Camo

[the blur]

I've been using black ski pants, and a typical winter jacket, with orange vest.
dry season. Maybe it's time for camo.....
do you guys wear your camo after the season?

also, cold weather camo, what do you recommend?

My ski pants were not enough last weekend, with thermals and a mid layer. I froze while staying still, had to walk around.

[grubbylabs]

I have several pairs of camo for archery hunting and I have some stuff for duck hunting. IMHO I think the camo for duck hunting if far more important. The most important thing IMO for deer and elk is scent control. I keep my camo separate and wash it with scent free detergent and non brightening detergent. Having it camo just helps me keep my wash straight. And I don't wear it unless I am hunting. I have a bag just for it. I also wash all my socks and undies with my scent control detergent before packing for hunting.

If you can find some clothing that breaks up your out line and you can keep it separate from your other clothes I think you will be fine. Other wise I would buy the less expensive camo so that you know that is what you hunt in and can keep it separated from your other clothes.

I did buy a nice browning coat that works very well and it is camo. You might be able to find some wool pants at a army surplus store, those will help as well. I bought a set of pants from a sportsman's warehouse that are water and wind proof, they are lined with polar fleece so they are quite warm as well. Also look for a polar fleece vest to wear under your coat that may help you out some as well. But other than that all I can think if right know is to keep you feet and head warm, if you can do that you will be warmer. Oh clothing with thinsulate is usually pretty good for keeping you warm.

[Rifleman1776]

There was a time when hunters didn't wear camoflage and still killed deer and ducks. The standard hunting coat was a red plaid.
For deer, more important than fancy camo is simply breaking up the solid form of a man, the plaid did that.
That said, I like camo, must be a 'macho' thing. And, yes, I wear camo off season.

[lebyrn2]

Ditto to above

[Kreyzhorse]

There is a lot of great camo clothes out there. Personally I find the Bass Pro stuff is made pretty good and it holds up well. For what it's worth, I'm sure the Walmart stuff holds up for a while too.

For cold weather gear, bibs and a coat with thinslate work well. Layer with some Under Armour type longjohns and you are pretty set for cold weather.

As far as pattern, pick one you like. I'm a firm believer that camo, while pretty cool, isn't nearly as important as being still while hunting. Basically any camo will break up your pattern and that's all you need.

I don't wear camo in the off season all that much although I do have a couple of camo hats that get worn a lot.

[Bones]

The only requirement that I would have is that everything I ware is warm (made of wool) and large enough so I can sit still for long periods of time. The old red & black jacket is great. The dark brown paints (wool) are fine, and a watch cap is a good idea. The boots should be loose and I ware wool socks (I would have an extra pair with me). A glove on the trigger hand, and a mitten on the other. I'll have rain gear in my pack. Of course this is base on my own opinion, because I don't hunt...

[Tomas]

I bought a bunch of Sitka gear a few years ago on clearance (way too expensive otherwise) I love the stuff because it's quiet and very tough. The patterns to me are irrelevant, comfort, warmth, water resistant, and toughness are all that matters. My wife hates it when I wear camo so I only do it when she is not around.

[highvel]

I wear camo at least 350 days a year and yes it's important to breakup your outline especially when fishing!

[Hog Buster]

“I've been using black ski pants, and a typical winter jacket, with orange vest. dry season. Maybe it's time for camo.....”

If you have to wear an orange vest why bother with camouflage? Any bib and tucker will do....

[Brian Pfleuger]

Camo does almost nothing for deer.....
Blaze orange means nothing to deer.....


Deer do not see color the way we see color.

Deer do not see detail the way we see detail.


Almost all modern camo designs are much too dark for to be effective for deer and similar animals. There is not enough contrast for the deer to effectively see any variation in the pattern from beyond 30 yards or so.

In other words, if a deer is 50, 60, 100 yards away and you're wearing most any of the modern camo patterns.... Real Tree, Mossy Oak, etc.... the deer sees nothing more than a blob of more or less one color.

Now, the good news is that he sees the tree you're in the same way, just a blob of more or less one color. The bad news is, the blob does nothing to break up your human shape, which, aside from movement and scent, will scare deer faster than anything else.

There's also good news on the blaze orange front. Research indicates that deer see orange and red as shades of brown. That means that if you're wearing orange or red and standing against a tree, the deer sees nothing except a different shade of brown. Since trees are not all the same color or even one tree a consistent color, it means nothing to them.

I, and anyone who hunts much, can guarantee that orange doesn't scare deer. I've had deer within feet, literally touching distance, while I was wearing blaze orange. It means nothing to them.

Short answer: Most modern camo designs are design to sell the hunter, not the prey.


I do have high hopes for some of the newer designs that are specifically meant to break up the human outline by using high contrast backgrounds. ASAT and Scent Lock Vertigo are two of them.

[Art Eatman]

Birds see colors. Doves don't like blue, say the wildlife biologists.

A shiny little face peering out at Bambi negates all other efforts at hiding.

Camo works for turkeys. Helps some with doves, and, I imagine, with ducks and geese.

Dull earth tones are plenty good for Bambi and Wily.

