Camo

[Rojoe67]

What do you folks wear for camo? Do you? I like woodland BDU's in most of my hunting trips.... and I still can fit into all my old issue stuff.... Just wondering what you use........

[n3twrkm4n]

Since deer can't see colors I usually just wear a sweatshirt in the good seasons (not brown ) Depends on how I'm feeling though sometimes I do go full BDU's but if then it's just standard non-pixelated army camoflauge (the old style). Nothing too special and my Sorel's which are REALLY WARM!

[Arizona Fusilier]

I do most of my hunting in the desert; classic woodland BDUs won't do for me. I am fond of the desert tiger pattern by tiger stripr products. I have also used the British desert pattern and that Czech desert pattern that hit the surplus market a couple of years ago.

My favorite though is the Rhodesian camouflage patern, great high-altitude desert/early spring pattern for around here, with some utility in the scrub oak and juniper high country we have in Arizona.

For turkey, I fall back on the only civvy pattern I own right now, RealTree Hardwoods.

[kjm]

I wear jeans, a dark-colored t-shirt and a cap. Deer are color-blind so I don't worry about them getting spooked. Movement is far more important than design for deer. I don't know about hogs but I've found I am just as likely to see them with cammo as with a t-shirt, so they must be color-blind too.

Since some birds have good vision I guess cammo would be ideal for bird-watchers, but I think cammo has been a great way to give Americans jobs, so I can't knock it. Maybe by breaking up patterns they do assist those who hunt out in the open, or maybe our game is so used to us, that they don't care one way or the other. My guess is that deer probably smell you (no matter how much manure you roll in or doe urine you bathe in) long before they see you, so it might put them at ease to at least see you when they smell you. Maybe a tie-dye shirt would be a better hunting outfit!

[stevelyn]

ASAT camo.

[n3twrkm4n]

wear jeans, a dark-colored t-shirt and a cap. Deer are color-blind so I don't worry about them getting spooked. Movement is far more important than design for deer.

That reminds me of common sense... Also I wanna know how they can market this scent block stuff without laughing. How do they know that deer can't smell carbon, and everything smells like something right? At least to animals who have a better sense of smell than we do. It makes me laugh because no matter what you do your not going to smell like outdoors and your going to be something different for the deer to smell.

I dunno though... I keep it simple

[Rojoe67]

I sorta agree about the scent lock stuff until an old bear hunter neighbor told me how he has success. He swears by hip (rubber) boots and a military surplus type chemical suit... This guy is worth listening too because of some 30 years of bear hunting he has taken 17. Three of these bears were +400 pound bears. So maybe he has something to this set up.... He is careful about wind direction and path in and out of his hunting locations. I think no matter what you do or wear.....the wind and thermals can bust us even when we think we did all we could to be covert.

[kjm]

Scents are funny. I figure that deer have similar noses to dogs. I've worked with narcotics dogs before and heard the stories about people hiding drugs in cans of coffee, amonia etc... and the dog only smells marijuana and coffee or marijuanna and amonia. Face-it, all the cool technologies will never replace good hunting skill. Hunt downwind from your quarry, don't make any sudden moves, if you do make moves, make deer think you're a normal part of the scenery (I cut wood frequently and never fail to see deer who don't seem to mind since they can see me, smell me, and know where the danger is).

Heck- that's the whole point of hunting-- Using skill to take an animal. What's fun is that it isn't hard to keep to the basics. Heed the basics of good hunting you will succeed. Forget and you will fail.

I just don't believe in cammo, scents or any of that stuff. Of course I don't bow-hunt, and that might be the difference, but as long as I rifle-hunt, I will focus on the basics of good hunting skill and not worry about all the other stuff you COULD buy.

[Rojoe67]

mostly true - your right......and then there is an old buddy of mine whom has luck that is worth telling ya about.....

Gets to his hunting spot to sit 2 hours after sun up....slept late
Smokes the whole darn time he's out there....
Listens to his walkman headphones....just can't miss the ball game
Reads a magazine, snacks on stinking sardines and crackers.....
admits he got coughing for awhile......

and you will swear I am telling you a story.......but 3 hours into his so-called hunt he bags a 8 point Michigan Whitetail Buck....... I am guessing the deer was retarded..... or was soooooo interested in a lady deer that ole Mr. Buck let his guard down... So as to the luck of that day...My friend could have landed a helicopter in the woods and had the high school marching band playing too....... I guess crazy things happen out there too....

