# Hunting Season Attire



## Rain Shadow (May 1, 2014)

So hunting season starts November 1st here. My town sadly has a lot of 'weekend' hunters that go out there with a gun and a sixpack and we have a few accidents every year. So being visible is important!

What do you guys wear/use for tack during hunting season? 

I sport a bright orange T-shirt and Kenzie has jingle bells on her saddle and breastplate.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I have a neon safety vest I throw on over my regular clothes. I only ride in the daytime and I make lots of noise. Around here, it's early mornings, around dawn that hunters are out. I haven't ran into any in years.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

This was from a few years back, but I usually do something like this. Along with a bear bell, a bright orange vest on me, and sometimes I play music as well. 

Where I am at, there are various elk hunts from the end of August in through December. Not riding during hunting season would mean I wouldn't get to ride all fall! So I just make my horse and I as visible as possible and I try to be a bit noisy as well. I also try to stick to actual trails or roads during the rifle hunts, instead of cutting cross country, but sometimes I cut cross country anyway. :cowboy:
Some years there are hunters all over the place, other times you don't even see any. For instance, this year I haven't encountered a hunter yet. But some years it seems like I keep bumping into them. Very annoying and sometimes spooky to the horses. 

One year these hunters were hiding in some brush with their ATV and my good/experience trail horse freaked out and started spinning in circles (well, I guess I was spinning her because I was keeping her from bolting). She would stop for a moment, see these guys hiding in the bushes, and start spinning again. I finally told the hunters to say SOMETHING so my horse would know they were humans and they finally did. If a horse can spot them like that I would think the elk could too! That's probably the worst hunting encounter I have had. But I have also accidentally called in hunters during bow season and I've been called in by hunters too. Rather embarrassing for both parties!


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## WhattaTroublemaker (Aug 13, 2013)

I've seen hunter orange quarter sheets, but haven't used one. 
I do however have a hunter orange saddle pad and I wear a hunting vest. A lot of people keep their phone playing music out here too.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Bells, lots of them on horse and rider in case you should part ways....
Saddle pads, reflective tape in proper colors on bridle, leg bands on the feet have bells sewn on them.
Reflective vest and helmet cover for me along with those tinkling annoying bells again...
I figure the more annoyingly aware they are of me the safer I am....
My horse walking is going to alert the wildlife anyway...horses are not exactly quiet on their feet...all 1000 pounds.:icon_rolleyes:
I am careful to stay on the non-hunters side of the land so any noise I make is fair game to alert the wildlife to stay out of sight and safely hidden.
:cowboy:....


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## WhattaTroublemaker (Aug 13, 2013)

I'll add to my post earlier.

My father used to ride miles and miles every day. To the store, to parties, you name it. He always went bareback with no colors in hunting season. 

Now however, there's an epidemic in our land we like to call "noise shooters." People who shoot at footfalls or sound in the brush and hope they get something. It's amazing how many "hunters" I've heard bragging about "that big bull I shot from behind those bushes when I heard him steppin'" it's terrifying. So dads always on the ball about being safe in the woods during hunting season. Last ride I went on I had: 
Hunter orange saddle pad
Hunting vest on me 
Hunting vest "cape" over the hind end of my horse 
An orange flag 
Neon pink breastplate and halter 
Music playing 
Bear bells sewn onto reflective pastern bands 
And I also made sure I left a note of my exact route on the table in case I didn't come home. I had a big scare when my best friends dad was shot at when he was walking to his tree stand. The guy came running out of the bushes, and when he saw him he apologized and said "I thought it was a deer I could hear you walking!" That hit close to home.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

I just dress as usual, but then I ride where those road hunters and six pack crowd don't go
Hubby and I have hunted lots, in the mountains, for elk, Bighorn sheep, ect, yet am never afraid that I will be accidentally shot, as responsible hunters hunt there, and Hunting accidents are almost unheard of]
I worry more about my horses , turned out in home pastures, where we do have those 'road hunters', hunting deer and moose


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## WhattaTroublemaker (Aug 13, 2013)

Smilie I adore all your photos, I dream to ride like that soon. I'm heading Alberta way in a year!


