Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Blaze Orange Requirements: Vest or Jacket?

Vest period.

Sounds good, we have roughly 250 steers in a feedlot, and about 45 cows and calfs.

I prefer the hat. Reversible to camo, if available.

Rattler, I agree about not interpreting you as danger very well. A couple years ago I was sitting at the edge of a shelter belt, sitting on an anterless second draw tag. Bright orange jacket and hat and probably blue jeans, don't remember. A heavy 8 pointer saunters out of the trees and stands 16 normal paces away and I play rock man. He gives me the darnedest look, somewhere between "What the hell is that?" and "I don't remember that thing." Looks away for a while and gives me that look again. Seemed like this went on forever as happens in these situations. Eventually he got bored and melted back into the trees.

northern dave: Ohhhhh boy, thats a visual I DID NOT need!

"I'm too sexy for my thong... so sexy it hurrrts...." (my eyes that is)

This is bad, this is reeeealy bad!!! No more thong crap!! This is getting damn scary!

I think the Blaze Thong might provoke more hunter accidents.

I suggest a lightweight, oversize vest for the simple reason that it is easier to layer effectively with one.

For cold weather you can put lots of layers underneath and when the day turns warm or hot you can strip down to a tee and the vest - or vest only.

Nothing prevents you from using additional blaze orange garments under the vest and I often do.

I like the vest. Click on the link!!!

We invested in good, heavy blaze orange cammo hunting jackets for the really cold days we sometimes encounter during gun season up here. We also keep several of the cheap, more-or-less "throwaway" orange vests around for when it's warmer or for small game hunting. A t-shirt, hooded sweatshirt, and one of these lightweight vests, and we're good to go.

Unless a jacket is required by the state, a vest is far more versatile for changing layers as others have pointed out. Like anything else one "wears," I prefer to try it on. Quality varies and a lot of the hunter orange available is noisy. I like quiet clothing myself.

Blaze orange does not spook any deer - ignorance does.



This is my usual outer shell. I have taken animals walking right up to me at just a few yards wearing this - not once but many times.

Deer see different wavelength - breaking up your outline is important and good field practice. That is all.

The fancy camo does break up as simple bolt lines would.

Resistence to blaze orange is silly - while it may not appeal to traditionalists it is a cheap security measure that has you give up nothing in terms of field efficiency.

Old story, so the short version. I was hunting one end of a brushy section line, a trail really, where deer cross between cropped fields when I saw blaze orange bobbing through the brush at the other end. Would never have seen the other guy a mile away without the orange. Without blaze orange one of us could have quite innocently sent a bullet in the other's direction if a deer had crossed between us. I'd definitely wear the stuff even if it annoyed deer, which it doesn't.

I have mixed thoughts about blaze colors.

When I moved to Alberta in the early '80s it was the law, full jacket including sleeves required. Before I left Alberta in '93, they dropped that law, on the basis apparently that it didn't make any difference.

BC, in my 40 years, has never had such a law...and hunting accidents in the field remain extremely rare.

I don't bother with it, frankly. But when I did, I will concede that deer weren't obviously aware of blaze colors.

I also will concede that Canada is a large country, and that our relatively small population is spread somewhat thinly, at least once away from major cities such as Vancouver or Calgary. In that respect, hunting in BC or Alberta is an entirely other thing from Michigan or Alabama.

That said, I also don't wear "camos"...the popularity of which, IMHO, is mostly the result of intense marketing. I've on numerous occasions sat in my blue jeans and blaze orange coat along trails and had deer walk past me within 10 yards and never even blink in my direction. No motion, no see me.

I'm heading into "major scorn" territory here, but I watch hunting shows or vids in which someone dresses up with $300 worth of camos, with camo rifles, and camo scopes, and camo laces on their camo boots...then dawns a blaze orange vest and hat...to walk 50 yards from the truck to a literal cabin perched up in a tree, to peer out a 8" by 30" slot in a wall for 4 hours...well, to be honest, I find it just a tad bit funny.

Just sayin'...



(...at the risk of getting banned from the forum, I know.)

This is the Cabelas Outfitter or something or other. I bought it last year and like it. Blasted this silly yote running straight for me at about 75 yds.


He didn't seem to mind my vest.


Travis

Everywhere I've hunted had orange laws, and in my 40 years of hunting, I've never once spooked a deer by wearing orange. They see movement much moreso than colors. My take on the orange laws are, if they save one life, especially mine, it's worth it. Do everyone a favor and wear some orange, guys.

I tend to agree about the camo for the most part. Having said that though, because of camo popularity, often times, the gear you want can only be had in camo, or is frequently on sale. My raincoat and pants come to mind. They are light, breathable, fit loose and quiet. In essence, sometimes the camo, comes along for the ride, because that gear or clothing had other attributes which made it worth buying.

I tend to shy away from loud colors for my clothes. I often hunt in plaid. As for hunter orange ... I hate it. But when hunting public land, I'd probably wear it even if it weren't the law because I know the game won't see it and there are those yahoos who apparently, shoot at stuff they can't make out or don't pay attention to the backdrop.

I think you're dead right about the lower density of hunter population in your neck of the woods regarding lower incidents. Incidentally here is a link to hunter accident reports for Texas for anyone who might be interested in such things. Sometimes it's good to see the stats.

2008 Texas Hunting Analysis Report

This report, although labeled for 2008, has tables of stats which go back to 1966. It's a worthwhile read IMHO. Hunter education started in 1988 and the trend is clear in decreased fatalities after it started. There is an account, at the very end, of a ridiculously avoidable accident and photo of a .25-06 wound to the trap/shoulder of a hunter who was shot. Since this happened on a lease, hunter orange would not have been required. No mention made about hunter orange, but I suspect he was not wearing any and don't know if it would have made a difference. It might have.

In Ontario Blaze Camo is not considered blaze. We need 400 square inches visible from all sides. I comply except on my own property where a pair of work coverals are my hunting garb.
Randy

Yeah, I get a kick out of solid blaze orange over camo too. I have a fair amount of camo mainly because that's what good hunting clothes mostly come in. Duck hunting is another matter though my old, old splotch-style camo parka seems work as well as any fancy pattern. Must be the sponsors pushing camo on TV, some guys just have to have the latest and greatest, all matching too. If it makes them feel good, fine by me.

I get a bigger kick out of camo gear like knives and binocs the manufacturers all promote. I wonder how much of it gets lost and has to be replaced. Normal stuff can be hard enough to find if you do something dumb (don't ask how I know ).