Blaze Orange

[pstrman]

Is it required for rifle deer? Been bow hunting for years and can't remember.

[rcdinaz]

No not in AZ

[5guyshunting]

Only if you want everyone to know your "honey hole".

[HuntHarder]

It is not required, but IMO one should always have some sort of orange on them while rifle hunting in AZ. Lots of hunters in congested areas can lead to a bad situation. I usually wear an orange hat, if I am rifle hunting.

[Cazador]

I tie a blaze orange bandana to my pack.

[muledeerarea33?]

Don't wear on all occasions but probably should. Deer are color blind and only see contrast in color. If your stalking an animal I wouldn't wear it. But walking to a glassing spot or after your kill I would say YES! Been shot at a few times personally.

[Havasuhunter]

Depends on the zone whether I wear it or not in states that don't require it. Some AZ zones it may be smart.

[Norteno]

I've had it save me a couple times. First time I was glassing two does and I saw movement on the top of the hill. It was a guy smoking a cigar and his son with a rifle. The deer were right between us and I knew they were going to spook them. Sure enough deer take off and this kid has his rifle pointed right at me. He then continues to look my direction with his scope. I pull out my blaze zest and start waiving it till the kid sees me in his scope. He tells Dad and they take off back over hill. I was raging pissed!

Second time I used it to help my buddy while he was on a stock. He almost walked right into the deer until I broke out my blaze and he spotted it. By my location he knew he was in the wrong spot, dropped to prone and got off a shot. (Missed)

 

I always carry my blaze "in case sh*t"

[Xnt]

I'd wear it even if it were illegal. Too many jackwagons out there who use their scopes for binoculars

[naturegirl]

Not required, but on a rifle hunt I typically wear an orange hat in areas where I know there are other hunters. Just my preference.

[lancetkenyon]

Personally, I do not wear blaze orange until I am packing out a game animal. Not for safety reasons, but for the fact that I do not want other hunters to see me and know where I am hunting/heading. I don't want to give away honey holes I have worked hard to find.

 

I actually stop and get behind trees or bushes if I see a truck on another ridge while I am hiking into my spots.

[BeardownAZ]

Don't wear on all occasions but probably should. Deer are color blind and only see contrast in color. If your stalking an animal I wouldn't wear it. But walking to a glassing spot or after your kill I would say YES! Been shot at a few times personally.

Really?? Actually shot at? People are idiots. Tell that story.

[naturegirl]

I've had bullets whizzing by my head once, but it wasn't during a hunt. That's all it took for me. I'm not interested in ever experiencing that again.

 

If people I don't know have rifles, then I want them to know where I am (orange hat and especially don't forget orange for the horses/mules).

 

Another reason I prefer a bow

[ctafoya]

I dont want anyone to know where im at. I keep a bandanna in my pack in case i do tag out to wrap around the head but thats all.

[billrquimby]

Many years ago, when blaze orange first came out, manufacturers hired lobbyists and sent them across the country to push for laws requiring hunters to wear it.

 

I was at a meeting when a manufacturer's rep gave a presentation and urged our Game and Fish Commission members to adopt such a rule. When a commissioner asked the department to return with hard data on hunting accident fatalities in Arizona, it was found that all of the fewer than a dozen accidental shooting deaths over the previous ten years occurred because of improper gun handling at the victim's vehicle, and not because someone mistook someone for a deer or other game.

 

It was quite a few years after that before Arizona had its first "mistaken-for-game" shooting.

 

This was when deer tags still were sold at hardware stores and 90,000 to 100,000 of us hunted in just one season ("stratified" seasons such as we now have drastically cut the number of hunters in the field at the same time).

 

I would not be surprised that the rate of accidental shootings has dropped significantly since then, thanks to hunter safety training for beginning hunters.

 

Personally, I wear camo and have never felt threatened by seeing other hunters near me. I wear blaze orange in states where it is required, but knowing how such rules came about irks me no end to be forced to wear those silly vests and caps.

 

Bill Quimby