A recent ruling by the Colorado fish, wildlife and parks commission denied a proposal requiring bowhunters to wear blaze orange (or pink) while hunting during an overlapping muzzleloader season.
Ironically, the decision comes on the heels of a deadly incident on the mountain in September of 2021 that found a muzzleloader hunter fatally shooting a bowhunter. As allowed by law, the bowhunter was not wearing orange.
Hunting laws in Colorado state that most hunters are required to wear at least 500 square inches of fluorescent orange or pink material above the waist. However, the law does not apply to bowhunters.
There is a 9-day period in the middle of September when there is a seasonal overlap that finds muzzleloader hunters and bowhunters sharing the woods at the same time, as well as a rifle bear season that is also taking place.
The deadly incident in September of 2021 is not the first time a hunter without blaze orange was killed by another hunter. Another deadly shooting occurred in November of 2020 when a hunter accidentally shot his hunting partner when mistaken for an elk.
The Durango Herald reports that Colorado hunter, Harry Watkins was charged with “criminally negligent homicide” in the death of fellow hunter, Simon Howell.
According to The Durango Herald, Watkins’ attorney, David Jones, says that his client has summarized the chain of events as follows:
The group of “three or four” hunters were working together to track the wounded elk.
Members of the party had radios for communication.
The downed elk was discovered by Watkins, which then resulted in the accidental shooting.
“He saw the antlers. He saw the brown. He saw the animal was down in the woods,” said Jones. “The problem was that his buddy had taken off his orange and was kneeling next to the downed animal. Watkins saw that the animal was about to get up and he fired. That’s what caused his buddy’s death.”
So with 2 deadly shootings occurring in recent years, involving hunters not wearing orange, why would the commission not push for orange to be required in this brief seasonal overlap?
You might think that with a second deadly shooting occurring, bowhunters may be more inclined to accept the decision to wear orange when their season overlaps the muzzleloader season. However, that’s not the case.
Many bowhunters feel like orange prohibits their ability to get within bow range of wildlife. Regardless of their reasoning, it’s clear that the masses don’t seem to be keen on the idea of having to wear blaze orange while bowhunting.
Joey Brown, representing the Colorado Bowhunters Association, told commissioners that 11,000 CBA members, as well as members of the public who were surveyed by the group, were overwhelmingly against the proposed requirement.
“We feel that this issue can be mitigated with an increased focus on hunter education,” says Brown. “Education is going to be the only thing here, outside of separating the muzzleloader and archery seasons.”
The wildlife commission did not want the change, as well. In fact, they voted 11-0 to table the issue and called for additional hunter education to address the safety issue.
But the question is, what does that “additional hunter education” look like? Who would be offering that program? Is the state-required Hunter Education program in Colorado not sufficient as it stands?
Separating the seasons seems like a logical idea. However, with the elk rut taking place right in the middle of September, neither group wants to give up their time in the woods during the peak of opportunity.
Take a quick look across the country, and you’ll see that bowhunters donning orange when sharing the woods with gun hunters is commonplace. It’s pretty much standard practice.
Is a blaze orange cap on your noggin really that detrimental to your success when hunting among the gun hunting community?
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