Indianahick

You know folks that there is not an excuse for useing commen sense and safety measures when entering and exiting a hunting area.I always use a good flashlight, wear an orange hat and vest (if it is warm then a thin zip up one that can be easily removed upon reaching my stand and tossed on the ground, well sprayed with fresh earth cover spray or maybe even some skunk scent). I also now use a little light made by Garrity that is sold at walmart (where I bought mine) for about 3 dollars. It is green and the whole light lites up when turned on and it shows up for a great distance and is not near as expensive as the streamlights. I have one of those also. So I guess that I glow when walking thru the woods and I may spook some deer at times although I have not heard any run this year. But I have been shot at befor. A poacher off of a county road. Personally I would rather take the chance of spooking something than having some gun happy fool shooting in my direction. So as they used to say a police show Let's All Be Careful Out There. Safety first.

Pat Curtis

I don't see how it could happen. Then again, they might have been from Jay County originally.

BowHuntingFool

This is the reason I wear Orange from head to toe!!!!!! Sad story!

Pat Curtis

I wear an orange balaclavas..that's it.

Buck Huntin Girl

Well I hunt private land, there is only one other person besides my husband and myself that has permission to hunt it, and he's been there once that we are aware of in the last 8 years... doesn't make a difference to me, because is some idiot is dumb enough to come onto a property they don't have permission to be on, I do NOT doubt they are equally dumb enough to mistake me for a deer... hunter orange rule is there for a good reason... SAFETY! When I take my daughter out, she wears an orange face mask, orange hat, orange gloves, and an orange coverall... the only thing that isn't orange is her boots and her bright blue eyes! Myself, I wear orange gloves, orange hat, and camo orange coverall... if someone shoots me, it's simply because they are out to shoot someone, I may be a dear, but I sure as hell won't be mistaken for a DEER!

We may not always agree with the rules and regs, but they are all put in place for a reason, and if you ask the dead guy, I bet he'd highly recommend orange head to toe!

This kind of stuff justburns me up, it's the exact reasons anti's need to say their sh*t. It's inevitable it will happen every year, somewhere, someplace, usually because someone isn't following the unwritten gun safety rules or the written blaze requirements. Yeah, some rules are made to be broken, but when your life is at stake, I'd definitely march to the beat of the DNR's drummer!

Indianahick

I am not sure how leagal an orange balaclava is but it is not my place to say and I have not looked it up either. But I personally wear an orange hat and a vest that is orange. Once in my ladder stand I either reverse the vest if not useing my hunters safety system which I always use when using the Lone Wolf. Or if I am wearing an orange only vest then removeing it and dropping it to the ground and keeping the orange hat. I used to wear orange gloves also and am really a fan of the gloves as it is my belief that since ones hands are almost always in some form of motion that thiswill attract the notice of another and being orange they will say hey this is not a deer. But the dnr does not feel that gloves make enough of a statement or show up well enough so they are not on the approved list.

Once in the stand I believe in disappering as much as possable but when go to and fro, tracking or just walking and looking at least an Orange hat and vest are a must to me. But even my private hunting area is not just mine. So they are required wear. If I was alone and positive (as much as one could be) of it I would probably only wear a hat and it would be reversable.

Pat Curtis

A blaze orangebalaclava pulled over one's head meets all requirements of the hunter orange policy...same thing as wearing a hat or a hood.

Besides, more people duck hunt on Big Long Lake during deer season than anything. I'd say less than 5 deer hunters (besides myself and friends) within a square mile of me when hunting.

No worries at all here...never one close call. Leasing land with nobody around is the way to go.

Indianahick

Sounds okay to me. I hinted at leasing where I hunt because I wanted to be alone. But some of the hunters are friends of his daughters and they come in for a few day. Somehow I do not think that the daughters friends will be kept out, unless they incure her rath and then they may be invited to go elsewhere but I am not going to hold my breath. The only other way of leasing seems to be thru base camp and as we all feel they seem to be rather pricey. Yup gotta make a profit for the owners. And I can not come close to affording them. So I will share and like it.

Pat Curtis

If you find a few people to split the lease with...the individual pay-out per person isn't all that bad.

Indianahick

The problem there is that there is pretty much only me and my son that hunt together now. I have a old friend that just bow hunted this year and was not really interested in takeing any game. He said that his family had quit eating it. So I figure that he is going to quit soon. I do have another friend but I can not even get him to go fishing and he used to fish all the time. So any cost is stuck with mostly with me and since haveing been sick I am on a very limited income.