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Question about wearing orange in CO

or the guide who will be blowing an Elk call (Bugle or Cow) shouldn't he wear it too? I would think the guide would be much more in danger of being mistaken for an Elk by blowing a bugle or cow call, than the hunter carrying a rifle.
Depends on the state. In Montana, for example, a guide is required to wear orange.
 
I’ll be muzzleload hunting in CO this year. I’ll have a full blaze orange vest and was wondering if this hat is legal or if I need to buy a full blaze hat? Also my wife will be tagging along with me. She will also have a vest for sure but does she legally have to have the head covering too if not hunting? @Oak @wllm1313
From the CPW website: " Hunters must at least 500 square inches of solid daylight fluorescent orange or solid florescent pink material above the waist on an outer garment while hunting deer, elk, pronghorn, bear, or moose during a muzzleloading or rifle season. Part of the fluorescent orange must be a hat or head covering visible from all directions. Camouflage orange or camouflage pink does not meet this requirement. Mesh garments are legal but not recommended. Bowhunters are not required to wear fluorescent orange during archery seasons. Colorado Parks and Wildlife strongly recommends wearing daylight fluorescent orange or florescent pink clothes in the field even if you’re not hunting. For details about the florescent pink alternative hunter safety color approved in 2016, please read the Authorized Fluorescent Pink fact sheet."

From this do your measurements. For reference 500 square inches is about 3 1/2 square feet. A little bit less. The hat is probably legal then BUT camo orange or pink is not legal in Colorado so I would send an email to CPW via their website and ask them. It probably is legal BUT I would not get advice about that here. I would send email to CPW. Their contact info is listed in the big game brochure: https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/RulesRegs/Brochure/BigGame/biggame.pdf
 
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From the CPW website: " Hunters must at least 500 square inches of solid daylight fluorescent orange or solid florescent pink material above the waist on an outer garment while hunting deer, elk, pronghorn, bear, or moose during a muzzleloading or rifle season. Part of the fluorescent orange must be a hat or head covering visible from all directions. Camouflage orange or camouflage pink does not meet this requirement. Mesh garments are legal but not recommended. Bowhunters are not required to wear fluorescent orange during archery seasons. Colorado Parks and Wildlife strongly recommends wearing daylight fluorescent orange or florescent pink clothes in the field even if you’re not hunting. For details about the florescent pink alternative hunter safety color approved in 2016, please read the Authorized Fluorescent Pink fact sheet."

From this do your measurements. For reference 500 square inches is about 3 1/2 square feet. A little bit less. The hat is probably legal then BUT camo orange or pink is not legal in Colorado so I would send an email to CPW via their website and ask them. It probably is legal BUT I would not get advice about that here. I would send email to CPW. Their contact info is listed in the big game brochure: https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/RulesRegs/Brochure/BigGame/biggame.pdf

Id have to find our HSE packet from work but I believe I read that a men’s size large vest is ~775 inches.
 
Id have to find our HSE packet from work but I believe I read that a men’s size large vest is ~775 inches.
Keep in mind that 500 square inches is required above the waist PLUS you must wear a blaze orange hat. For the hat, the blaze orange must be visible from all directions. The regs do not say that the hat must be 100% blaze orange. But to tell you the truth from my experience as a former resident of Colorado, and hunter safety instructor while I was in Colorado, the vest unless you are a small child meets the requirements of "300 square inches above the waist" but the regs specify you still have to wear a hat too.
 
Is a backpack considered an outer garment... asking for a friend
Put it this way, in Colorado the blaze orange must be visible from all directions and the visible total above the waist must be at least 500 square inches front, back and sides. I am with others. When people do stupid things, big brother wants to pass laws to try to make us safe from ourselves. Blaze orange is only as safe as the idiot pulling the trigger. I once had a hat shot off me when I was a teenie bopper and I was blaze orange head to toe wearing blaze orange coveralls.
 
Is a backpack considered an outer garment... asking for a friend

I'm thinking if the backpack is not orange, then it would obscure the orange you are wearing underneath it. I have a Camelbak that I wear while hunting, and when I hunt in Colorado, I have an orange cover that goes over it. Also brings up the question of a bino harness that would obscure the front portion of the orange vest. With a backpack and a bino harness, not much orange would be visible except for the hat.
 
