Subject: [Tweeters] question re: wearing orange in hunt areas
Date: Oct 15 11:04:47 2005
From: Ned McGarry - ned.mcgarry at verizon.net


Not that I'd want to test the notion, but my understanding of the ammo used for this kind of hunting has a very limited "kill range". Unlike a slug, which is a single piece of metal coming out of the barrel (lethal at great distance), the pellets coming out of a shotgun shell lose speed and momentum over a relatively short distance (we're talking tens of yards here, not hundreds). Small shot coming down (lobbing from a point of origin quite a distance away), might pose a threat if it landed in your eye I'd think, but it wouldn't penetrate clothing/skin. Wearing a visored hat should help shield eyes from falling shot.

Another point here is that the folks with presence of mind hunting out there (the vast majority I'm sure), know that the dikes are the footpaths to access the area. They would direct their line of fire away from where it is assumed people are walking (including birders). However a patch of orange to draw attention to your location (for the "less-savvy" few who may need the clear visual) and sticking to these predictable footpaths makes a lot of sense. And just because you're *wearing* orange shouldn't embolden you to venture out into the fields this time of year.
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Ned McGarry
Sammamish, WA