scottr

I am going on my first dove hunt next week and was wondering about hunter orange. I'll be on public land. I hear it can be a bit of a circus and I worry about low shots from other hunters who may not see me if I am sitting against a stand of russian olive trees.

Do any of you wear hunter orange while dove hunting (even just a hat) or does this allow the birds to mark you? BTW it is not required in WA for dove hunting.

Thanks

johnch

I don't wear orange and I don't know if the doves can see it . Good luck at the circus . Are the doves feeding on the olives ?

wesleykey

I would not worry about the orange unless I weighed one pound and was flying around in fields.

mauser06

opening day here on public land is a circus and a half......sounds like a war....this year im heading for a private farm....me and my buddys will be the only ones....and we will know where we are...i dont know if they will notice the orange.....i know if oyu move to shoot them they notice.....never wore orange for them....and dont want to...but dont want to get shot.....last time i was kinda scared....all the shotguns blasting away....so ill be on private land this year...i hate hunting when you have to worry about what other people are doing....opening day of deer season i surround myself with trees.....all thats visible is my head....and im usually up on a boulder or something.....but im still scarred when i hear someone open up close by.....but most guys know where they can shoot dove hunting.....and with alot of guys around they tend to fly high anyway...you guys will all end up being in a line i bet.......just be careful.......good luck

RustyOlRanger4x4

Personally I think they can see it so there for I dont wear it and bird shot stings a little but unless its shot from a couple yards away your usually safe if anything id just be sure to wear some safety glasses because id hate to get a BB to the eye

scottr

Thanks guys.

I think I'll a least wear the hat in case it gets crazy and of course the glasses are a must. If it is wide open and/or people are lined up I can at least take the hat off.

Johnch the doves are not eating the olives in fact from what I can tell russian olives are not really an olive at all. I have heard they provide good roosting cover and the birds will head towards them. They tend to grow near water as well so I hope to pick up birds on the way in. They also allow an easy place to set up some decoys and provide a little shade and cover for the shooter.

My worry was that someone comes up from behind and starts blastin away with me on the other side of the bushes.

Oilpig

Anyone who would be shooting at bird flying low enough that their shot could hit another hunter isn't going to stop shooting because there is an orange alive tree in the background either. You either have to hunt on private land, find an area that is sheilding from idiots, or hope and pray that everyone is smart enough to not shoot at extremely low flying birds. Good luck with that.

Another way to look at it I guess would be that many hunters may not want to stand too close to you if you're wearing orange (thinking it will scare birds away), so maybe they won't be close enough to hit you anyways.

scottr

Good points Oilpig. Idiots will be idiots and the orange may not save my butt when faced with an idiot. I will probabbly avoid or leave an area if there other peole around.

Private land would abe great to hunt on. I'll have to start knocking on doors because I don't know anyone who owns land in Eastern WA

Does anyone know if birds see in color or are they like deer and only see B&W?

uplandchessies

I shot a limit wearing an orange Filson hat last season, but it didn't stop people from shooting at low birds.

BennyBlackdog

Hey guy's, whats up? I thought I would start off one of my first posts by being a nice guy.

Where are you located there scottr. I'm going over the mountains labor day weekend (9/2-9/6) and have private land sewn up. PM me and tell me about yourself and maybe we can work something out.

I was just talking to my buddy over there and he said there were quite a few flocks of birds hanging around. I can't wait.