I have sat in the deer woods with camo orange coat and pants, had deer look at me from about 15 feet and never noticed me unless I moved. If someone told me they took a sound shot I would have to "box" their ears!
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Montana muzzleloading season, blaze orange, camouflage
- Thread starter Naphtali
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appalichian hunter
75 Cal.
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Seen where bright pink is also allowed, there is something to think about, you could look like the energizer bunny.
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My recommendation is to get the warmest most comfortable clothes that fit properly. Bibs, pants, coat in layers.(depending on weather) Then just add a light weight orange vest and hat over everything. Finding comfortable blaze orange clothing can be challenging. As mentioned movement is the primary reason for detection.
Hunting in public land in Colorado I’ll always wear some orange. Even when it’s not required. Even if it’s just an orange ribbon tied to the back of my pack. People loose all sense when they think they see an elk. If a small piece of orange clothing gets me home to my kids I’ll wear it.
Hunting in public land in Colorado I’ll always wear some orange. Even when it’s not required. Even if it’s just an orange ribbon tied to the back of my pack. People loose all sense when they think they see an elk. If a small piece of orange clothing gets me home to my kids I’ll wear it.
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I'd suggest not wearing the classic ghillie suit (burlap tied to a shrimp net, then pulled to loosen threads), for the simple reason that those things catch fire pretty easily. I know of 2 instances where folks have had to get rid of it ASAP. Not usually a problem with modern guns, but there is enough loose fire around the breech of our MLs that the risk is there. YMMV of course.
64Springer
75 Cal.
I used to hide in a pile of branches during bow season. no orange/ gillie suit and camo face. What came down out of the neighborhood was legendary. I used to get so taken in by what came around me at times I did not even want to shoot. It,s beautiful and all encompassing at times...
Cvkotvkse
40 Cal
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Yeah, and a lot of people died, leaviing the rest of us to pay the bills... hospital, LE investigations, etc.
Woods are thick here in Florida... I have literally stayed still while hunting from the ground, standing up in a bug suit, and had someone pass within five feet of me, and not know I was there until I spoke or moved... a couple were genuine freakouts!
Way too many pilgrims here in the past who killed folks by shooting at movement in the brush, thinking it was a deer, turkey, or hog.
Orange, if I remember the stats correctly, reduced the fatal shootings down to where treestand accidents became a bigger source of serious injuries/fatalities, at least on public lands.
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64Springer
75 Cal.
Good on you for supporting Government Overreach.
The government needs all the help it can get.
If you want shot at, scope me with a rifle.
Jedidiah
Old, Grumpy & still kickin !
Sometimes idiots get "scoped". I "scoped" a dumb arse fool one time who was coming through thick brush, wearing his Carhart bibs and coat!, that almost perfectly matches the color of a deer! All you could see was patches of the color moving down the hill through the brush, like the deer always do. I went down to him when he finally walked out of the brush, told him he was a 'total " $%%# for wearing that outfit during deer season. He shrugged and walked away. Some people get exactly what they ask for. IMHO
I have heard of a hunter dragging his deer out of the woods and someone takes a shot at it. I carry a thin orange vest that I tie to my deer so it is obvious that the deer has already been harvested. Of course you can't legislate stupid! There are plenty of stories out there that could be started with "Hold my beer"
Jedidiah
Old, Grumpy & still kickin !
My grandfather was a PH, hunted on 3 Continents. He was experienced to say the least. Lived in NW Penna.. My brother and i were always told to sit with our back to a large tree, or against a very large "blow down", wear the orange and be vigilant. During deer season in PA the first couple of days are filled with amateurs, losers, and wannabes, and you are literally in danger being in the woods! The opening day morning sounds like the start of WW 3! What could they all possibly be shooting at??? Anyway. I always used a large blowdown that had been there for years, as my base. During off season, I dug out the floor area a foot or so, made a seat etc., so I would be even more concealed and protected! I tied Orange 4 in webbing around the two trees on either side of me and put some in the top of the blow down too. I still had people come by who did not know I was there! I had several (non legal) deer walk past me withing 5 ft and did not know I was there. You can never be too safe when you are hunting.
100% of our hunting accidents are people wearing cammo. Usually in the same hunting party and often family members. I wear my blaze orange Remington cap. I also wear a headlamp on the way in before sunrise and coming out after sunset. always some tool still trying to get a shot... was hitchhiking home once with my Hawken and got picked up by a hunter who was trying to fill his buck tag road hunting and bitching about wasting his doe tag the day before on a 65lb fawn. " I saw a flash of brown and you know how it is" actually i don't know how it is but not telling him how I felt about it because he is giving me a ride home...
Steven Van Kauwenbergh
SJVANK
To clarify my recent post. In northern Wisconsin I hunted public land. Often there were low deer populations due to winter kill. There was lots of public land and lots of hunters from down state, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana and Illinois. Since these out of state hunters paid high license fees, they often took deer under questionable circumstances and illegally as I personally witnessed.