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

During bow/black powder season I don't worry about it, they take their time and don't light up the woods at every crack of a branch. During rifle season I stay out of the woods, not terribly hard to do because the trails are getting slippery as heck by then anyway and I hate just road riding anyway. That's when it's time to start hitting the beach.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

Compared to some of the things I have read on here, and watched on TV shows like "Northwoods Law" I am so glad we don't seem to have a big problem with irresponsible hunters that shoot at anything that moves. That would be SO scary and dangerous! 

I have actually never heard of a hunting accident here locally, BUT I don't want to assume everyone is responsible and become the first statistic. So I dress my horse and myself in orange out of an abundance of caution. Because you just never know who you might run into in the woods. 

I had a friend who moved here originally from back east and she wouldn't even ride when it was hunting season. But if I did that I would miss 1/3 of the year so I don't consider that an option. Another friend of mine doesn't worry about hunters at all. But I think it's just smart to at least make yourself as visible as possible.

I'm actually not sure how far sound carries. Like bear bells and music and such. Because I've nearly ridden up on elk bedded down when my MP3 player (with external speakers) is playing. I think it must depend upon the wind and ambient sounds. But still, a little un-natural noise can't hurt!


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

I ride in an area that is technically rural, but "suburbanization" is pushing in and there are a lot of young guys with bad judgement and a fair bit of alcohol on board that worry me. We also do ride on the road a fair bit, so I tend to stay in orange/hi vis reflective gear all year. 

Orange on the bridle and saddle pad:










And on my head and body:


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

When alcohol is involved with hunting, I really don't think any color makes a difference!
Heard of even some parties, after dark, where those merry hunters, loose track of a buddy that went into the woods, to relieve himself, and then shot blindly at movement in the under brush, which, unfortunately was that buddy.
My husband called up an embarrassed outfitter one day. He was using an elk bugle, and an embarrassed outfitter appeared, complete with a hunting customer. Luckily he made sure that the elk call was coming from a fellow hunter, before 
shooting!
Elk draws out west, are trophy (6 points), and sheep have to be 3/4 or full curl. So, a hunter has to make sure an animal is legal, let alone that it is indeed the species he is hunting!
The time I almost got shot, was not in hunting season, and was in my own back yard, by some woman who was coyote shooting. Coyotes are fair game all the time, being considered pests


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

^^I gave up hunting more than 20 years ago and a big part of that decision was the number of drunken idiots with guns out in the woods. Recently I've been thinking of taking it up again, state has seriously raised fees and the number of licenses/tags sold is down because of it. People have told me that the numbers of drunken fools has been dropping with the fee increases. But if I do I'll probably go black powder as there is almost no drunken fools doing black powder and the season is longer.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Working for the USFS one fall in Utah caused me to lose faith in wearing orange. The guys who shot at me obviously didn't see ANYTHING. They were sound hunters, shooting wherever they heard noise. I considered taking my 44 magnum with me, and letting off a round anytime I heard the sound of bullets going by. Didn't, but it was tempting!

However, one was usually safe once a mile from the nearest road. The guys who hunted sounds rarely bothered to go more than 1/4 mile from their trucks.


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## WhattaTroublemaker (Aug 13, 2013)

bsms said:


> Working for the USFS one fall in Utah caused me to lose faith in wearing orange. The guys who shot at me obviously didn't see ANYTHING. They were sound hunters, shooting wherever they heard noise. I considered taking my 44 magnum with me, and letting off a round anytime I heard the sound of bullets going by. Didn't, but it was tempting!
> 
> However, one was usually safe once a mile from the nearest road. The guys who hunted sounds rarely bothered to go more than 1/4 mile from their trucks.


There was actually a hunting accident here that involved noise shooters, they took some guy in the shoulder, he was sitting with his family in front of their RV, his kids were piling brush for a fire and the guy shot at the noise they were making. They got I think 30 days in jail. What if he shot one of the kids???


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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

So, can you post a link to any "noise shooter" stories?

I keep hearing this time and time again, but I haven't experience that at all.

I suspect the fear may be over stated. Maybe I'm wrong, as every once in a long while, a hunter shoots another hunter.....yes, one's to many.....but still, I mean really? Why all the fear?

That said, I ride mostly public property, and all of it is a wildlife management area. (Cherokee National Forest in TN, and Catahoochie national forest in GA)

It's open to big game hunting roughly 16 days a year, and then only in certain sections. There are bear preserves where it's always closed.....