[LAK]

IMO the best universal camo is plain "whitetail gray-brown" clothing, from hat to boots including gloves. Tone is perhaps more important than actual color, and although animals are color blind, different colors have darker or lighter tones which may emphasize your outline against a darker or lighter background. This includes the so called disruptive type camos or unfaded darker camos like flectar, woodland etc which can show up very darl against the average green foliage or dry brush for example.

A good test for your favorite camo is black and white photos against varying backgrounds - and under varying light conditions such as bright sun, sunset, bright overcast, dark cloud etc. You will soon see what stands out and what does not.

Additional aids to being unseen, unheard and un-noticed are ...

Soft natural fibres like cotton and wool.
Heavy oversize ragwool socks worn over boots will dampen some noise on some ground conditions.
No bright metal or reflective acroutements.
Nothing that rattles, clanks or clacks, loose metal objects in pockets etc.
As little movement as possible.
Moving as slowly as possible.
Do not move your head if you can move just your eyes instead.
Don't get skylined.
If possible keep the sun behind you.
Hunt into the wind.
As the sun rises solar heat generally sends wind currents uphill, and as the evenings set in and the air cools visa versa.
Avoid fragranced soaps, deodorants, fabric softeners etc.

[Mannlicher]

I have managed to take a number of deer over the past 50 years. Most of that was before I ever owned a piece of camo clothing. I don't think camo is that much better for concealment than muted browns, greens, and grey colored shirts and pants.

[Flaman]

Whether or not you kill a deer has virtually nothing to do with what your wearing. This scentlock stuff is a scam. The very best two things you can do to make your hunt succesfull is to hunt with the wind at your face, and to go high (tree stand tower blind etc)

[kjm]

LAK: Great point. I would have never thought to use B&W photos. I saw on the History channel where military cammo designers patterned the new USMC on principles they saw in the wild. Most wild animals have lighter colored bottoms and darker tops. For some reason this works on the human eye, Idunno about bambi though.

I do know this: Two cells are in the retina. Rods and Cones. Rods see B&W but detect motion very well, Cones see color, but aren't good at motion detection. Deer have all Rods, and People have mostly cones but some rods.

I also know that deer don't judge distance very well. If they are like a horse, they just aren't that good at it. I've walked up to deer amazingly close so long as I walked when their head was down or they were looking away, and stopped when they looked up and stopped in exactly the same position as the last time they saw me.

I can dang near slap them and have all sorts of worries about getting run over by them on the day after deer season!

[38splfan]

How about a pair of flannel-lined blue jeans?
Maybe a red-black plaid wool jacket?
Topped off with a tan gus crease resistol?

That's about the sum of my gear. Add a small leather possibles bag and a saddle-blanket covered canteen, and that's the deal.

[LAK]

kjm

I saw on the History channel where military cammo designers patterned the new USMC on principles they saw in the wild. Most wild animals have lighter colored bottoms and darker tops. For some reason this works on the human eye, Idunno about bambi though.

Yes, I have oftened wondered about this light bottom dark upper thing. Speculating, it might have an evening up effect on tone in bright light where the lower is in shadow while the upper is in direct light. In poor light tones tend to merge anyhow so the contrast is less important.

[bill k]

I wear insulated mossy oak forest floor overalls, The same pattern in an insulated jacket with the same pattern outer shell. Over that I wear a bright international orange vest and hat.
I wear the cammo outfit because it was on sale and looked warm. It was roasty toastie.

[Rembrandt]

I think this is the best camo I've ever found, not because of the pattern but because it has the capability to go "Orange" for our gun season or back to camo for archery season. Plenty of pockets, scent-lok ability, zippered legs for easy off-and-on.

[grey_pilgrim]

Dark blue fleece shirt. Olive green pants, and a large tree right behind me. I got a deer to come within 50 yards last time i went hunting. Out of shotgun range, tho.

[RobertEsq1]

Asat 3d

[Jseime]

i wear a pair of white coveralls and an orange hat simply because i have to wear a full suit of orange red or white.

[Ohio Annie]

I wear a Swiss Alpenflage tanker suit. The pockets are great and the color blends in nicely with the leaf litter and hickory trees. They are about 12 bux at cheaperthandirt

Black watch cap with brown balaclava.

Regular Red Wing leather boots with thinsulate or Mickey boots if in the late season. The Mickey boots rub painfully so I put moleskin around the top edge.