This weekend’s alternative firearms deer season highlights a safety milestone in Arkansas hunting history: 50 years since the state made blaze orange clothing mandatory for firearm deer hunters. Since 1976, hunters have been legally required to wear at least 400 square inches of blaze orange on the torso and a matching hat, a standard aimed at reducing hunting-related accidents.
Blaze orange, a highly visible color, ensures hunters can distinguish each other in wooded areas. While the color is vivid to human eyes, Matt Gideon, Hunter Education and Boater Education Coordinator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC), explained that deer perceive colors differently. "Deer have dichromatic vision, meaning they see blues, greens, and purples well but perceive blaze orange as muted," Gideon said. "Movement is far more likely to draw their attention than the color itself."
Historically, before the blaze orange mandate, some hunters voluntarily wore red-and-black wool shirts or fluorescent chartreuse garments for visibility. However, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission formalized blaze orange requirements in 1976 for firearms deer seasons, later extending the rule to bear and elk seasons as those species became huntable again.
For hunters concerned about standing out to game, Gideon suggested using blaze camouflage. This option incorporates black patterns into the vibrant orange, breaking up its solid appearance while maintaining visibility to other hunters. "Blaze camouflage is legal in Arkansas and a good compromise," he noted.
Arkansas was not the first state to require hunters to wear blaze orange; Massachusetts pioneered the regulation in 1961. While some states still do not mandate hunter orange, its safety benefits are widely recognized. A study conducted in New York from 1989 to 1995 revealed that out of 343 hunting incidents involving two hunters and firearms, 259 of the victims—76 percent—were not wearing blaze orange. Such data has informed safety policies nationwide.
Although hunter education did not become mandatory in Arkansas until 1985, the blaze orange requirement has become a long-standing tradition. Today, seeing hunters in their signature bright orange gear has become a familiar sign of deer season in the Natural State.