We’ve been seeing a lot of orange around lately. But all those pumpkins on all those front porches should not be the only orange you should be thinking about, particularly if you work in — or nearby — a rural part of our country.
Fall is now upon us and with that comes the beginnings of hunting season. Some of areas of the country have already experiences their first firearms seasons for big and small game. Firearms deer season like here in Minnesota, will begin in a few short weeks.
If you as work in an area where those firearms seasons are in session or you may be called out into them to assist as a city officer, remember to pack the required blaze orange vest and hat required by hunters. Walking around the woods dressed in brown during elk, deer, bear and moose season is an invitation for disaster.
Spending a couple of bucks for a cheap blaze orange vest and hat to throw in your go bag may be a lifesaving investment. Every year officers respond to calls in the fields and forests during small- and big-game hunting seasons. Every year officers are misidentified and fired at by hunters who fail to properly identify their quarry before they shoot. All too frequently, officers are wounded and killed in these “hunting accidents.”
Certainly, common sense needs to rule, if a call is tactical in nature and bright colors would be considered more of a danger than a benefit, ditch the florescent colors.
If you happen to forget the hunters-blaze orange or you choose not to invest in hunter safety orange your squad should contain that OSHA-approved (and required) florescent vest that will suffice in a pinch.
Make sure you wear your “colors” when appropriate during both small and big game seasons when walking through the woods. The small game hunters will be armed with .22s and shotguns loads ranging from fine shot up to larger shot for turkey, ducks, and geese. While these loads don’t pose the same ballistic threat that a high-powered rifle or a shotgun loaded with slugs does, they can (and will) ruin your day.