Normally, if big game season is open in Tennessee it's closed in GA, so I ride in GA....and when it's open in GA I ride in TN.

I do this not because I'm afraid of getting shot, but because I don't want to spoil another persons hunt.

It's a Class A Misdemeanor in Tennessee for a person consuming alcohol to be in possession of a firearm, much less hunting....While I know it happens on occasion, I believe it's the exception, rather than the rule....

Tennessee Concealed Carry Permit Information


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Some years back, Where I live, someone shot a black/white yearling cow and actually took it to the weigh station. Not in my county but close enough.

I have a nuclear yellow vest and I bought a hunter orange ball cap and cut it out so it would fit on the headstall and the visor laid between the ears, over the forelock.

It was one more time my horse wanted to disown me, lollol

Egrogan's horse headgear idea is MUCH MORE gracious than mine, lollol


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## Mulefeather (Feb 22, 2014)

I can't say enough about wearing bells. Noise shooters are a real problem and people get trigger happy when they've been sitting in a stand all day. 

My theory is always that if they can see you, they can shoot you! Bells take them out "hunt mode" because it's not something you can mistake for a deer. 

I've had some hunters get annoyed with me for disturbing the wildlife, but they can always get another deer- I can't risk myself or my mount being shot.


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## Mulefeather (Feb 22, 2014)

walkinthewalk said:


> Some years back, Where I live, someone shot a black/white yearling cow and actually took it to the weigh station. Not in my county but close enough.


My dad has a similar story - he was at a weigh station when a guy brought in a GOAT. He thought it was a button buck.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

@*gunslinger* , here are some from my area:

Teenagers hunting illegally and shoot each other (alcohol not mentioned in story but rumored involved):
Teenager shot in Peterborough hunting accident - SentinelSource.com: The Keene Sentinel Local News

A few "shoot by sound" killings, one here in NH, three across the river from me in VT (first one was really sad, the person who caused the accident then killed himself), one near my parents in upstate NY:
Marlborough Man is Killed in New Hampshire Hunting Accident - Marlborough, MA Patch

2 dead after hunting accident in Readsboro - Brattleboro Reformer

Hunter Sentenced for Fatal Whitingham Shooting - WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-

State police: Teenager shot, killed by father while turkey hunting in Wheelock - Brattleboro Reformer

Judge: Evidence to be allowed in trial for fatal Keene hunting accident - LakePlacidNews.com | News and information on the Lake Placid and Essex County region of New York - Lake Placid News

Of course, the deaths make the newspaper, but all the idiots that you see driving down the road tossing beer cans out of the back of their truck with their guns in their laps don't...

ETA: The new boarder at my barn had a horse shot _in a fenced pasture_ during bow hunting season. That horse survived.


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## jgnmoose (May 27, 2015)

Unfortunately, it definitely is an issue. 

Here in Texas, leased hunting land is the norm so you aren't as likely to come across hunters on public land. On the other hand, you really need to keep tabs on what your neighbors are doing with their land. It wouldn't be unheard of for a guy with 20+ acres to lease his land to hunters from the city. There is even an app for that, really.

If I were in the other situation, I might just not do a lot of trail riding during large game season. 

I've not personally had any problems, but I'd sure want to know who is doing hunting leases and on public land I'd stay away from anywhere with a lot of shiny new pickups and coolers.


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## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

Hunting season is big out here with lots of traffic from other states and cities so we tend to stick closer to home where none of our neighbors or us will lease land for hunting due to our horses and cattle. If we do decide to trailer out, we go south to ride on some of the large acreage pastures the are posted No Hunting that belong to friends. If we run into somebody illegally hunting, there are a few who are really handy with a rope!


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

I know somebody who was on a ride where a horse was shot out from under a rider.

Couple years back a local bear hunter heard a noise, saw some movement and shot/killed a hiker. It was on his private land, marked no trespassing but he still didn't verify what he was shooting at before pulling the trigger. FYI, this land is next to a very popular state park with miles and miles of hiking trails. Trespassing is more the norm then the exception.

Every couple of years there's a story in the local news of where livestock are shot during hunting season.

