Looking for a Strap vest that is not blaze orange

N

Noplclkneb1

Banned
I'm looking for a strap vest that is not covered in blaze orange. I would really like a Filson, but they are covered in blaze orange now. Does anyone know of a front loading strap type vest that is just brown or tan without blaze orange on it?

Before you go off on me not wanting blaze orange, I always wear a blaze orange hat and blaze orange shirt or jacket under the strap vest if I'm hunting with others. Right now I have a 20 year old (brown) walls strap vest that is nearly worn out.

Thanks

Noplclkneb1
 
You can get the WingWorks strap vest in non-blaze. http://wingworks.biz/

They are not front load but the game bag is very easy to load and the vests are built like a tank. Only problem is I see on their web site they may be out of stock. They have a ton of accessories and you can get them custom sized for you.
 
Strap vest

I also have that same Orvis vest and like it very much. It has lots of room in it, nice shell pockets and I like the fact that it has two plastic buckles on the front to keep it closed.

I hear people love there wing works vests but they are always sold out. I would think you would have better luck trying to order on of them in the summer or off season. Let us know what you decide to go with.:thumbsup:
 
I use a Cabelas Upland Strap Vest, however, mine is probably 15 plus years old. Not sure what they have now, but mainly brown with orange highlights. As DakotaZeb stated it isn't front loading but the game bag is large and easy to load w/birds.
 
I use a several year old Carhartt non-blaze strap vest but I Gun Dog Supply lists a couple of Filsons that have no blaze orange.
 
I guess I need to question your wanting a vest without any orange. You say you wear an orange cap and shirt/jacket, so what difference does it make if there is a little orange on the strap vest? When I'm in the field hunting I figure the more orange to better!
 
From Dakotazeb "I guess I need to question your wanting a vest without any orange. You say you wear an orange cap and shirt/jacket, so what difference does it make if there is a little orange on the strap vest? When I'm in the field hunting I figure the more orange to better!"



I knew there would be at least one.....I use it duck/goose hunting also, and don't want blaze orange while duck/goose hunting.
 
Thank you for the responses.

Crockett.........how hard is it to load the birds into the rear game bag? Is it something you can easily do by yourself? I like the looks of this one, just wish it had a front loading game bag.

Thanks Again!
 
Noplclkneb1 said:
From Dakotazeb "I guess I need to question your wanting a vest without any orange. You say you wear an orange cap and shirt/jacket, so what difference does it make if there is a little orange on the strap vest? When I'm in the field hunting I figure the more orange to better!"



I knew there would be at least one.....I use it duck/goose hunting also, and don't want blaze orange while duck/goose hunting.
Click to expand...

Someone had to finally ask, didn't they?? :D
 
"question your wanting a vest without any orange"

Because not everyone hunts cover that is at least waist-high. Birds are not colorblind. It is called high-visibility orange for a reason. Birds can see and hear very well, so why give them even more notice you are in the field?

I walk about 30' from the neighboring hunter. There is no visibility issue in that situation, so I am not going to help the birds see me.

Hunted two weekends ago with two people who wore blaze orange. I did not. They didn't have birds flush in range, as everything was getting up way ahead of them (no dog, so that was not a factor). I flushed birds within 10', and had my limit early. I gave a spare cammo vest to one of them, and he got shots. The other guy shot, but didn't kill anything, as they were too far away. Tell me again why people wear orange in cover that is sparse, or shorter than 3' tall? (Other than to flush birds early, leaving more for me the next time I hunt the field.)

If you can't keep track of the people you are hunting with then the cover is thigh-high, you are not paying attention. I look at them frequently, so I don't get ahead of, or behind, them. No problem of not knowing where they are.
 
David0311

Logical said:
"question your wanting a vest without any orange"

Because not everyone hunts cover that is at least waist-high. Birds are not colorblind. It is called high-visibility orange for a reason. Birds can see and hear very well, so why give them even more notice you are in the field?

I walk about 30' from the neighboring hunter. There is no visibility issue in that situation, so I am not going to help the birds see me
Hunted two weekends ago with two people who wore blaze orange. I did not. They didn't have birds flush in range, as everything was getting up way ahead of them (no dog, so that was not a factor). I flushed birds within 10', and had my limit early. I gave a spare cammo vest to one of them, and he got shots. The other guy shot, but didn't kill anything, as they were too far away. Tell me again why people wear orange in cover that is sparse, or shorter than 3' tall? (Other than to flush birds early, leaving more for me the next time I hunt the field.)



If you can't keep track of the people you are hunting with then the cover is thigh-high, you are not paying attention. I look at them frequently, so I don't get ahead of, or behind, them. No problem of not knowing where they are.
Click to expand...

Question?

