Husband of a cowroker was out on his horse in northern NV one year checking on some cattle on an open range - not only was he wearing a blaze orange coveralls, his horse had a blaze orange saddle blanket on him. Some jerk shot his horse out from under him thinking it was a deer. That "hunter" lost a lot that day - his truck, his gun, his freedom, replacement cost of a horse, etc.
NEVER assume anything.
You are correct that one should never assume they are safe because they are wearing blaze orange.
As I said in post 16 of this thread, yes I wear it, partly because it's required in Missouri during firearms deer season if you are hunting.
But I also wear it when out on a horse during deer season.
However I'm well aware that blaze orange does not protect me from stupididy.
I recall one year my brother and I were hunting on a piece of private ground that had public hunting land on three sides of it and yes we had our blaze orange hat and vest on.
Along about noon my brother came up to wear I was and we took a break to eat our lunch in the field.
We are sitting by this big tree and my brother looks through his binoculars and informs me there's some idiot looking through his rifle scope at us.
I told my brother to get behind the tree and I slipped down into a draw, came up behind stupid and ask him what the hell he thought he was doing.
He said he was looking through his scope to see what was out there.
I said yea and you are pointing a loaded rifle at me and my brother. Then I told him those kind of stupid tactics is what gets people killed every year and that he needs to go to Walmart and pick up a pair of binoculars if he wants to be gawking around the country side.
I also made it quite clear that it would be in his best interest to never be pointing a loaded gun at me again.
Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com