I know a line of bull when I hear it...

I hate the idea of state-mandated blaze orange. It's an assumed risk, just like riding a quad or skydiving. We all know the risks of not looking like the great pumpkin. Of course you can get sprayed, mistaken for a turkey, I suppose.

I can also understand state-mandated orange requirements on state land - we're using their land, so we use it on their terms. As for private land, however, I don't see the justification.

Almost every turkey hunter I know (and I'm sure some of you would agree) keeps a balled up, ancient orange hat in their turkey vest "just in case," and that hat only comes out for 1 minute per day (that last minute of stepping out of the woods to get in your car).

It just seems silly to play pretend that everybody is abiding by this silly rule. I lost all faith in blaze orange turkey laws when some idiot blew my decoy off the stake a few seasons ago. I even had the orange band tied up in the tree behind me. Needless to say, he was focused on that monster foam gobbler. No hard feelings though, he was just another squirrel tryin' to get a nut. He felt like a real butthead afterward.

I, of course, abide by all blaze orange laws as well as the rest of the laws of this fine Commonwealth, being the upstanding citizen that I am.