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Old April 14, 2011, 11:14 PM   #26
Edward429451
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the state requires so many square inches of blaze orange, here in Colorado I think it's 30in.
It's 500 square inches. Think vest and hat or coat and hat.
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Old April 15, 2011, 03:25 AM   #27
natman
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While we're on the subject, here's the requirements for every state:

http://www.ihea.com/hunter-education...quirements.php

Required or not, wear it during rifle season.
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Old April 15, 2011, 05:02 AM   #28
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it's already been well established, deer don't see blaze orange like we do. you could wear a clown suit in the woods and be perfectly fine. what does spook them is scent and movement. if a deer so much as catches a whiff of you, it's gone. if a deer sees you so much as blink an eye, it's gone. even scent blockers aren't 100%. the best you can do is minimize you scent and minimize movement.
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Old April 15, 2011, 06:41 AM   #29
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Originally Posted by JohnKSa
I used to have a dog that loved to play fetch. He could find tennis balls in the yard because they were a different shade of green than the grass. But if I threw his red ball and he didn't see it land, he couldn't find it.
That kind of answers the "How do we know?" question. I suppose that someone disected a deer eyeball and found a retina that had mostly rods and few cones, meaning they can't see colors well but aren't blind at night either. Everything is a tradeoff.

A lot of zoos display small nocturnal animals under red lights which is like darkness to them. That way visitors can see them doing something other than sleeping.
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Old April 15, 2011, 07:18 AM   #30
L_Killkenny
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Generally I think camo cloths are over rated. But it does have a role even when we have to wear orange vest:

A couple examples: It gives my wife something to buy for me when she can't think of anything else and it makes it so I have "dedicated" hunting clothes.

But beyond that it does break up your outline on the areas of your body that move the most and deer most readily identify as you being a hunter. In other words your arms and legs. Years ago I read an article that your legs are one of the biggest factors in whether or not a deer sees you as being a threat. 2 legs = hunter. Hide them and you "may" improve you success.

Camo is more a function of breaking up your outline than blending you in.

But as I stated, I believe it is over rated. A good plaid shirt and some carhartt pants is 99% as effective if you watch your movement IMO.

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Old April 15, 2011, 10:23 AM   #31
bamaranger
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hate orange

Yeah, I hate wearing orange. AL law requires an orange hat, but once in an elevated stand it can be removed. A reversible cap is a popular item.

What a statement to our sport, we are so unsafe, that we must wear safety clothes so we don't shoot each other. Drives me nuts.

Actually, the state land I bow hunt is usually closed to gun hunts, and I can wear all camo there, and do.
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Old April 15, 2011, 10:43 AM   #32
orangello
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Had a schoolmate who was lucky enough to survive his buddy's missed shot at a deer, survived, but his left arm never worked or looked right after that. I'm all good with some orange, heck i have a safety orange hoodie that i wear when i am just goofing off in the woods.
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Old April 15, 2011, 02:45 PM   #33
buck460XVR
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I was wearing a BO vest, BO hat, black ski pants, and blue jacket, only blue sleeves showing, sitting on a big grey rock.

The deer looked at me, and ran, real fast. she had no problem figuring out I did not belong in the woods, and I didn't move.

She was about 50 feet away.

Maybe she smelled you............
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Old April 15, 2011, 06:34 PM   #34
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I wear camo pants and shirt, mostly because that way you have a set of "hunting" clothes that doesn't show dirt, blood, and all that.

As Doyle suggested, hunting clothes are usually cut to allow more freedom of movement, plus they have extra pockets for gear. I usually wear Army surplus fatigue pants, there are much more durable in the woods than normal clothes.


There's always the "it's what's expected" factor as well. In this area of the country, if you're hunting, most folks wear camo.
What they said. Most all of my deer hunting clothes is camo. That way I keep all of those items seperate and try to keep the scent down on it. Right now most of my camo stuff is packed away in scent lock bags out of the way.
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Old April 15, 2011, 06:50 PM   #35
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I was wearing a BO vest, BO hat, black ski pants, and blue jacket, only blue sleeves showing, sitting on a big grey rock.

The deer looked at me, and ran, real fast. she had no problem figuring out I did not belong in the woods, and I didn't move.

She was about 50 feet away.
Had you been sitting in front of the rock, instead of skylining yourself, maybe she'd not have seen you.