Might be a good educational segment for Randy to do. Look at a "bedded buck" 300 yards away with guys in Camo versus one with those guys in orange. With today's camo probably more important than ever.
We show a movie in hunters Ed called shoot/don’t shoot. It shows a situation very similar to this. It is a very outdated video and I would love to show the Randy version if they produced one!
 

I don't think that's enough data to say there is a causation/correlation relationship. Why is CA so high? Much higher number of non-hunters in woods who don't have to comply with hunter orange? Perhaps. Are states with open country safer because you have better visibility or less safe because bullets travel farther before hitting terrain on a miss? The south is awful at shooting at movement in bushes which goes beyond the incidents stated here where someone was simply in line of sight of beyond intended target.

It makes no sense to not require blaze orange for archers if a rifle season is concurrent. I'm fine if there is no rifle season.

I still think something needs to be done for hikers, etc. and I'm not sure education is enough. I was hunting on a military base that required strict check-in and 360 blaze orange on person and any blinds. Had a hiker top over a ridge and hike right into a basin that had at least 3 groups of hunters, all visible with orange. He was in full camo. I went over to him when he got near and he didn't feel like he was taking a risk. I think he was at greater risk of being beyond the target on the mountain that was a backstop than he was for being mistaken for a deer but I doubt the hunters that were set up further down the basin new he was there.
 
I don't think that's enough data to say there is a causation/correlation relationship. Why is CA so high? Much higher number of non-hunters in woods who don't have to comply with hunter orange? Perhaps. Are states with open country safer because you have better visibility or less safe because bullets travel farther before hitting terrain on a miss? The south is awful at shooting at movement in bushes which goes beyond the incidents stated here where someone was simply in line of sight of beyond intended target.

It makes no sense to not require blaze orange for archers if a rifle season is concurrent. I'm fine if there is no rifle season.

I still think something needs to be done for hikers, etc. and I'm not sure education is enough. I was hunting on a military base that required strict check-in and 360 blaze orange on person and any blinds. Had a hiker top over a ridge and hike right into a basin that had at least 3 groups of hunters, all visible with orange. He was in full camo. I went over to him when he got near and he didn't feel like he was taking a risk. I think he was at greater risk of being beyond the target on the mountain that was a backstop than he was for being mistaken for a deer but I doubt the hunters that were set up further down the basin new he was there.

Does blaze orange reduce your chances of getting shot? Yes

Are people stupid? Yes

Will a law change people acting stupidly?

I believe the study I linked to and others address the third question, and the third question alone.
 
Definitely at least put some orange on your antlers as u carry out.

Will people make fun of me if I wear an orange hat in NM? I'm okay as long as they do it behind my back. Thanks!
 
Got yelled at yesterday in CO by a warden because apparently my hat was not legal...

My hat... he said it was "too dark"... some people are just dicks on a power trip... be safe out there everyone.


*Edited, pic of me my sister took 10 min before I saw the warden.
1633455894495.png
 
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Got yelled at yesterday in CO by a warden because apparently my hat was not legal...

My hat... he said it was "too dark"... some people are just dicks on a power trip... be safe out there everyone.
It's hard for me to tell on my monitor - but your hat looks pretty bright to me. Maybe he didn't like your elitist SG branded clothing, lol....or maybe he didn't like you correcting his grammar.:p
 
It's hard for me to tell on my monitor - but your hat looks pretty bright to me. Maybe he didn't like your elitist SG branded clothing, lol....or maybe he didn't like you correcting his grammar.:p

Yeah... I mean their isn't like a statute RBG or hex value... daylight fluorescent orange/pink & conspicuously seen are the the requirements

1633364208697.png


For pink the definition is "sold as" making me think that any vest/hat sold by a hunting company as orange is de facto legal. It's not the duty of the public to police the hue of vendors.

1633364362317.png
 
Yeah... I mean their isn't like a statute RBG or hex value... daylight fluorescent orange/pink & conspicuously seen are the the requirements

View attachment 196525


For pink the definition is "sold as" making me think that any vest/hat sold by a hunting company as orange is de facto legal. It's not the duty of the public to police the hue of vendors.

View attachment 196526
I’d probably get a ticket for mine since it is 80s pink not fluorescent pink…
 
I’d probably get a ticket for mine since it is 80s pink not fluorescent pink…
You'd probably get a ticket because you got out of your truck to hunt pronghorn, apparently that's frowned upon in Southern CO
 
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