In North Alabama 95% of the land is privately owned and plots are typically leased. Two of the leases I hunted had boards set up for defined hunting areas on the lease. Each hunter got 2 tags for him and a guest to hang on the board. Other leases had a very limited amount of members resulting in everybody knowing one another.
I have no problem with other hunters wearing blaze orange from head to foot. I've taken out young hunters that their mothers dressed in blaze orange head to foot. Safety first!
On one lease we had a medical Doctor with a big farm on the south side. He saw us near the fence and drove up to us. He didn't understand why we had to hunt near the fence. We just shouldn't do that. I've supervised a lot of Phd's, they are not real smart some times. I explained our land owner had the land on this side of the fence and he owned the land on the other side. I explained that every one knew where his barn was and could hear you when you and your family were out there. I also told him that he, his family and guests should probably wear a blaze orange hats when walking or driving around the property during deer season. He got very angry about that, yelling it's his property and he should not have to do that. I told he he can do what he wants but he will notice about 1 month before deer season around here the local redneck farmers are all wearing blaze orange hats.
No one should use their scoped rifle like a pair of binoculars! Everyone should wear what they feel is appropriate to the situation.
SJVK
In North Alabama 95% of the land is privately owned and plots are typically leased. Two of the leases I hunted had boards set up for defined hunting areas on the lease. Each hunter got 2 tags for him and a guest to hang on the board. Other leases had a very limited amount of members resulting in everybody knowing one another.
I have no problem with other hunters wearing blaze orange from head to foot. I've taken out young hunters that their mothers dressed in blaze orange head to foot. Safety first!
On one lease we had a medical Doctor with a big farm on the south side. He saw us near the fence and drove up to us. He didn't understand why we had to hunt near the fence. We just shouldn't do that. I've supervised a lot of Phd's, they are not real smart some times. I explained our land owner had the land on this side of the fence and he owned the land on the other side. I explained that every one knew where his barn was and could hear you when you and your family were out there. I also told him that he, his family and guests should probably wear a blaze orange hats when walking or driving around the property during deer season. He got very angry about that, yelling it's his property and he should not have to do that. I told he he can do what he wants but he will notice about 1 month before deer season around here the local redneck farmers are all wearing blaze orange hats.
No one should use their scoped rifle like a pair of binoculars! Everyone should wear what they feel is appropriate to the situation.
SJVK
Jedidiah
Old, Grumpy & still kickin !
I agree 110% that scopes are not binoculars, However, when you see what appears to be a deer moving through the brush, you are going to "scope" it to identify if it is in fact a deer, legal size, etc., and that is sop and correct to do, because you are preparing to take a shot, if appropriate. If the local yokels would wear orange etc, then they would avoid the appearance of being a deer, and not get scoped. "about 1 month before deer season around here the local redneck farmers are all wearing blaze orange hats." Because they know from experience what happens! Too many "rednecks" shoot first without knowing 110% what the target is, they take unethical shots, they distain any rules, game management or govt authority, and they think they can do whatever they want to do, because it is their property. IMHO. I live in SC, and I see it first hand!
If you don't know your target, don't point a gun at it. How would you like to see me aiming at you? If you think that should be SOP, you are a slob hunter. It happened to an old cowboy buddy of mine down the south fork. When he saw the guy, he got off his horse and emptied his .45-90 Winchester in the very near vicinity of the dumb *** scoping him.
I know this is hard to believe, but over the years I've come across several hunters who were DRUNK.....some a little and some a lot. I think it behooves us to make ourselves more visible to those who might be .....um........overserved.
Jedidiah
Old, Grumpy & still kickin !
"How would you like to see me aiming at you?" since I am wearing blaze Orange, I would assume you are either a nut case or a person intent on harm, and act appropriately. You seemed to miss that part. If the person in question had been wearing the appropriate clothing, there would be no reason to be aiming at them. AS mentioned previously, scopes are not binoculars and should not be used to "glass" areas etc. However, In the heavy woods of PA you have to identify the deer as being legal or not, and the criteria changes every year. Two points, three points, spikes over 3 in etc., etc. When deer move through the thick underbrush they come in and out of view and you must quickly identify them as legal or not, hence you are following their movement through the scope, prepared to shoot. The deer will not give you much time to decide. It is all a moot point when people wear proper clothing that hunters can readily see and recognize. I do not believe that you are condoning that people wear clothing that makes it difficult for anyone to see who or what they are, but the fact is that many people do. I also would not recommend that you do anything like what your "friend" did, especially in Alabama. He may have been "scoped" and that may have upset him, but firing your firearm at or near a person is a good way to get shot, IMHO, since the person being shot at has no way of knowing why the other person is shooting at him. He would have been better served to ride up to the other person and tell him his concerns, and why he believes it is a bad idea to do it. etc. YMMV
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I was sitting on a stump on the family farm and had a guy walk right by me and start to screw steps in a tree 15 feet away. I was wearing my orange tux, full blaze orange suit. Dam near **** his pants when I asked him what in hell was he doing. Tried to tell me he had permission to hunt our land, told him the owner , my Dad was 100 yards over the hill if he wanted to argue about who gets to leave. He left.
