Opinion: Why we should all wear blaze orange when hunting big game

Nothing says, “Don’t shoot me!” like a hunter sporting blaze orange apparel. The fluorescent colour is unlike anything found in nature, a bright beacon signalling another hunter’s presence. It particularly shines in the dim light at dawn and dusk, three times brighter than non-fluorescent colours and easily identifiable, even by hunters with colour-deficient vision.

On my first deer hunt, I discovered the effectiveness of such bright colours when my grandpa and his friend posted me at a clearing before entering an aspen bluff. Grandpa was wearing non-fluorescent red coveralls and an orange hat; his friend’s pants, jacket and toque were blaze orange. Both were legal attire where we were hunting. Despite the snow-covered woods, I could only see my grandpa’s orange hat once he was 50 paces into the bush. His friend’s blaze outfit, on the other hand, was blindingly obvious.

There are too many tragic stories of hunters being inadvertently shot, often by their own hunting buddies. Such accidents typically happen when hunters misidentify their target, or they’re unaware of what’s behind it. Many of those accidents could have been prevented had the hunters been wearing bright colours. Simply, you must be seen to be safe. Knowing this, I always wear blaze orange when I head afield.

THE BEGINNINGS OF BLAZE

Starting in the 1930s, brothers Robert and Joseph Switzer of California began developing fluorescent pigments, colourants that absorb and reemit visible and invisible light frequencies. This resulted in intense colours that appear to glow, even in daylight. Today known as the Day-Glo Color Corp., their company’s revolutionary fluorescent paints and dyes were soon adopted for both military and civilian applications.

After extensive field testing, blaze orange stood out as the clear winner in terms of visibility. Then in the 1960s, legendary outdoor writer Frank Woolner introduced the concept of wearing blaze orange apparel for safety while hunting, and the idea soon gained traction.

Today, bright colours—particularly blaze orange—are strongly encouraged and even required by law for big-game rifle seasons in most jurisdictions in Canada. In my home province of Saskatchewan, for example, hunters must wear scarlet, bright yellow, blaze orange or white clothing from the waist up. The only exceptions are Alberta and B.C., where hunters are not legally obliged to don bright colours. Are they at a higher risk of getting injured or worse from gunfire as a result? Perhaps.

I say “perhaps” because best practices may be making up for the lack of regulations. Recently on an online hunting forum, for example, there were some telling replies from B.C. to the question, “Who wears blaze orange?” Several people said they wear blaze in areas with lots of other hunters, choosing personal safety over “looking like a dork,” as one put it. Still others said they wear blaze once an animal is on the ground.

THE BEEF ABOUT BLAZE

The main argument from hunters against blaze orange is that because humans can see it more easily, so can big-game animals such as deer. In truth, ungulates have dichromatic vision, meaning they can see shades of green and blue, but don’t see orange in the same way humans do. However, they can see solid shapes against a natural background.

To a deer’s eyes, blaze camo breaks up the human shape in the same way conventional camo does, making it an effective high-vis alternative where legal. Additionally, using specially formulated soap without whiteners reduces the fabric’s ultraviolet glow, which deer can pick up. It also helps remove human odours, a win-win for hunters.

Remember, though, that deer are experts at detecting motion. I’ve stood motionless in an open field wearing blaze orange and had deer walk to within five metres of my position. When I moved even slightly, however, they bolted. The takeaway? To outwit deer, hunters must foil the deer’s sense of sight, sound and smell, and we can clearly do that, even while wearing blaze orange. So why not err on the side of caution?

Every outdoor activity has inherent risk, and hunting is no different. However, hunter education programs and a hunting culture that embraces bright colours have made the sport safer today than it has ever been. With more hunters in the field, it’s time to make a bright choice no matter where you hunt—embrace your inner pumpkin and wear blaze orange.