This concerns something I’ve been noticing for a while. I am not a hunter, but I can remember from my youth that hunters used to wear red, the general idea being that others can then see them and hopefully not shoot them.
Recently, however, it seems that in ads and on television hunters wear camouflage or, at best, dark clothing. Has there been some sort of change in “strategy” or have people just forgotten about safety or what?
What you wear depends on what is being hunted. Some animals are color blind (deer) so color doesn’t matter. Other types of hunting rely on basically sneaking up on game (pheasant) so color doesn’t matter. There is even orange camo. Other hunting requires you being hidden very well and only ‘normal’ camo will work (duck).
Safety was and still is a primary concern.
Before somebody takes a shot at the deer color blindness here is a somewhat biased site on the issue.
http://www.youngbucksoutdoors.com/QuizWiz/QW8.13_8.17.html
So it looks like the deer can’t really distinguish the small amount of orange on a vest or hat, because the “human” outline is broken up by the camo around it.
OK…I guess I would probably see the orange camo. My problem is that the same store sells this camo which I’m not gonna see in a million years.
I know that it’s nice if the animals don’t see you, but it’s not nice if you get yourself shot. So I guess my question is…what has changed in the last 25 years or so that makes hunting in camo safe now if it wasn’t safe then?
Deer are color blind, or at least they dont care what color you are.
If you dont move, the deer cannot tell that you are a human, even if you have no camaflouge at all. Deer also cannot see you when they put their head down. You can walk right up to a deer, if you walk toward him while his head is down. He cant remember that the last time he saw you, you were 10 steps father away.
If you look like a deer , he will think you are a deer. Ive seen deer attack fake decoys, rubber ones that did not even smell like deer, deer are very “visual”(like men).
I remember the same thing, and it is one of my pet peeves. They all go around trying to look like Rambo these days. No wonder they get shot!
If you’re trying to sneak up on pheasant, you ain’t ever gonna get one. For pheasant, and pret’ near all other upland game, you want a dog to flush 'em outta the weeds.
Now, if you’re hunting, say turkey, you need to be well camouflaged. However, you still ain’t gonna sneak up on 'em. You need to be deadly still.
I fact, I can’t think of any game-type critter that you’d wanna sneak up on. It’s either flush 'em out, or hide and let them walk/fly up on you.
But do they get shot more often? And if not, why not? Were the red jackets just an unnecessary precaution to begin with? And again…if they were a necessary (or advisable) precaution before, then why not now?
In Minnesota:
From page 18 of DNR hunting regulations.
IOW, it’s not required by state law to wear blaze under certain conditions. Your state probably has similar rules.
ummm, I’ll give you the pheasant one, that’s right, but after that, I’d like to make some points.
I hate tree stands. I stalk my deer. Granted, you can’t chase them as in “Mutual of Omaha - Wild Kingdom -Lion on the run” kinda chasing, but stalking or “Still Hunting” (I have no idea why they call it that, but check Field & Stream) is an effective technique. ** The deer in my freezer will tell you that I’m very effective at it.** I chased a deer for over a mile this season.
Likewise, I don’t know any other way to hunt squirrels other than to go out and walk around a lot of trees. While hunting grouse with dogs is popular, I’ve always stalked them myself, you have to do something to get them to jump.
If your point is that we’re not able to do what lions/bears/etc. do, I agree, but there are plenty of “sneaking up” scenarios during my hunts.
[slight hijack] Hunters aren’t the only things that get shot by mistake. One year a cattle rancher at Bishop, CA painted the words COW in big letters on the sides of his cattle. There was a picture on the Sports page of the Los Angeles Times.[/slight hijack]
It depends on how you’re hunting. If you’re using a bow, you’re allowed to use the full camo outfit, because you have to get close to shoot a deer with a bow, and because (more importantly) other people have to get close to shoot you, and presumably would notice you’re not a deer. When hunting with a rifle, however, there are a lot more opportunities for quick, long-range shots, and so the blaze orange is required.
Cows and horses and goats and dogs and cats and people get shot because the hunter is stupid, or drunk, or does not really care, or thinks they are the best. Writing ‘cow’ on them does not, IMO, do any good from what I have observed. I have made no study.
I have a game officer who is a friend and what it comes down to mostly is what I have already listed. One more thing that is becoming more and more common is the ones who just want to shot anything living, including people. There is a large chance that they will not get caught and IMO, just as the message board mentality of not having to live with what you say, that anonymity that one gets allow these types to fulfill their fantasy.
Sadly, some people get killed just fpr the very fact that these sick people can find them easily.
YNNV
Red was the safety color long ago but for the last 25 years or so it was blaze orange. We learned that in Hunter’s Safety when I was a girl. Best gym class I ever took. No dressing for gym, very little physical activity, except near the end we went to the rifle range in the basement of the school and had target practice. Lots of knowledge about being safe out doors. Excellent class.
**If you’re trying to sneak up on pheasant, you ain’t ever gonna get one. For pheasant, and pret’ near all other upland game, you want a dog to flush 'em outta the weeds. **
[/QUOTE]
You don’t need a dog, you need an army (the other 15 or so hunters were just out of frame on the right). Maybe sneaking up wasn’t the best choice of words, flushing would have been better. The point still stands, concealment is not necessary for upland birds.
//\etalhea|) For me tree stands are boring as well. It is just too easy, the only ‘hunting’ is trying to find a good place for your stand. For me shooting a deer from a stand at 150 yds is no more challenging than a paper target. Turkey with a bow is hunting.
I like that Minnesota law – it basically says that if it’s deer-hunting season, you MUST wear blaze orange (unless you’re out in a boat somewhere), regardless of what you personally might be hunting.
It seems that hunters wear more blaze orange vests, jackets, and caps during the centerfire rifle seasons for big game.
Here’s what I think the reasoning behind it is:
The ranges of most centerfire hunting rifle cartridges are pretty substantial. If some drunk idiot is hunting and decides to shoot at the first thing moving at long range, he might think twice if the moving object is bright orange. For the same reason, you don’t have to be as well hidden if you are shooting at an animal from 200 yards or so. The elements of disguise and surprise are not that important during rifle season.
On the other side of the coin, during bow and muzzleloading season, the range of shots taken is significantly reduced. You really have to hide to get within range of the game. Since the effective range of the weapon is lesser than with a rifle, your chances of somebody shooting you from across a canyon is lessened.
Another explanation is that during the early season hunts for game like deer and elk, you usually can wait for the animal to come to you or near you, but during later season hunts there is more stalking involved. Any time a hunter is moving from one place to another, he/she should make themselves visible and distinguishable from the game being hunted.
But what it all boils down to is STUPID PEOPLE!!! Anybody/Everybody who goes hunting should know their target, and know what is behind it. Accidents happen, but to be honest if there weren’t stupid people in this world, nobody would ever have to wear an orange vest or jacket hunting! 
A slight hijack…I am an avid hunter but I absolutely loathe 97% of the hunting shows on television. I think they wrongly portray hunters as either redneck spaz a-holes or snobby, filthy-rich trophy hunters. I have no respect for either type.
