Hunting Season Starts, Orange Back in Fashion

Hunting season has started, so hikers are sharing space with hunters, making orange attire a smart and legal requirement.

Aside from hunters, all other users of State Management Areas and designated undeveloped State Parks, including but not limited to: hikers, bikers, and horseback riders are required to wear 200 square inches of solid daylight fluorescent orange from Sept. 8, 2018 – Feb. 28, 2019, according to DEM hunting regulations.

During the shotgun deer season, five hundred (500) square inches are required to be worn by all users.

 Fluorescent hunter orange must be worn above the waist and be visible in all directions. Examples are: a hat that covers 200 square inches or a combination of hat and vest covering 500 square inches. Fluorescent camouflage does not meet this requirement. DEM regulations for hunters require the following use of orange material:

• 200sq. in. by small game hunters during the small game season.
• 200sq. in. by fall turkey hunters while traveling.
• 200sq. in. by muzzleloader deer hunters during the muzzleloader deer season.
• 200sq. in. by archers when traveling to/from elevated stands during the muzzleloader deer season. Once in an elevated stand, archery deer hunters are exempt from the orange requirement during the muzzleloader deer season.
• 500sq. in. by all hunters (including archers) and all users of management areas and undeveloped state parks during all portions of shotgun deer seasons. • Hunters using pop-up blinds during the firearms deer season must display 200 square inches of fluorescent orange visible on the outside of the blind from all directions. Hunters must also wear orange in accordance with the rules for the specific seasons while in the blind.
• Exemptions: Raccoon hunters when hunting at night, crow hunters while hunting over decoys, spring turkey hunters, first segment dove hunters, and waterfowl hunters while hunting from a boat or a blind, over water or field, when done in conjunction with decoys. Fluorescent orange is not required in areas limited to archery-only hunting by regulation.

A schedule of hunting seasons is embedded below:

hunting seasons