I have sat with my back against a large tree, butt on the ground, wearing blaze orange (with 3 kids in blaze orange in tow) and had deer walk within 5 feet of me. Once they got downwind, though, the jig was up.

I tried to scare off a fork horn buck one year, when he walked within 25 yards of me on the other side of a creek..... I whistled at him, and whispered "git!"...... he stopped, circled a bit (trying to get wind of me) then walked across the creek, straight to me, stopping 10 feet away ...... still trying to figure exactly what I was...... he finally ran off after I told him to "git!" again.
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Old April 15, 2011, 08:45 PM   #36
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No need where I hunt, Nobody whithin miles if so Tresspassing with firearm= Felony ; )
I am sure a trespasser shooting a person on accident is a felony as well. It doesn't seem to stop trespassers or felons.

Quote:
I suppose that someone disected a deer eyeball and found a retina that had mostly rods and few cones, meaning they can't see colors well but aren't blind at night either.
Not exactly. They don't see reds like we do, but do see yellows and blues just fine along with black, white, and gray. And of course they aren't blind at night. They see a lot better than we do at night, LOL. That's why they don't run into trees at night like I do.

Quote:
Had you been sitting in front of the rock, instead of skylining yourself, maybe she'd not have seen you.
I find such observations interesting, but less than conclusive. There is a guy that peddlers red LED spotlights for hunting hogs and who claims that since he has imagery of a hog under a feeder while the area is lit up with the light that the hog can't see it. I have white lights under my feeder and the hogs feed there just fine like they can't see them either, only they can. Animals often see things and opt to not react to them and may not react to them for reasons we don't always perceive or understand.

I was sitting on a rock on a tidal flat on Prince of Wales Island waiting on a boat pickup when a bear came out of the woods less than 100 yards from us and started eating vegetation. The scary thing is that he came in behind us and we didn't know it until we opted to move to another location and saw the bear. The bear knew we were there and just wasn't interested. I have had deer at a feeder watch me as I climbed into a tree stand within 50 yards of them.

Sometimes you may be "invisible" to the deer and completely unsensed by them otherwise. Sometimes, they just aren't all that impressed it seems.
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Old April 15, 2011, 08:57 PM   #37
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I am sure a trespasser shooting a person on accident is a felony as well. It doesn't seem to stop trespassers or felons.
Legality makes pee-poor ballistic protection.


See also "Meditations on Paper Armour", by Lawdog ........
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Old April 15, 2011, 09:08 PM   #38
jibberjabber
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There might come a time when, while you're out hunting, The U.S. of A. is invaded (I'm picturing the movie Red Dawn here). You'll be glad to have some camouflage when you're planning subversive retaliation.


From Red Dawn:
The Colonel: "All that hate's gonna burn you up, kid."
Robert: "It keeps me warm."

Wolverines!
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Old April 15, 2011, 10:16 PM   #39
WhiskeyTango
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Edward, holy crap I was way off, guess I ought to check out the regs the next time I go phesant hunting.
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Old April 16, 2011, 01:10 AM   #40
FrankenMauser
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I was sitting on a rock on a tidal flat on Prince of Wales Island waiting on a boat pickup when a bear came out of the woods less than 100 yards from us and started eating vegetation. The scary thing is that he came in behind us and we didn't know it until we opted to move to another location and saw the bear.
I live on a canal that makes a "great" home for ducks, during the summer. When my wife throws old bread to them, she can't get the ducks within 10 feet of her. Yet, when I'm working in the garage, they'll mosey on in with no hesitation. I can be beating on something with a hammer, running a saw, or sweeping out the place; and they'll act like they haven't a care in the world. They'll just side-step to get out of my way, as I walk around, and they'll continue poking around for bugs.

As you said-
It's amazing what animals can sometimes choose to ignore, or react unexpectedly to. And, in contrast, it's amazing what they can be condition to view as a possible threat, even though humans see no eminent danger (such as my wife feeding them).
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Old April 16, 2011, 08:17 AM   #41
22-rimfire
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Whats the point of camo if your wearing blaze orange?
None. Where whatever clothing you have for hunting with a blaze orange vest over top.

Choice for camo? I believe it is mostly about marketing when it comes to deer hunting with a rifle. It is the law in most states to wear blaze orange. It works. It could save your life and that is worth more than any deer.

