Should Hunter orange be manditory?

willametteriveroutlaw · 10-22-2002, 12:00 PM

For rifle season, yes yes yes. Almost every other state requires it why don't we?

Bait O' Eggs · 10-22-2002, 12:23 PM

I am sure it would save a person or 2 a year from a shooting accident. But I am having a hard time accepting being told what to wear when I am doing what I enjoy.

I dont like the seat belt law, I dont like the helmet law for motorcylces, I wouldnt like a mandatory life jacket law for all persons on a boat, I wouldnt like to be told what color of clothes to wear when hunting. There are a lot of things we can do to make us more safe, shall we all have to wear helmets when driving cars? I am sure it would save a few people a year.

Banning cameras wont prevent pornography, making hunter orange mandatory wouldnt stop idiots from shooting innocent people in the woods.

Go ahead I got my asbestos undies on, flame me all you want.

Its just how I feel.

springer_97011 · 10-22-2002, 12:39 PM

i just cant figure how somebody could shoot at something before they could tell what it is.do they just start shooting and hope it drops without being able to see shot placement or even if its a legal animal .iknow most dont do this but its a real problem.i rifle hunted one day and was digusted by the conduct out there and have bowhunted ever since.

10-22-2002, 12:44 PM

I'd rather see better hunter education.

If it is required the vest and hat would be better than one or the other.

Before I moved to Alaska I was siting in a slash pile about 100 feet off a road with my back to the road. Two cretin road hunters stoped and used their rifle scopes to see what the large and moving hunter orange object was. From that day on I have worn more stealthy cloths when hunting on public land.
I also try to get as far from the roads as I can and hunt roadless areas.

OneLastCast · 10-22-2002, 12:46 PM

I agree with BOE on this one. I don't want what I wear to be mandated. The grandpa that was wounded and the grandson that was killed were wearing yellow raingear. That didn't help. I believe that hunting deaths have dropped in the last 20 years without the orange requirement.
Unfortunately we will not get rid of those hunters that are dumber than a box of rocks.

OneLastCast

TheRogue · 10-22-2002, 12:51 PM

Can't legislate out stupidity....people will always fire "sound" shots, or flashes of movement, etc.

That being said, when I hunt up here, I wear an orange surveyor's vest and an orange Stihl Powersaws cap. I figure it might keep at least a few idiots from flingin' lead at me. Down GB way, when I get down there, I hunt in pretty much full camo.

I hate the seatbelt law, the helmet law, and a bunch of the other ones.....but I always wear my seatbelt, my helmet the few times I get on a motorcycle: If you want to raise your chances of being killed that much because you don't want to wear it, well that's your problem.

My .02

TR

[ 10-22-2002, 01:54 PM: Message edited by: TheRogue ]

fishuntr2 · 10-22-2002, 01:13 PM

Interesting.....I just voted and tied it up. 9 votes for and 9 against. I would rather not be seen by others so I wear camo. But my son has to wear an orange hat. Double standard? I'm an adult and lmake my own decisions. My son can dress as he likes when out from under my wings. I didn't wear a helmet when you didn't have too and was wearing one in the accident that would have killed me without a helmet. I also don't wear a seatbelt. Stupid? Some would say so but thats LIFE. (a 4-letter word) I really think that hunting education is the key and maybe ALL hunters should sit thru the hunter safety course and receive a passing grade before getting their hunting privledges. All 3 of my kids and myself went thru the oregon course several years back. My 2 daughters aren't interested in hunting but general gun safety is important. We all passed with good scores. My daughters can handle a gun and anyone tryng to break into my house to do harm or rob us is gonna be one dead Mo-Fo if we are home when it happens. And thats the truth.
Bob

Lured In · 10-22-2002, 01:15 PM

Personally I will always wear orange for upland and while walking during big game seasons. I only wear it while walking as I believe that is the single most vulnerable time to get shot. When I get to where ever I am going to set up, I take off my hat and vest and put on my camo's.

As far as regulating it, I could go either way. On one hand I agree with BOE/The Rogue that you cannot regulate/control stupidity. Those wackos will always be out there somewhere.

On the other hand, I do feel that it is an important issue and it may some some lives. I believe that saving some in this case may be worth the inconvenience of wearing orange. (Not to mention it is not exactly a hot fashion trend.

) Ideally, a study should be done (unlike with mechanical decoys) for a few years to see if a 'control' group wearing orange WHILE WALKING has a lower chance of getting shot. There is no reason to force people to wear it while on stand. (That would be the equivalent of forcing people to wear their seatbelt if the car is not running.)

I know on ODFW's website I saw a page that listed hunting accidents by year. I don't recall, but is there a documented case of someone getting shot while wearing orange?

Gus Orviston · 10-22-2002, 01:43 PM

No, I do not favor such a requirement.

Posted in another thread in this forum, there have been 58 accidents in 20 years, 10 of which had blaze orange on. If only 20% of the hunting population over the past 20 years has worn blaze orange then it makes ZERO difference....but without the additional statisical information you can't draw a conclusion.

However, my other post does say that 44 states/provinces require Blaze Orange and the claim is that accidents have reduced.

Much like others on this discussion I use to wear nuetral color (not camo) but dark, so that I couldn't easily be seen because I didn't want to be scoped purposefully... Now I am in the opposite camp, be seen. Sometimes doing this gives away an access avenue into a canyon, sweet hunting spot, etc.. Most lazy hunters would never explore, but when they see you there they figure it out..oh well.

