Predator Camo or ASAT

[TomBow]

'scuse me if you've heard this one before....

I currently use Skyline Apparition for my main camo but after getting busted (not moving) by every deer that I saw (that came in looking for deer they could smell), I'm looking for a change. Ever use Predator or ASAT and what are your stories. The Skyline is great for on the ground or in a tree with leaves but once the leaves are down it seems to be easier to get picked off. Best of Luck to all!

[Deitz Dittrich]

I have the ASAT 3D leafy suit.. and have been quite pleased.. But I too worry about when the leaves are gone. I think both ASAT and predator are great cammo patterns...

[bigbucks]

I don't mean to be a jerk, but where are your stands? I wear original mossy oak, mossy oak breakup, realtree hardwoods, advantage timber, etc. kind of a mixture depending on temps & wind. I have no problem getting spotted unless I move at just the wrong time. Truthfully on most of my stands I'm pretty confident if I sat still I could hunt in blaze orange & still do fine. I'm rarely below 15' & almost never below 12' & I don't have any problem with that, now getting winded might be a different story on some stands.

[Deitz Dittrich]

bigbucks.. I dont think your being a jerk... However, I have a lot of stand areas where there is no way I can get 16' up a tree.. Lucky to get up 10, so I feel camo is very important..

[bigbucks]

Exudedude, is it really open as well I take it?

If the trees are small & you're just a big object in a little tree I'm not sure the camo's necessarily the problem, it's just that you look out of place. We've tried stands like that & had poor luck therefore we've decided in those type of conditions some sort of ground blind, generally natural, hiding in corn, brush, grass, etc. is more effective. I don't like to be on the ground, but in some places it's the best option, just my thoughts. I'm not that familiar with the two kinds of camo you were talking about.

[TomBow]

Predator and ASAT camos are "non-typical", meaning they are not pictures of tree trunks, leaves, etc. like most MO and Realtree patterns. MO and RT look purdy in the store and are decent in the right area but tend to blob out at distance. Ever spotted someone in a treestand from a distance? I was a big MO and RT user until I spotted my buddy across the field in a tree that had not much for leaves. He didn't have to move to be easily seen. Pred. and ASAT are designed to break up your outline by using contrast. If you are interested, do a search on Predator camo study to see some pics, color and black and white which compare Predator to MO and RT.

I got busted this weekend by every deer, even without making a single move. Had scent out and swirling winds, practiced thorough (yes, not maybe enough) scent control, I think the deer came looking because they smelled deer and carefully looked the area over. I was in a pine with many branches, good back cover to avoid getting skylined and I still got busted. I will admit that my stands are only about 14 to 16 ft. on average. I use trees with multiple trunks or oaks that still have leaves on them to have cover between myself and the deer and I don't set up in trees that are less than the width of my shoulders, so I don't think it's a big object in a little tree. Right now most of the trees in the particular area have lost their leaves. I use Skyline Apparition and have had good luck until getting into an area without sufficient cover. I have heard good things about Predator and ASAT and am looking for some local experiences with these patterns. Nuff 'splainin'. Anybody else?

[Deitz Dittrich]

bigbucks-actually no.. the areas that I am not getting up to high is where I feel it is pretty thick. I really havn't had to much problems with getting busted with the asat on... I was more just saying that I felt camo was important, when you had said it really wasn't thats all.

For those interested this is what the ASAT 3D suit looks like

this is regular ASAT

This is Predator camo

[Moose-Hunter]

I've used Predator camo for years. And have only been "busted" one. I usually late season when most, if not all, the leaves are gone. Thought you might like to see Predator camo in action. The pic is a bit small but I think you'll get the idea...

And you ask, does it work? The proof is in the pudding. Or in this case the sausage...

[TomBow]

I went to Sportsman's Warehouse and checked out the Predator camo, Evolution pattern (same basic pattern as the Deception, shown above but more colors in the pattern) that they had in stock. Bought a set and tested them this morning. Doe caught me moving into position and looked hard, head-bobbed and stomped. Moved off a bit and started looking again but this time she was looking under me not at me. Never figured out what was up in the tree and went back to feeding. Successful test.

Nice Doe, Moose, DE- Licious!!

[bigbucks]

Looks like good camo, I can see where it would hide you well.

Boy guys, it still sounds to me like those deer are smelling you more than seeing you. I know what you're saying about seeing a blob at long range, but you have to remember you're looking for a hunter in a tree generally when you do that & you're not color blind. I've had many deer look right at me in similar hunting conditions like you're describing, at really close range. They rarely ever show any recognition, but I've sure had them smell me & spook. Usually not to the point of blowing & stomping anymore, just spook, sometimes the same deer even come back the same evening & still don't ever look at me like they think there's something wrong in that tree. They just look along the ground for movement & scent check the fields. I'm sorry I'm getting off the train of thought, & I do agree that camo is still very important.

[emcphee33]

I like the predator pattern myself. The frustrating thing with it is that major retailers (Cabela's, Gander, ect.) carry a very limited selection if any at all. Cabela's for instance carries some uninsulated pants and jackets and one insulated jacket (I think). The makers of Predator Camo have a HSOforum (sorry no unauthorised links )where they sell some more insulated stuff and water/wind proof stuff. I have visited a few retailers that carry other products from Predator, but none of the retailers carried the wind/water proof insulated clothing that I am interested in. I have emailed the manufacturer and they don't have a 'show room' at their Lacrosse, WI 'home office'. They say the matterials are quite, but I would like to feel the matterial before I buy it and make sure I think it is quiet enough for bowhunting. I've also email Cabela's about why they don't carry much of the predator pattern. I got some run around about how they decide to choose what patterns are used for the their clothing. I just think it would be nice to get some of their Whitetail Extreme clothing in predator camo. I'd be first in line to by a set of bibs and a parka.

[scotty18]

I also have used Predator camo for years. I have the other brands, but use Predator the most. Guys, CLEAN IS THE KEY! I started bowhunting many many moons ago, I wore jeans and a flannel shirt. Getting busted has to do more with odor and movement. Another thing to think about. Deer's eyes see different spectrums of light than we do. I won't get into the science, but have you ever walked by a blacklight and started to glow? That is the uv brighteners put in laundry soap. Deer can see that glow in low light conditions without the blacklight. All modern hunting cloths wash doesn't have the brighteners in it(read the label to make sure). Ok so you get the hunting wash, you throw you hunting cloths in the washer and wash them. Guess what? You still have a uv problem. That load your wife just washed left soap residue in the washer. Run a couple of loads of regular cloths with no soap to get the residue out. I accually went to garage sales to find a cheap washer to use just for hunting cloths.

Scotty

[TomBow]

Wha? ARe you sayin' I STINK???

I only use Scent killer detergent when washing my hunting clothes, including everything I am wearing, underwear and outerwear, the whole nine yards. No UV in there. I also hang dry when I can, or I dry in the clothes dryer then hang outside to air out before I seal the clothes in plastic bags. Those bags don't get opened until I am dressing at the truck or putting the clothes in the pack and getting dressed a 100 yards or so away from the stand. I use Scent Lok garments, too. Yer preachin' to the choir, Reverend's, when it comes to scent control. I also spray myself and my equipment, bow, arrows, treestands, climbing sticks with Scent killer spray prior to the hunt.

Good points, though. UV is something many don't think of.

[bigbucks]

I do a ton to control my scent to, but I know deer still smell me. Some don't mind & some still leave, they just don't seem to be as sure where I am, as when I "stunk" at scent control. Pun intended...