Anyway that's neither here or there, I formed my opinion and made my decision while out hunting and watching the action of hunters. This was a couple of years before I traded my dirt bike in for a horse.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Yes, there will always be irresponsible hunters , but then clothing attire will do not much.

Any idiot that shoots, just at some noise, without first making sure as to what it si, is not going to be deterred by any color
I think I did mention the story before, of a wife, that shot her husband , (accidently ), three times, lol, thinking he was abear in the under brush!
Can't re call if that ';excuse' worked for her in the courts!


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

Gosh guys, these stories are terrible! 

A person that shoots at a sound must not be concerned with the law, because you only have a tag for a certain species and sex of animal. In other words, in Arizona for instance, if you have an elk tag, you can't just shoot ANY elk. You either have a tag for a bull or "antler-less." And it's not like you can go out there and shoot a deer with your elk tag. So someone has to be majorly stupid or drunk (or poaching) to just shoot at a noise. :evil:

I've heard that our local game and fish department puts on stings to try to catch people shooting from cars and such. They set up a fake elk near a road and have undercover officers waiting to nab someone who is illegally shooting. I found that out because a neighbor of mine was out driving on a forest road with a group of people, spotted the fake elk, and someone in the group got out of the vehicle get to get their picture taken with it. Game and Fish officers popped out from their hiding spots and were not amused! (I would have liked to have seen that!).

So now if I see an animal that is standing perfectly still, I wonder if it could be a sting operation!


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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

Interstate Sportsman Interstate Sportsman » How Dangerous is Hunting, Really?

It is worth noting that annually,* fatal hunting accidents occur at a rate of 80 to 90 persons per year*. That is only 12 to 15 percent of the national average of deaths by accident use of firearms. Conversely, each year in the United States, there is 1,500 to 1,800 people that drown, and another 800 to 875 people killed in boating accidents. Ironically, hunting accidents are one of the few categories of fatal accidents that have been in decline over the past to decades. Mandatory Hunter Safety Classes are credited with this remarkable occurrence.


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## tim62988 (Aug 30, 2012)

i grew up in PA where our rifle deer season is 2 weeks, so wouldn't really lose any riding time there since it's deer season you have a short window gotta get it done 

here in northern NY I think it's closer to 6 weeks so we usually quit riding for deer season and pick it up again in the spring. This year may be different, I have come to realize that although the public trail system has a healthy population of deer it isn't a huge deer population and some that I have spoken to said they ride straight through, skipping the first weekend.

right now bear season is open so I ride my dark bay with me wearing a safety yellow vest and make sure coming in and out of thicker brush that we talk more. will be investing in some sleigh bells to increase the noise level also. when tied up I leave the yellow vest on my mare's saddle


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

During rifle season I won't wander off our own 13 acre property. And even then, I'll be wearing as much orange as I can. I just won't risk it because around here, on top of legit hunters, we have jackers and poachers. It's such a rural area that the police and DNR cannot possibly cover it all. People take chances. Sure, they're supposed to only shoot a buck so should not be shooting at the first pair of brown legs they see, but it still happens. And hunters basically feel people just shouldn't be in the woods during hunting season. So we post our property and stay there for a few weeks. It sucks, but with any luck, the heavy snow will hold off and I can still get out and ride after hunting season is over. 

When we first moved here, my husband (who is also a hunter, but a safe one) ran into two hunters in the backyard. He basically told them to get the hell off our land. The guys said they were chasing an injured deer, but there was no blood anywhere. He didn't believe them. Too many idiots in the woods for me to take the chance.


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

My hubby daughter and I rode in a Poker run at Kettle Moraine State Park in WI on Saturday. We were on a marked trail looking for the next card stop and came upon 2 hunters on the trail. They were wearing orange but had guns at the ready. My husband was quite upset! They were nice and stopped to let us go by, we told them they were on a horse trail and that there were many riders out that day. When we finished the ride we told the ride organizer about our run in with the hunters. She called the Ranger- no hunting is allowed in that part of the park. Makes me shudder to think what could have happened if they had shot down the trail we were riding up! It was a steep hill that I am sure they could not see us but I am sure heard the horses making their way up.

Many of the riders that day were wearing bright colors.


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## Rain Shadow (May 1, 2014)

We have lots of noise shooters. Hence my horses being decked out in bells. 