Do you hunt wild birds? Or preserve? Just wondering --how you can only hunt thigh high sparse cover and get wild birds--especially without dogs??:rolleyes:
 
David, I get that question a lot!

I have hunted the same area for 11 seasons. I have access to 14 sections of private land, of which not all is huntable each year (crop rotation, moisture, etc.).

Some of the fields are wheat stubble, which was harvested using head-strippers, not cutting combines. This leaves the stubble about 24"-28" tall. So, there is plenty of cover for the birds to hunker-down in.

Also have some milo, which some of the farmers are also using combines set higher, leaving much of the leaf cover on the stalk. Also, very good cover, as this also hides them from hawks.

The CRP grasses are shorter, much of it being less than 18" tall.

The biggest factor I have found, over the years, is being quiet from the time we open the car doors. No talking in the field (other than "HEN"), and walking as quietly as possible. I never hunt with more than 4 hunters, and we always walk no further apart than 30'. One of the easiest ways for birds to stay alive is to stay put when we walk past. If we are close enough together, they can't stand it, and bust out when we are within 15' of them.

Secondarily is visibility. No-orange has proven itself, also. Those with orange don't have birds flush nearly as close as to those of us not wearing orange (my vest does have orange in the back, but only because I didn't find one with no orange at all). With the lighter cover, orange is visible from a long way away. Good for hunting the the woods, or tall cover, but not in row crops and sparse grass.

Yes, we see runners, but I also see runners when hunting with dogs. And, if you hunt row crops, the dogs crossing between rows make noise, and are also visible down the row to the birds.

I have learned over the years how to hunt my fields. It is a different technique than other areas, but hunters who pay attention to what I tell them, have success. Those that try to hunt how they hunt different cover in other areas, generally don't have success. If I got to go to South Dakota, I would rely entirely on those with experience in the heavy brush, etc.

While I would love to have a dog, our lifestyle does not lend itself to me having a great hunting partner. So, I adapt to what I have to work with. Limits on 80% of my hunting days seems to indicate I am doing something right.
 
Check out the quilomene from Q5. I went this route when the Wingworks wasn't available. Glad I did. Little more economical and you can customize the vest. Like it so far and their customer service was excellent.

I went with the San Carlos strap vest.
 
I use the original version of the Quilomene. Works great. This latest version looks even better. Looks like they got back to their roots as well. Mine was made in the USA and had an embroiled logo. My buddies bought later and theirs where made in Mexico and had a patch for a logo. Glad to see they are back.
 
Not to hijack the thread, but I want to add to my response to David's question about hunting without a dog.

I went yesterday with two friends who own dogs. One does not train his dog (2 year-old griffon), and the other who trains and hunts constantly.

The two dog owners wore orange.

We hunted good milo (leaves remained, tall stalks). I have taken birds out of these fields every time I hunted them. We also hunted grass that was from 16" to 3' tall.

Last weekend, I hunted some of the same fields with 3 others, with two worthless dogs. The dogs stayed very close to their master, and never pointed anything. In the milo field, and in the corn-with-tall grass fields we hunted, we got birds up well-within range. Not yesterday, though.

The dogs I was with yesterday hunted pretty-far out, and across rows of milo. Birds flushed way out of range. We had nothing flush anywhere close to shootable range.

In the grass, we got one bird up in range, while we had well over 20 more flush way out of range.

At the end of the day, the buddy who hunts (and guides) 3 or 4 times a week said to me that he now understands how I can report very good success hunting without dogs. The cover I have available is great for a small group of hunters who make no noise in the field. But, with dogs running, the birds are aware of our presence, and get out of the field well ahead of us. I thought that was a good observation from someone who hunts exclusively with a dog (or more).

For what I have available to hunt, I have had better success for years without dogs. Granted, some of the dogs have been poorly-trained. But, when trained dogs are used to hunting grass and birds holding for points, row-crop fields are not familiar to them. I would rather have a retriever that stayed within 10' of me in a milo field, than dogs ranging in front, hoping to pin-down the birds.

I learned some more, yesterday: Dogs are not always beneficial.
 
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Noplclkneb1 said:
Thank you for the responses.

Crockett.........how hard is it to load the birds into the rear game bag? Is it something you can easily do by yourself? I like the looks of this one, just wish it had a front loading game bag.

Thanks Again!
Click to expand...

Sorry for the delay. Pheasant season! 😄

Yep, easy to load alone. But ever since I lost a beautiful rooster when it bounced out of my vest (a different vest) as I jumped a ditch I have always used a lanyard clipped to the side of any vest to prevent lost birds. It has two loops (Nova Scotia limit is two birds) that I tighten around the bird's foot before I put in in the game bag. This game bag has a buckle on each side to hold the bag shut. I reach behind me to unclip the right side and get the bird in there and then clip it back up. The clipping it back up is the only difficult solo part.

Dave
 
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