The successful hunter, like the successful fisherman, has more than one haunt and is confident in new situations/areas.

montster303 · 10-22-2002, 02:13 PM

Well, i voted against having to wear orange. I am in agreement with the others that say you can't regulate stupidity. I believe you should have the right to choose things for yourself AS LONG AS it's not infringing on someone else's safety, or security. If someone slips and falls in the tub and breaks their neck, are we going to make a law that you can't stand in the tub? [img]graemlins/stupid.gif[/img] Better education has my vote.

willametteriveroutlaw · 10-22-2002, 03:14 PM

I have to agree w/ you guys to a certain extent, but hunter orange makes a dramatic difference in how visisble you are to other hunters. There will always be idiots and overly excited hunters, hunter orange is a good way to safeguard your self from them. W/all of that being said, I don't wear hunter orange when I am hunting Timber far away from roads, or in the back country. But then i pack somthing out I look like a glowstick coming out of the woods.

Myles · 10-22-2002, 03:19 PM

More regulations? No thanks. More education? Maybe.
But with some people it just doesn't matter.

Woman shot when gun falls in commode

actual headline, just after finishing safety class she knocked her gun in the toilet and shot herself in the a$$. What law would fix that problem [img]graemlins/stupid.gif[/img]

http://www.lakecityreporter.com/news...021021n3.html?

myles

10-22-2002, 03:43 PM

Toilet (?outhouse?) control :shocked: ?

brshooter · 10-22-2002, 05:33 PM

I don't think we need legislation for this. I wear hunter orange by choice. It always amazes me that I can be sitting on a stand, wearing an orange vest and hat in plain view, and still have idiots try to sneak & peak right through my stand without noticing me. If they can't see someone in orange, I hate to think how many animals they are walking by.

bigshark · 10-22-2002, 07:49 PM

I'm going to venture a guess here for which I don't have any facts to back it up. As hunters
and fishers we seem to not like to be told what to do. Given a choice I suspect that we think that a lot of common sense exists among sportsman as a group. Why should we have to wear blaze orange? Maybe its because there is more to it than we think. The majority of residents in the state of OR are high school graduates, yet our newspapers are written with 8th grade vocabulary. My guess is that no matter what we do you are going to have people making the mistakes that most of us think only a real dumbie could make. Like what was the gal doing in the bathroon with a loaded gun? Why did she have a gun in the toilet? Why shoot a bush that has an elks head on one end? Why Why Why etc. I don't know what the answer is either, I will venture another guess. The dumbest of the dumb don't have to do anything more than have the dollars to buy a tag and their legal. But, maybe I have over-simplfied it.......I really don't know and I can believe that goofy things can happen to most of us...Me Included. Maybe if we just keep reminding one another in a good natured way, we will not loose any of our own.

[ 10-22-2002, 08:55 PM: Message edited by: bigshark ]

mudsucker · 10-22-2002, 08:03 PM

I'm with BAIT and OneLastCast on this..I don't wear orange while hunting and don't want to..Like to not be seen, i figure i have a better chance of not being scoped out by other hunters, and that has happened to me before and realy ****** me off. I do however put on orange while packing out and while field dressing. Just my 2 cents worth..

SeanD · 10-22-2002, 08:48 PM

NO.
Hunter orange makes you more visable to people. and also more visable to animals. They are color blind, but they can still see the difference in brightness. it is unnatural. the only time i wear hunter orange is when i am packing out an animal head with antlers, then i ribbon the heck out of it with orange ribbon and wear an orange vest. Ill stick to my red shirt or coat. Just be smart, dont wear the tan carrhart coat with dark brown coller during elk season, especially if its a cow hunt.

corrirod · 10-22-2002, 11:22 PM

I just have trouble believing someone is dumb enough to shoot without knowing what it is, especially when the person is wearing orange! This leads me to believe that these people accidently pulled the trigger while scoping another hunter, and then, in order to get out of manslaughter charges, claimed to have thought they were shooting at a deer, elk, or whatever.

So, this being said, do I want to wear orange and attract someone's scope who may accidently pull the trigger while watching me? Or, do I try to camouflage myself, possibly attracting and idiot's shot that doesn't look to see what he's shooting at? Not sure which is worse.

MasterCaster · 10-22-2002, 11:50 PM

I think it should be! It is in alot of other states. I know it wouldnt stop all the accidents but If it saved just one life of a loved one wouldnt it be worth it?

I always wear an orange vest and most of the time a hat to go with it.

WaterDog · 10-23-2002, 07:28 AM

I'd have to agree with #31.

I dont think that making it mandatory would really help that much tho'. These "hunters", and I use that term loosely, do not know what they are shooting at. How this happens I can't even understand it. If a guy is packing out a head I would guess that the motion of the head would be a big clue that something is not right. "Hmmm that there elk sure is walkin' funny but I'm gonna take it anyway." [img]graemlins/stupid.gif[/img]

Buck fever or whatever you want to call it is not an excuse either. Frankly, if you get so worked up at the sight of an animal that you no longer can think, then do us all a favor, find a new hobby. [img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img] I have run across other hunters in the woods and as it turned out we were stalking each other.

I never even raised my gun, I was ready to, but I dont even shoulder the weapon until the target is identified.

This is one reason that I perfer chasing fins rather than antlers.