He introduced himself pleasantly, but noted that I was somewhat late in coming out of the woods. Since my gun was encased as per the law and I explained how my travels had taken me far from my truck, he was satisfied.
He mentioned how he'd been waiting there about 15 minutes, scanning with his binoculars when he finally spotted me walking back across the long field. He politely recommended that it was time to replace my old "lucky" orange vest with a new one. It seems that the colour of my old vest, although it is clean, is a shade darker than "modern" blaze orange. Nevertheless he was glad I was wearing my orange, unlike another group of hunters he'd just dealt with who had only donned their orange as they came out of the woods
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
The C.O. was a very nice guy and we had a pleasant chat while he checked my licenses and checked to ensure that my gun was unloaded
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
This encounter reminded me how easy it is to be in violation. For example, I had left my bulky gun case in my truck and I had almost forgotten to bring my thin folding case into the woods with me. I could very easilly have found myself with an un-encased gun after legal shooting time.
I had also forgotten to check the exact sunset time, so its a good thing I didn't shoot at a doe I spotted just as I was about to pack up. The light was dim for my iron sights and the deer was farther than I liked under those conditions. Thinking back, it was likely a few minutes after legal shooting time. The CO would have heard my shot for sure.
In my hunting career, C.O.'s have been a rare sighting, so I was quite surprised and pleased to meet this fellow
![Cool 8)](./images/smilies/icon_cool.gif)
I just wanted to share this to keep honest hunters honest and remind the bad apples that you never know who is watching.