New York Hunters: Fashion Savvy and Fashion Safe
As I have mentioned before, I don't hunt. But I do like to think I know enough about the sport of hunting to share information as I discover it. The more I learn about hunting, the more I respect the people who do it.
I didn't grow up in a hunting family. I was an army brat so we usually lived on Military bases which few allowed hunting. On top of that, my Dad wasn't really a gun guy. It might have had something to do with his two tours in Vietnam or it might just be the fact that no one in my family hunted, so he didn't either.
As I learn more about hunting, it seems to me that a lot of the policies that are in place are for the safety of everyone who may be out in the woods, whether they are hunting or not. I rarely go into the woods during hunting season, but you bet if I did I would want to be seen clear as day. I am sure this is true for most hunters as well.
However, I am aware of some folks who like to go hunting in complete camo. They want to blend into the woods so completely that they might actually be invisible to other hunters. I am going to think that these are the people who have caused the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) to issue a clothing requirement for people hunting deer and bear with a firearm.
I don't want to make a joke about the NYS DEC being forced into becoming the fashion police, but it seems that they feel for the safety of everyone in the woods that a "dress code" (if you want to call it that) has become necessary.
From the NYS DEC Release issued December 14, 2021
New: Any person hunting deer or bear with a firearm, or a person who is accompanying someone hunting deer or bear with a firearm shall wear:
- a minimum total of two hundred fifty square inches of solid fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink material worn above the waist and visible from all directions; or
- a minimum total of two hundred fifty square inches of patterned fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink consisting of no less than fifty percent fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink worn above the waist and visible from all directions; or
- a hat or cap with no less than fifty percent of the exterior consisting of solid fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink material and visible from all directions.