Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game "Blaze" Orange

OK, this is a little weird, but for those in states that require blaze orange, has anyone ever had trouble with Fish & Game hassling you over faded blaze clothing? Some of the top end manufacturers are making orange clothing now, in close-to-blaze colors. I really want a windblocker fleece hat!

For example, this fleece hat:


Or this hat:


Or even the Beavs:


This orange probably doesn't cut it:

I'm also looking to upgrade my orange hat to something warmer, maybe like the fleece one or one with a bib.
It's good news that manufacturers are coming out with new stuff.

I'd like to see more options.

Local F&G guy told me it's a judgment call. He has written tickets if the blaze is so dirty that it no longer serves the purpose intended.

I'm inclined to wear only blaze in case I run into a F&G chick with PMS.

Some State game regs use the word Fluorescent in their language.

Never had any trouble, but I also never tried to "get by" either. I've seen some crazy stuff when hunting pressured areas and figured the more the better for most cases. Deer never seemed to mind.

I'm really digging that OR hat. Might have to get me one of those. Send me a link to what model it is if you get a minute.

In Idaho, orange is recommended by not required. We still have free choice.

I think its kind of like being out on the water, if your stopped and your life vests are ratty and might fall apart when needed then you will probably get an NTA, because its a safety issue. Same with the flavor and/or condition of orange you choose to wear. The game warden has to be able to prove to the judge, if it goes to court, that the faded orange was the 'wrong' color of orange or the garment was hindered in some way in performing its intended function. Which all relates back to the safety requirement.

On a side note: Where I grew up (a long time ago), 'hunter orange' was a requirement for rifle deer season, but wearing seatbeats when driving your car was optional. Where I live now its the opposite. So I find myself half way down the road before I remember to put my seatbelt on, but still wanting to pumpkin-ize myself if I'm hunting big game.

There is no orange requirement in Texas unless you are on a State managed area or on some Fed property.

The easiest solution I have found is the vests like highway workers wear. Cheap from the suppliers and easy to carry in your vehicle if you need orange.

BiathlonMan,

The OR hat is the "Hat for All Seasons." Read the reviews. It seems to run big? I just bought one but may return it. Also it was supposed to come with a fleece liner cap, I think, and did not. With a fleece liner and two adjustments on the main cap, it may have a weird fit that either works for you or doesn't. But I like the concept, even if a ball cap and fleece cap have worked for years!

In Saskatchewan, during rifle seasons for big game, hunters are required to wear safety colours on the upper body, but not specifically blaze orange. Also acceptable are scarlet(red) , bright yellow, and white. Hats can be any of these colours except white. I usually wear red.

I am retired from the Arkansas Highway Dept. and I always hated the vest that we were required to wear. They were stiff in cold weather and hot in the summer. I would have bought a different vest if allowed, but alas we had to wear the ones issued. I like a thin, cloth one that I can wear over what ever clothing the weather dictates. miles

have a couple cheap blaze vests that were give aways for this or that stuffed in the bottom of my hunting bag and truck for emergency use or if someone for got to bring orange for a young kid that isnt hunting but decides they want to walk with us...

for our main use what we have decided we like best are blaze upland bird hunting vests a size or two bigger than what should fit to go over our cooler weather coats.....the pockets come in handy as does the bird pouch....both the wife and i tried it some years back and really like them....had to pick up the oldest girl one cause she also likes them better than the basic style orange vests.....

I've known a few people over the last 20 years in CO that were ticketed by DOW for "faded" blaze orange. Seemed to me that in both cases the officer was just looking to issue a ticket and couldn't find anything else to harrass them about. That being said, the hats that you show look like florouescent blaze orange to me. I just bought a cold weather cap from Filsons that is mostly blaze but with a Tin Cloth bill and that has wool ear flaps that fold up inside the hat. They run a little small for those interested.

I have been stopped by game wardens in Colorado while riding an ATV or driving my Polaris Ranger and asked to show my blaze orange. None of mine is faded, and the vests, jackets and hats all meet the requirements. In both cases, I think that they were more interested in confirming that the rifles in the boots were not loaded.

somewhere or other I saw the specification for "blaze" orange but I couldn't tell you where just now. I've heard of WGF officers interpreting all sorts of things in all sorts of ways where blaze orange is concerned. Everything from faded to hat coverings for cowboy hats aren't sufficient. My own theory is, I've seen too many yahoos in the field for me to be comfortable with the minimum required amounts of blaze. While a cap may be all that's required, I'll wear a vest or shirt and a hat. The one thing I won't wear is a highway saftey vest. They tend to have reflective tape on them and reflections are more spooky to game than the color orange.

In Louisiana it's referred to in the regulations as "hunter orange".

In Alabama its a certain square inches of coverage you have to wear. I still hunt a lot on public land so I wear a large vest that is way more than the minimum and is not faded at all. A basic ball cap meets the standard but its a peace of mind thing for me.

Once you are in a tree stand or in a blind you can remove the blaze and I do. But if I'm moving I have it on.

There is a specific measure of the "orangeness" or "blazeness" or "flourescentness". I cant remember the units of measure, but it was a technical unit of measure.

But why worry? I have been dressed like a pumpkin and have had deer walk right up to me. They dont see orange, so given the idiots out there, I will err on the side of more, not less orange. There is not reason not too.

On the other hand, I certainly wouldnt wear blue or put blue tape on my muzzle....

IIRC, it's approximately 740nm wavelength.

I may be misremembering, but I think it was MI that actually stipulated a specific wavelength

In Maine:

Hunter orange means a daylight fluorescent orange color with a dominant wave length between 595 and 605 nanometers, excitation purity not less than 85% and luminance factor of not less than 40%.

The wardens used to carry a card that the orange needed to "fit" between. Don't know if they still do. And yes, I was ticketed for having orange that was too faded.