Having orange on in the stand?

[shaggy]

I totally understand the need for orange to and from the stand, but would like to take it off while in the stand. Am I missing something here?

[msbadger]

All I can say to that is...I was dressed head to toe in orange and very very nearly shot out of my 16 foot stand...my nieghbor 2 years earlier was in her 16 ft stand dressed in camo and her orange vest hanging next to her....the slugs from the 12 ga cut two poplars inhalf and tore out half of another lined up directly with her face....They shot 2 more times after her screams....God sat on her shoulder that day...DEC found the vehicle but not the shooter

[Relentless]

Shaggy, if you have orange on I assume you are gun hunting of some sort which means you have range to your advantage.  I have had deer directly under me on multiple occasions while sporting a blaze orange vest.  As long as you sit still and have the wind in your favor you will be fine.  Back to the range issue....if you are using a gun you should be able to get a shot off before the deer is close enough to realize what you are wearing.  You don't want to sacrifice your own safety!
 
msbadger, you must be out in the true boonies with some of the unethical, illegal issues you have had to deal with.  I have read about several of your misfortunes.  Hopefully it gets better and safer for you.  It is a shame how some people behave.

[fasteddie]

I wear Blaze Orange from head to toe during gun season even though it isn't mandatory in New York State . I don't want to be a statistic . I would rather not get a shot than to be shot . There are quite a few weekend warriers out during gun season and that might be the only time they hunt during the year . I have shot a fair number of deer whild wearing blaze orange .

[ranwin33]

ORIGINAL: shaggy

I totally understand the need for orange to and from the stand, but would like to take it off while in the stand. Am I missing something here?

Yeah I think you are.
 
Like that hunter 150 yards away who sees you moving in the tree without any orange on, doesn't take the time to identify what he sees moving, and then shoots you.
 
Orange may not prevent all accidents but it will help.

[metrx]

I think this is one of the biggest debates in the hunting community..."should the gov't mandate wearing hunter (blaze) orange".  I feel most things should be a personal choice in life...the less govt intervention the better.  Being a resident of NY, where no blaze orange is required, I personally wear at least a blaze vest and hat when gun hunting, whether its private, public, or my own land.  I have never had an incident where I was mistaken for game and/or shot at...in the deer woods...but nonetheless, I wear it.  "Better safe than sorry."  I firmly believe deer do not see blaze orange...I've had them 20 feet away in a foot of snow...if you dont move and the wind is right, they wont detect you...so thats not part of the debate. 

I know I am an ethical hunter, who practices with my firearm and identifies my target and beyond...but I know not everyone carrying a gun in the deer woods is as ethical as me...hell, they may be poaching for all I know and shoot at anything that moves.  Its the equivilant to being a good driver with poor road conditions...I know I will be driving safely to get to my destination, but there are idiots on the road, driving like maniacs with no one elses safety on their mind.  Well, like hunting, its not me I'm worried about, its those idiots I'm worried about.  And I want to do whatever I can to decrease being a statistic, to be around for my family and enjoy hunting for as long as possible. 

I know people in general dont like being told what to do.  I never wore a seatbelt until it became a law in NYS.  I hated it at first, (probably because I was being told what to do)...but contrary to what everyone may think, it saves lives.  Well, thats why I wear some blaze orange during gun season.  If people can get over the fact that they are being told what they can or cant do and see at as a safety factor that may increase their odds of returning home from hunting with the same amount of holes in their body as when they left to go hunting for the day, the better it will sit with them to just wear it. 

[retiredsailor]

I also wear plenty of blaze orange during the required gun seasons and keep it on whether in a stand, blind, still-hunting or just moving. However, I am curious - since you say that New York has no requirement for wearing orange, (perhaps the same is true for other states as well) I'm wondering if there are any official statistics regarding accidental shootings per capita - based on licenses sold - as opposed to states having such a requirement. If anyone has ever bothered to compile such numbers, the results might be very interesting. Anyone have anything on this?

[DeerCamp]

I ware orange at ALL times during gun season when in the woods, I dont care if Im on my own property or not. Strange things happen and just like ranwin33 said it "Orange may not prevent all accidents but it will help." If youre in a treestand, I still feel you should ware it..Its your life..Why would you want to take a chance..

Like I said every deer Ive killed while in gun season Ive worn orange...I dont think it bothers the deer one bit..

[Ohio farms]

Ohio requires orange and I wear all I can. Don't forget that when you are in a tree stand in hill country you are not always above the line of fire. Many people are shot without actually being the mistaken target...line of fire accidents are the scarry ones.  If you do not wear orange, you are difficult see you at a distance and accidents can happen.  It's important to come home after your hunt.

[metrx]

I quick "google" revealed that currently 40 states mandate some level of blaze orange during one or all gunhunting seasons.  It varies from an unspecified amount, to just a hat, to a minimum amount of square inches.  Most western states (except Oregon) mandate it and in the Northeast it seems NY and VT have no requirement but Maine does. 
I'm not sure if there is any documented correlation between wearing blaze orange or not compared to hunting accidents...but, a blind guy could see a hunter in blaze orange a mile away in the fall/winter woods...it has to have saved a life at somepoint.
I subscribe to a bi-monthly sportsman's newspaper here in NY, and every year they list the hunting accidents via shootings.  According to the AMA and doctors of Emergency Medicine, it is documented that hunting is one of the safest sports participated in the US, per capita.  (Treestand related accidents are the #1 cause of injury while hunting, nationwide).  Off the top of my head, I recall most of shooting related accidents being for either mistaking a hunter for game and/or during small game/bird hunting where the shooter is not executing muzzle control while firing errantly at a moving target (ie-flushed pheasant).  Just ask Dick Cheney.