With our gun season closing in on us in my state, and Orange being required, what are your thoughts on how much that effects the ability to get the job done at bow hunting range?
I have killed plenty of deer while wearing it.
It does not have any negative effect on deer. It does advertise your hunting/scouting efforts and strategy to everybody in the woods...
No problems with deer seeing unless its shiny, like the plastic vests.
I have notice no differance in how the deer act. I wouldn't think of being on my stand in gun season without it. I killed two does on our opening day of the doe only gun hunt, both under 16 steps, they never knew I was there. With the understanding that every year there are accidents I will continue being law abiding and safe as I can.
Never bothered me.
I prefer red/black plaids in soft fleece. I also made up some arrows for this gun season..crown dipped in blaze orange with AMG flo orange feathers.
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Blaze Orange clothing not sure I'd wear it, even the camo blaze. Just seems to be too bright..
Great looking shafts Joe Skipp! normally i skip out on gun season, but this yr im gonna stand my ground and try to get it done the way i enjoy, Trad..
Being a ground hunter, is what prompted this post.
Scent, movement and sound are all deer seem to key on.
I shot the biggest buck of my life wearing it and have killed deer in the past with it on as well. I like either fleece or wool in blaze orange, because I like that it is quiet and believe that it absorbs the reflective light better, although it may not matter. Movement is the key to being seen or not, so where the orange and just be careful of your movement.
I ALWAYS wear orange if I'm hunting during rifle season, Whether I'm bowhunting or not.
Some states don't have a choice on the color Joe. I like those arrows though!
I got by with orange and Carhartt brown for many years on the ground. I usually wear a fleece vest. Cuts down on the movement you get from a hat and your arms and bow are in front of it. I add a knit cap while walking.
Rob
Gotta wear it wear I normally hunt, whether it's rifle season or not. If you want to feel REALLY goofy, try wearing a ghillie suit with an orange vest and hat. It just doesn't seem right. :biglaugh:
lol
We wear it to the mail box here during gun season!!
Wensel said it best in "Come November". And, similarly, I wear it when I have to, and can live with it, but I'd rather not.
Here in KY we have multiple, brief firearms seasons interspersed throughout our 135+ day bow season. It is the law to wear blaze orange (at least a vest). I notice no difference in the deer's ability to find me or not.
Personally I don't like to wear the orange because it clashes with my bowhunter uniform, but I do it.
On several driven hunts here in Germany there were three incidents when roe deer aproached me at a distance of about 10 to 15 yards. I could see the nose working to get some scent of me.
In one case it turned around me and at a distance of about 40 yards it turned broadside and I could place a shot, with a rifle of course because bowhunting is illegal in Germany.
In another case I stood eye to eye with a yearling roe deer staring at me but when I lifted the gun to aim and fire it moved like a rocket but I could place a lethal shot with my 9.3x62 rifle.
In another case when hunting on red deer/stag deer in Brandenburg we were placed on very low stands to avoid fired bullets flying hundreds of meters and killing or injuring people a bull red deer with cow and calf approached. After shooting the calf the cow and the bull turned around my stand at a distance of about ten yards without detecting me. Unfortunately, when just aiming at the cow the calf lifted her head for a last time and when I aimed at her for dispatching which was unneccessary at least, her mother was able to escape.
Every member of the deer family can't see the blaze orange color. A few years ago a read an article in a German hunting magazine. Blaze orange is in a spectral range which cannot be detected by deer.
On the other hand the best you can do to let them survive and not let them join your family via a frying pan is to wear blue jeans or anything that is blue. This works for the deer eye like blaze orange for the human eye.
At rural roads more and more reflectors are mounted. In the past they were red or orange but now they are blue.
My daughter tells me it's "not my color", but it is required by law in my state, so the question is moot here.
QuoteOriginally posted by Swamp Yankee:
My daughter tells me it's "not my color", but it is required by law in my state, so the question is moot here.
When hunting on private land here in Germany it is more and more common to use not even a hat band of blaze orange color. When hunting on public land under the supervision of the forestry service it's obligatory and a law to wear the orange hat band or a blaze orange cap in addition to a blaze orange vest or jacket.
If not hunting on my own land, then I wear camo orange. To a deer it looks the same as any camo.It doe's how ever remain visible to turkeys which can alert deer to your were abouts.Better to be safe than shot. I hunt fairly large tracts of state land other than my own. Most gun hunters don;t venture fare from roads so I hunt were there not, or as best I can. Hunting areas the deer are likely to escape too is not only productive, its safe
Interesting variance in perceptions and experiences from the many states represented.
Here we have to wear 250 sq inches. Hat and vest!
I'm a firm believer that deer, and a lot of prey animals learn from experience. IF an old doe busts you in a particular tree, she'll check that tree for you before coming thru or detour around that site.
I also believe that they see, according to research, the FLUORESCENT orange as a rather bright white... if it moves: BAM! Busted!
With the many deer/human encounters where I hunt, if they've associated that bright white-ish blob with danger, when they see it again, they seem to go on alert!
NOBODY knows what's in a deer's mind, but my experience is "some do notice, some don't" so I'm inclined to believe it's an "experience" thing...bad experience with that bright blob, they notice in the future...if none, it doesn't seem to bother them...
