Wolf Wilds › Hunting

Photo United States Marine Corps, Public domain

Hunter orange and being seen

Being seen by other hunters is the cheapest safety there is. What to wear, and how to move and carry game in the fall woods.

What you need

How

  1. Put the orange on before you leave the truck and keep it on until you are back in it.
  2. Wear it where it shows, on the upper body and the head, not under a pack or a coat.
  3. Tie flagging on a stand, a blind or a boat so others know someone is there.
  4. When you carry meat or a hide out, wrap orange around it. A quarter of moose on your back can look like game.
  5. Walk out on open ground or a road at dusk, and talk or whistle if you hear another hunter near.
  6. If another hunter has not seen you, call out in a clear voice. Do not wave or move. Movement is what draws a shot.

Do and don't

Do
  • Wear orange on any walk in the woods during hunting season, including small game and bird seasons.
  • Put orange on children and dogs too.
  • Replace a faded vest. Sun and washing dull the colour.
Don't
  • Do not wear white, brown or grey outer clothes in deer and moose country. A white handkerchief can look like a tail.
  • Do not shoot at a sound, a movement or a colour. Shoot only at an animal you have fully seen and know is legal.
  • Do not count on camouflage with small orange patches. Solid orange is what shows.

Watch for

Danger
  • Most hunting shootings are one hunter taking another for game, or not seeing someone in the line of fire.
  • The rules on how much hunter orange you must wear change. Read the current Hunting and Trapping Guide every season.
  • Fog, low light and thick cover shrink the distance orange shows. Be most careful at first and last light.

Notes

Orange costs little and weighs nothing. Moose and deer do not see it the bright colour people do, so it costs you nothing in the hunt either.

See Safe gun handling for the rest of the firearm rules.

hunter orangesafetymoosevisibility

Updated 2026-09-23

Related

Calling moose Hunting Bringing a bull to you in the rut with a cow call, a grunt and a bit of noise in the brush, and where to sit while he comes. Field dressing Hunting Getting the animal opened, cooled and clean before the meat turns. Hanging and cooling meat Hunting Getting the heat out of an animal fast and keeping the meat cool, clean and dry until it is cut up. Shot placement and the follow up Hunting Where to put it, when to wait, and how to track what you hit.