But the hog hunters have to be the worse. They use dogs and ignore the No Trespassing signs. Quite a few follow the dogs on 4 wheelers and they just destroy so much private land. Not to mention a few very mangled dogs are found every year in the woods wandering half dead or we find the bodies. Because we have one family, that thinks its funny to let the dogs kill the hogs, vs the dogs catching it and the hunter stepping in. Fish and Game just hasn't been able to nab them for it yet.


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

trailhorserider said:


> I've heard that our local game and fish department puts on stings to try to catch people shooting from cars and such. They set up a fake elk near a road and have undercover officers waiting to nab someone who is illegally shooting. I found that out because a neighbor of mine was out driving on a forest road with a group of people, spotted the fake elk, and someone in the group got out of the vehicle get to get their picture taken with it. Game and Fish officers popped out from their hiding spots and were not amused! (I would have liked to have seen that!).
> 
> So now if I see an animal that is standing perfectly still, I wonder if it could be a sting operation!


Out here the original decoys were motionless, today their decoys have animatronics in them so they do actually move. Oh, they get even more upset now if you do manage to squeeze off a shot. Fixing the decoy is a bit more costly today.

Police have released some videos of guys shooting at their decoys if you want to search for them.


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

Archery season starts in mid August. 
Limited Entry Trophy hunts start mid September
Muzzle Loader hunts are the last week of Sept
Rifle elk hunts are first two weeks of Oct
Rifle Deer hunts are the last 10 days of Oct
Late Season antlerless hunts are most of November and some of December
Depredation hunts are usually January.

If I quit riding during hunting season in Utah. I'd be out of the saddle for a long time.

We rode the last two weekends, Which are the Rifle Elk Hunt. And here is what we looked like.


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## Katz1411 (Jul 31, 2014)

Same as everyone, when I rode in KY and here in Colorado, lots of blaze orange and bear bells. Unfortunately here we get the lazy hunters who blast away at the local elk herds that are habituated to humans. And of course there was the oh-so-brave Boulder cop who shot a bull elk who for years had hung around town in the winter. Then lied about it, saying the animal was sick and needed to be put down (it wasn't). He even posed with it for his "trophy photo" where he shot it - right in someone's front yard. What a sportsman @@


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## jamesqf (Oct 5, 2009)

I've solved the hunting season problem to the extent that I'm not even sure when the hunting seasons are. Most of the places we ride, especially in the fall, are in a state game refuge. Wish I'd had a camera yesterday, as we spotted a nice 5-6 point buck grazing in a meadow about 50 yards inside the refuge boundary sign :-}


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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

jamesqf said:


> I've solved the hunting season problem to the extent that I'm not even sure when the hunting seasons are. Most of the places we ride, especially in the fall, are in a state game refuge. Wish I'd had a camera yesterday, as we spotted a nice 5-6 point buck grazing in a meadow about 50 yards inside the refuge boundary sign :-}


I'm of the opinion that the state buying land isn't necessarily a good thing for hunters......as it seems to stay closed to hunting for all but a few days a year......

Because the revenue from hunting licenses is dropping here in Tennessee, the state instituted a land useage fee so now to ride horses on the locked up hunting land or Wildlife management areas owned by the state it's $75 a year.....the Cherokee National Forest, while a WMA, is owned by the feds....so no fee (tax) there yet.


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## jamesqf (Oct 5, 2009)

gunslinger said:


> I'm of the opinion that the state buying land isn't necessarily a good thing for hunters...


It's different in the west. The state didn't buy the land. Most of it is US National Forest, though there is some private land (including houses & ranches) within the boundaries.


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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

jamesqf said:


> It's different in the west. The state didn't buy the land. Most of it is US National Forest, though there is some private land (including houses & ranches) within the boundaries.


Same here. However, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources agency manages the entire 640,000 acres of the Cherokee National Forest and sets the hunting season, along with special requirements etc.

So, there's really only about 16 days if I counted correctly, it's open for gun hunting big game, and then only in certain parts of the forest.

Because it's federally owned, the state can't impose a fee (tax) to use it. That said, there's about 10 other WMA's the state owns and they have implemented a "land usage fee (tax)". 

That really didn't affect me in that I didn't ride those WMA's anyway.


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