I wear camo with blaze orange vest over top because the camo stuff was offered in a weight/warmth that I was looking for and I can wear it at other times of the year and not look like a walking flood light.
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Old April 16, 2011, 08:57 AM   #42
ZeroJunk
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I don't wear camo pants. But, all the really functional hunting jackets and coats seem to come in camo. I don't see how it can hurt anything.
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Old April 16, 2011, 05:20 PM   #43
jmr40
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I was wearing a BO vest, BO hat, black ski pants, and blue jacket, only blue sleeves showing, sitting on a big grey rock.

The deer looked at me, and ran, real fast. she had no problem figuring out I did not belong in the woods, and I didn't move


As has been stated above deer see colors much differently. Blaze orange stands out against most backgrounds as very different to a human, but not to a deer. Deer on the other hand see the color blue, as much brighter than do humans. It was likely your blue sleeves that made you stand out as different.
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Old April 17, 2011, 07:14 AM   #44
hooligan1
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Look, the bottom line here is that the "BLAZE ORANGE" is for Other hunters to see YOU....... who cares what a deer sees.... to a point they usually can't discerne you from any other stump in the woods...... You want to be seen by fellow hunters... I really don't hunt for those "Monster bucks" anyway, so I'm more in tune with the other hunters in the area noticing me,,,, for saftey...
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Old April 17, 2011, 10:31 PM   #45
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I stand 6/1" and tip the scale at about 400 lbs, I wear a 6X B O Tee shirt under my OD Mesh Vest, and a size Freakin Huge B O Baseball cap. Even with the Mesh Vest covering 'some' of the Tee Shirt, I still look like the "Great Pumpkin" where-ever I go. I haven't measure the "area" of the exposed shirt-orange, but it must exceed the minimum standard....Hell it was made by 'Omar the tentmaker" Remember the old Ray Stevens song...
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Old April 18, 2011, 07:03 AM   #46
Daryl
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For me, it is a simple matter of "these are the only hunting clothes I own". All my hunting clothes are camo. Hunting clothes by function are more loose and have more pockets than jeans. When I happen to be hunting in a place that requires an orange vest, I'm still going to wear the clothes I normally wear. They will just be partially covered with a vest.
This is exactly my case, as well. Az doesn't require orange; Colorado does. I wear the same clothes wherever I hunt.

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Old April 18, 2011, 07:26 AM   #47
Art Eatman
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"...sitting on a big grey rock."

Possibly pattern identification. The rock didn't look the same as it did earlier or the day before--and to most animals, "Different is BAD! Run away! Run away!"

The wildlife boffins have reported that the wild turkey is superior to deer for pattern identification.

Doesn't matter what you wear if you're skylined and creating a different pattern.
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Old April 19, 2011, 09:41 AM   #48
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Pants, sleeves and etc. with no patterns add up to one big object that sticks out against a brushy background (maybe okay for a background with large boulders). Camouflage reduces that signature to that of the blaze orange vest. And years back, I've even seen a blaze orange vest that was broke up with black camo patterns.
BO Camo like this vest?




Quote:
For me, it is a simple matter of "these are the only hunting clothes I own". All my hunting clothes are camo. Hunting clothes by function are more loose and have more pockets than jeans. When I happen to be hunting in a place that requires an orange vest, I'm still going to wear the clothes I normally wear. They will just be partially covered with a vest.
Me too!
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Old April 19, 2011, 11:41 AM   #49
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The deer looked at me, and ran, real fast. she had no problem figuring out I did not belong in the woods, and I didn't move
Perhaps she picked up a little scent too.


Even with a blaze orange vest and hat, your pattern is still broke up enough that deer don't easily understand what you are. To add to that, deer are looking for movement more so than a pattern so blaze orange isn't really going to hurt your odds.

I might even suggest that camo in general is over rated. It certainly doesn't hurt, but you can still have a successful hunt without camo if you control your scent and movement.
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Old April 19, 2011, 07:51 PM   #50
Art Eatman
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Maybe in the last half-century, deer have evolved away from being color-blind. See, back before camo, folks down south commonly wore Levi pants and jackets when out messing around with Bambi.

Probably 1950 or 1951 I was sneaky-snaking around my uncle's back pasture. Came near the boundary fence. Other side, was a fella in Levis, sitting on a stump. A doe was feeding by, maybe ten or fifteen yards away from him. That sort of thing was not at all uncommon back in those days.

Nowadays? From what the advertising says, if you don't wear camo you'll just be like a strobe light to Bambi's eyes.

I guess.

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