I'm taking my wife hunting tomorrow for 1st season shotgun in Illinois. We both have permits but for 2 different counties so I won't be carrying a firearm tomorrow.

My question is, since she is the one doing the hunting - do I still have to wear an orange vest and hat? I plan on wearing the hat regardless for safety but would rather not wear the vest if I don't have to. Does anyone have experience with this?

Read your local regs book, but I believe only the hunter must wear orange. But if I was you and was walking around on public land during Deer season i would wear lots of orange to be sure you don't end up with a toe tag.

Ya it all depends on the regs. Here any rifle hunter as well as anyone tagging along with the hunter also needs to be in full colors.

If I was on public land durning gun hunting, you couldnt keep the orange off me!

Hunting a large private farm that has never been hunted. No other hunters in the general area either.

If it were me, I would wear all of the orange that I could. It makes you a lot more visible just in case you decide to walk some trees and are not standing right beside your wife. Here in Nebraska, everyone has to wear orange during deer season...even the pheasant hunters.

you can never be too safe ....wear the vest & hat

Don't chance it. Wear the orange.

You should be thinking safety, not regs. Me? I can't imagine why you wouldn't wear as much orange as the shooter. The only reason I can think of is that you don't want to be visible to the deer. If this is the case, buy yourself a cheap blaze camo vest and hat.* They are pretty much as effective as regular camo for deer, imho. I am of the school that believes that deer see blaze as a shade of grey or brown and so that a simple break-up pattern on the blaze is an effective pattern. Regardless, your movements and scent are going to be 100X more important than the color of your vest.

*I have no idea if blaze camo is legal where you're hunting or if that particular reg would apply to a non-hunter anyway.

It's all about what the regs say here and not really what you'd rather want to wear or not. Here in MN if there's a gun season going on.....it doesn't matter what you doing in the woods. Pheasant hunting, cutting wood, squirrel hunting, bow hunting, going on a nature walk.....you MUST have blaze on. And like someone else said....why wouldn't you want to wear it. Deer can't peg you on a tree stand wearing blaze, so why not wear it?