With the rules about wearing blaze orange when hunting in state forests, I was just wondering, which animals are colour blind to blaze orange? (And which can spot it from a mile off)I dont mind wearing some of it I suppose, but if some of my target animals can pick it out easily, then I will have to pick wear about I wear it.

Hunters in general......

When the issue of deer eyesight and the colors they see first cropped up, I penned the first and most definitive article about the subject for OUTDOOR LIFE magazine in the early 1990s. The article and supplemental charts, etc. covered about six pages.

I spent more than a year researching the subject and was present when LIVE deer were tested at the Univ. of Geogia's deer research facility. I also attended the Southeast Deer Symposium where two biologists presented their papers on the subject.

Anyway, to answer your question, MOST non-human mammals are "blind" to blaze orange and nearly all shades of red into the infrared range of the color spectrum. That general statement takes in ungulates, canines and felines.

In contrast, all of the above are highly adept for seeing in the lower range of the spectrum, i.e. blues to ultraviolet. This is what originally triggered the research and led to products to eliminate UV absorption from clothing and other items.

The only creatures you hunt that will see orange as orange are the avian creatures, such as wild turkey, waterfowl and upland birds. And they also are very attuned to the UV part of the spectrum.

If you're interested in reading the OL article, send me a PM here with an email address. -TONY

Thanks for this Outdoor writer. I sort of knew deer couldnt see blaze orange as being bright, but wasnt sure about canines and felines, or other ungulates such as pigs. I wont feel too bad wearing the blaze orange now.