YMMV
I was sitting against a big oak tree and had an older doe, a young doe and two fawns spot me from about 30 yards away. They knew something was there, but not what. They approached me single file to within about 5 yards.
I avoided looking them in the eye and each one approached, studied me, then moved off to the side. The older doe eventually cut my trail where I came in from behind the tree, snorted and there were 4 flags waving goodbye.
I don't think they would have spotted me as fast had I been in camo instead of striped hunter orange, but it didn't spook them.
Thoughts on blaze orange? It's incredibly ugly
I'd rather not wear it, but I don't worry about it if I have to. Many deer have been well with-in 20 yards while I was wearing it. It might be an advantage in snow.
Here is how I dress for our rifle season.
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I'm guessing the deer see my orange vest the same way they see my ghuillie because the strips give it a 3-D effect.
They look right through me as if I'm just part of the terrain.
God bless,Mudd
The stuff never bother any deer that I came across. But I feel much more comfortable in it when gun season starts.
I second what Doc Nock said
Be careful, Mudd!
They might mistake you for a giant carrot that got left in the woods and come a gnawing! :laughing:
We all have our anecdotal experiences but it seems "experience" is the best teacher of the critters we hunt, too...
Tree stand encounters, ground blind encounters, scent encounters...like predator trapping... different animals learn differently and some seem to "remember"... they teach others, it would seem.
But it's still fun to "speculate" based on our own experiences, huh? :)
Gotta wear it. Too many knuckleheads out there, and even when folks are careful there is the chance of an accident. I like to hunt, but I love to live.
Mudd...Excellent!!!
Here in California we are not required to wear it. Of course 90% of the population here most likely would not care if a hunter got shot ether. :dunno: I hunt hogs only so i stay out of the woods during deer season so i dont blow some guys hunt that has been waiting all year long to partake in, i have all the rest of the year to chase hogs, plus our deer season is during the hottest part of the year and i mean in the upper 100s. If i was to hunt during gun season i would be covered in it
QuoteOriginally posted by yukon chuck:
Gotta wear it. Too many knuckleheads out there, and even when folks are careful there is the chance of an accident. I like to hunt, but I love to live.
2x this
I have had multiple very short range encounters with deer while on the ground with hunters orange on. My experience leads me to think they don't see it well but I was wearing camo orange. I think They see you twitch your finger not the orange itself.
Wearing solid orange may be different. I would think so.
A blaze orange ghillie vest...great Mudd!
BDann, I hear you! I wear my ghillie, but have big strips of orange hanging on my suit, maybe try that. I wish we didn't need to wear it, but it's better than getting shot at.
I wear it in gun season but I ONLY wear it in gun season and ONLY wear camo patterned orange, even if it's harder to find.
Deer don't see it: just a neutral gray. IMHO it is preferable to dark camo in snow. I have had deer closer to me when sitting at ground level in full head-to-toe blaze orange than in camo.
Turkey - that's another story. I believe they see can see orange.
I proved it to myself again today, not that I was uncertain. I had three bucks and two does in bow range today. Missed a big eight point and later got a doe.
Chris
I rarely hunt outside of the 140 private acres I have permission to hunt on. Last year when I did venture out to public land, during bow-only season, I wore some orange.
There are a lot of people out there who aren't as careful as I am in the woods, and I don't want to get shot with a bullet OR an arrow.
Better to be safe than to risk having someone else apologize for accidentally shooting you.
I would prefer the camo broken Orange as well but some states require it to be a solid orange unbroken.
Good to wear to the mailbox after thanksgiving That's when dog season starts. You can get run over then!
We're actually not allowed to bowhunt during firearms season in IL. I still wouldn't go out there if we could. I hunt on the ground and last time I checked, I still didn't want to get hit with the stray punkin ball.
QuoteOriginally posted by Tom Leemans:
We're actually not allowed to bowhunt during firearms season in IL. I still wouldn't go out there if we could. I hunt on the ground and last time I checked, I still didn't want to get hit with the stray punkin ball.
That is unfortunate. Both that you can't hunt and that you would feel unsafe doing so. Statistically speaking ALL forms of hunting are safer than driving to the corner for a gallon of milk.
To quote a wise bowhunter "I rank it right up there with neckties and root canals!"
We have to wear it in Arkansas and Louisiana. I personally hate the stuff but wear it to be safe. Deer may not be able to see color but on our properties I know from experience they can pick out anything orange easily. I guess they have gotten used to associating that shade of color with hunters.
Get yourself to feel confident wearing it..... that's what matters. The color makes absolutely no difference to a deer. You could dress like a clown, and as long as you limit your movement, and play the win, you will be successful :-)
I've done it before during firearms season. It's tough to do on public land in Michigan with all the gun hunters. I love the looks on other hunters faces when they see us toting traditional bows!!
Ignore the orange, the deer don't care. ;)
One thing I do suggest is washing your orange in a detergent that removes UV brighteners, such as the brand made by Atsko. The hunter orange garments in stores are loaded with UV brightners and to a deer it looks like a bright glowing blue blob.
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My daughter and I went out this past Sunday and had a turkey walk past us. I think that is the ultimate test!!
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