot from his lofty lookout by a guy who saw the movement; and figured he had found where the deer were hiding.
You cannot fix stupid. You cannot fix stupid with an orange vest.
I hated gun season ( you can use your bow in gun season there) because the woods looked like a pumpkin patch; and it just looked like a bunch of people that had their mothers permission to hunt as long as they wore a bright color. Kind of like with BB guns : " you'll shoot your eye out!" unless you wear orange of course!
I dread the day when someone comes to the 'logical conclusion' that we need orange in bow season. It will be due to one person doing something outrageously stupid. Just like with gun hunting.
And I think Nail Nailed it again- it makes hunters easier to spot for fish and game officers.
Perhaps in these modern times a flashing light on our heads; and gps monitors on all hunters would really make the woods safe. [sic]
I personally have found I am better off wearing camo and hiding from other hunters; than wearing orange and being the target of 'hunters' tired of not getting a shot at something. And that happens.
Deer were once trained to eat out of an orange bucket among other different color buckets; even when the order of them was changed around. There may have been a flaw in that study- but deer do see some colors; and certainly if your glowing with ultra violet - they will see you. But too: deer WILL sneak by hunters in orange or not- or walk by hunters hoping they won't be spotted themselves.
I am sticking to stick season - I hate orange baby sitting suits. :readit: :saywhat:
twain said better to be safe a thousand times over dead once
I have to admit, Like Joe Skipp I'm part of the Red&Black plaid crowd.
Here in NY orange isn't required which I believe is a good thing. (bracing for a slapping now) :knothead:
There have been incidents over the years where orange WAS required,and the hunter said that he shot because "he didn't see any orange" so he assumed it wasn't another hunter and it was safe to shoot.
I have been wearing Red&Black plaid for well over 30 years. Untill they change the law(or I die first)I'll continue to do so.
most of my time is sitting looking stupid / i'm all about plaid hunting gear - but in rifle seson when you can shoot further than you can see i think orange is good idea
One of the main reasons for the orange requirement in Michigan is the sheer number of gun season hunters. in 2007 there were over 724,000. its not so much someone mistaking you for a deer as having them not see you 200 yards behind the deer they are shooting at. the hunter density there is just over 7 per sq mile and thats before subtracting the area that cities take up. Dont get me wrong Michigan, especially the north is a sportmans paradise. but on opening day of gun season you really want to be seen instead of blending in.
It wasn't my intention to start a debate, and I certainly don't mean to denigrate any officer, but I firmly believe that it isn't about safety for the above mentioned reasons. I wear it, I just don't like it. Maybe the deer don't see it, but bluejays, turkeys, and squirrels sure do. They mess up more of my stalks than anything. Being a ground hunter, I ooze around until I spot a deer and then try to sneak on him.
I formed the opinion some time back that at least some hunting "accidents" are a convenient and relatively safe way to commit murder. Like the two guys who were shot in a canoe, both wearing orange, from a highway bridge. The shooter got off, claiming "hunting accident". He knew them. Happened in SC while I lived there, in the late '70's.
LMAO!!!!! Had one like that here in NY a few years back Don.....
First day of gun season,this guy shot his brother in-law out of a tree.He said he thought the guy was a turkey.(Turkey Season was closed BTW)
Things went relativly(no pun intended)smooth untill the State Troopers went to the guys sister's house to notify her that her husband had been killed.
She opened the door with a broken nose and 2 black eyes!!!!! :eek:
It didn't take long for them to arrest him.....
We've had a couple nasty hunting accident here during elk season. We don't have a blaze orange law in gun season, though I'm not sure if it would have saved these two guys. One guy caught a .300WinMag to the chest, died on spot. Shot by a family member. Another caught I think it was a 8mm RemMag to the chest and the poor guy lingered for months before finally dying. Firearm elk season is SCARY in the woods here with all the "Gotta get a BIG RACK!!!" hype and hysteria. Geez, people, it's just a lot of fancy compressed hair---get over it! How about the MEAT????
In CT they don't wait by your truck. They come right in the woods up to you. I've seen it happen to a bud of mine. He said he got a complaint thats why he went in the woods up to him?!
I had a good friend of mine who was a N.Y.S.D.E.C. Officer
Every time I would see him during Deer Season I'd ask,"Hi Jeff,been out running around in the woods today??? His response.....
"I don't go in the WOODS, There's idiots with guns out there!!! :scared:
A much better outcome than taking a bullet from a...well I can't say it on here.
No Orange was required in Minnesota in 1964 when 36 hunters were killed. To say we do not kill more now than then is false. The fact is that hunters wearing Blaze orange are still being shot, but at a much lower rate. And there is no reason that a law abiding hunter should worry about the warden seeing them.
I would not enter the woods during our firearms season WITHOUT wearing orange. Truth be known, I just do not like to hunt at this time because there are too many people out there that do just plain stupid things.
I have had times when I believe deer spotted me more easily because of orange, and :D in this instance, I was all prepared, bow resting on my boot as I was kneeling with one knee on the ground. I could hear the deer approaching, and was ready long before I could even see them.
When they got close, I did not move a muscle.
From the angle, I was not fully exposed. She spotted me easily, and did not hesitate and wonder what she was looking at. I believe my orange vest was to blame.
So be it. Late season is fast approaching, and it will be only the die hards left in search of late season burger.
Fallguy,
You don't know the wardens around here. They almost seem to be "antis" the way they confront you. They are no more than revenue collectors here and take pride in writeing fines.
I "worry" about seeing them because they completly ruin your hunt for the day.I know, I know, not all are like I describe but I've nver met one of the "good ones" in all my years hunting.
Just my opinion.
I posted a query about bow hunting during gun season on another thread....after reading the comments in this thread, there is no way in hell I'm going out there. I'll wait for winter season and hunt with some peace of mind.
I too dread the day when bowhunters are forced to wear blaze orange during bow season...I see it coming, and I hate it.
Most of the local wardens are my friends, but we have had a couple of bad apples, who did unreasonable things. They acted like Gestapo. I knew their supervisor, and helped to get rid of them. I don't know if they were moved somewhere else or fired. They harassed people for no reason, including me, but I didn't let it sour me on the whole bunch. They're just people too, and I'm sure they catch much hell from some "sportsmen".
You might want to be on good terms with the local wardens, when you find poachers or illegal baiting on your property like I did, a couple of times. My local warden went out of his way to try to catch the neighbor who baited my property in turkey season, which meant I couldn't legally hunt my own place because of it. He walked in a half mile and hid before daylight several times before the guy came back. Haven't had any trouble from the neighbor since, either.
JCT, The good ones here are hunters like you and I. The bad ones avoid getting there boots dirty like the plague. So they never get off the road far enough to find me. I have only been checked 2 times in 30 years
i never had a policeman ever try to help me /or have i ever seen a game warden ever try to protect our natual resorces/ their total job is to revenue collect or just lord over you with a pistol/
"Wear Blaze To LIVE And Hunt Another Day!!" The Wiseman that taught my Hunters Safety Course MANY Moons ago said that, and its Stuck with me since I was 11 or 12. Mr. Gooding was a Very Wise Man.
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
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)
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!!
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
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 ...
You need to wash your vests in UV killer soap
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!
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
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.
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. :thumbsup:
Killdeer
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.
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.
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
"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!
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!!! :)
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
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.