[k31]

get a white sheet cut a hole in the middle for your head
wad up a hand full of your sheet and spray paint the waded up cloth dark brown
when you flaten it out it will look like sticks and branches on a whit back ground easy peasy and cheap then get a white towel for your head
simo hayha did the same thing to fool the russians

[Scorch]

The best camo breaks up your shape (black pants and ski jacket won't), and dull, earthy colors with large light/dark areas work best. For cheap, a camo leafy tarp draped over you works wonders. Won't impress your buddies, though.

But no matter how well concealed you are, movement is your biggest enemy. If it moves, animals will look at it until they figure out what it is. If it's you, you're busted.

[davlandrum]

I wear camo at least 350 days a year and yes it's important to breakup your outline especially when fishing!

Or sitting through a football game....

I wear it because it is the best rain/cold weather gear I have. I even wear it for our trips to the snow with the kids.

[publius]

Art's got it. Bird's see color. Camo a must waterfowl hunting. Camo is probably best for deer b/c even though they can't see color, they can tell patterns. I am usually wearing a red plaid wool Filson, brown Carhart overalls, and a brown cowboy hat. Being still, scent control, and very importantly, hiding your face.

[Fat White Boy]

If I got paid as much as Bill Jordan and his buddies, I'd wear Camo!!! I hunt pigs in whatever t-shirt I pull out of the drawer and jeans. I hunt dove in earth tone t-shirts and jeans. For waterfowl I will wear camo. Those boogers can see!
For quail and chukars, any t-shirt and jeans. I do wear good boots for chukars. Those darn things can run up a shale slide in no time at all....

[LateNightFlight]

I wear camo under my orange vest and hat, but it's only because my camo bibs and double coat are the warmest clothes I own. Thinsulate with the latest generation of the soft, quiet, (but burr and thorn collecting) Gortex is the best I've ever owned. If it's really cold, I wear long under wear. I sprung for the cost of the warmest base layer of Under Armour, but for the price it's disappointing. I can't tell that it has anything going for it that my 15 dollar set from Costco does, warmth wise, and I don't like the wet suit fit of Under Armour. It's actually open around the wrist. My cheapos from China bothered to put elastic around the wrist.

One of the best Christmas gifts I ever got was a pair of those Gortex camo mittens with a zipper pouch on the back of the hand to load a chemical hand warmer. When you need your fingers, a quick swipe and your fingers are free through the slot in the palm, while a magnet holds the folded glove back against the top of the hand. When it's truly cold, I'm more likely to forget my gun than leave these back at the truck.

Concealing your movement, or not moving seems to be key. This is true for everything you hunt. It's the same for them as it is for us. With experience, you've already learned that it's easy to miss deer standing motionless in the wood's shadows, and they're not wearing camo. But they're easy to see if they're moving along, even in near darkness. Sometimes it doesn't seem to matter; I couldn't begin to count the number of ducks I've killed while a lab or chessie has come bounding through the water back to the blind. For some reason, that seems to work as well as any set of decoys. And sometimes deer just aren't paying attention. I've swatted a deer on the butt with the fletch end of an arrow. Another time I was preparing to leave my stand when a buck walked in. I rushed to hoist my gun back up with the rope as he watched me do it. Then I chambered a round and dropped him. Otherwise, movement is the deal breaker.

I've become a fan of enclosed deer stands for the concealment factor. If I spot a deer coming in, I can drop down, size them up, and ease into position without them noticing. Even when they've caught the movement of my hat over the edge, I don't look much different than a big red squirrel fidgeting on a limb. I've yet to spook a deer while moving around in this stand, and I've had several deer bed down right below me. While scrunched down, I've even poked a camera over the edge to shoot pics while looking up at the view finder screen. I call it the digital periscope maneuver

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[natman]

There was a time when hunters didn't wear camoflage and still killed deer and ducks. The standard hunting coat was a red plaid.
For deer, more important than fancy camo is simply breaking up the solid form of a man, the plaid did that.

So in other words, hunters have been wearing camo for decades, it's just that the patterns are more sophisticated now.

[natman]

Or sitting through a football game....

I wear it because it is the best rain/cold weather gear I have. I even wear it for our trips to the snow with the kids.

I always get a kick out of watching a cold weather game and counting the marsh grass / blaze orange parkas!

[LateNightFlight]

I always get a kick out of watching a cold weather game and counting the marsh grass / blaze orange parkas!

Ha! So true! And it seems like Chiefs' fans have caught on to the fact that some of the best cold weather clothing is the camo stuff sold around town. Sometimes groups at the entrance to the stadium give you a deja vu moment of the last time you were in line, except you were in line to get into a refuge for a duck hunt!

[markj]

I once bought a pair of camo slip ons, took me a week to find em....

[BIGR]

My oh my, how camo patterns have changed. Way back years ago all we had was woodland camo patterns, such as army pants and coats. Along comes every type of camo pattern that you can think of. Maybe certain patterns do blend in better than others in certain locations. I don't care what I have on as long as it is not all white, gray or brown and as long as it keeps me warm.
This year just like others I had does and bucks all over me, yet they didn't figure me out as long as I was still. I tried not to make eye contact or blink, but they often looked up at me in my ladder stand, while doing the ol head bobbing trick, trying to get me to move. I suppose they were trying to figure out what a 230 pound monster was doing in that ladder stand, since I was not there the day before.

[seansean1444]

just buy normal camo pants unisulated for like 30 bucks that are way to big so they fit over your black snow pants and your set