Camo Theories

[onthefly]

What is everyone's take on the way camo is going?

Personally, I think that the camo patterns used by hunting gear companies is becoming distracting. I don't think they really help conceal you from anything. I want more options that are just plain old camo like 20-30 years ago with 3 colors maximum.

I just make sure my tree stands are placed where I'm well concealed by natural cover. Only enough openings to make quality shots.

Who needs all this high definition, 3D, 9000 color camo? I think some shade of gray would work for the oaks, maples and pines I sit in all fall.

And I'm in marketing! Go figure.

[tunrevir]

All right, all right, guilty as charged! I have a few different camo patterns and have bought a few more to "blend with my surroundings" I liked the original treebark camo and the mossy oak breakup patterns. I started with woodland camo(green brown and grey) then treebark, then the break up. I like the break up for treestand hunting. I also have the predator camo in woodland which is brown black, white and grey I believe which is awsome for hunting aspens, birch and the like when out west. I guess the best way to see if your camo is good for the surroundings you hunt is get in a tree, blind, ground blind and have a friend take a photo of you in that setting both close up and at a distance and see if all the marketing is a bunch of $%#&. I have a photo from an elk hunting trip where I am sitting against an aspen tree with the predator camo on eating lunch and when you first look at the photo you think it is a mountain scene, then you see the fletching on my arrows and then me sitting and enjoying a sandwich! Simple and bold is sometimes much better then complex and multicolored, but regardless of where you hunt and what you hunt, wind is the number one thing to consider. Just my opinion.

Tunrevir~

[irvingdog]

I ARROWED 2 deer from 15 feet away during the 3B slug season.

Yep. Blaze orange.

Control your scent. Hold still. Kill deer.

[metrojoe]

What ever happened to the old woodland camo. I thought it was great. I would buy the old woodland camo pattern if they had the selection like Mossey Oak.

Pretador camo looks interesting. I like the bigger patterns they use. I feel the bigger patterns break up your outline better.

I just saw a new pattern the other day that is so finley detailed and small that I doubt it would offer any kind of break up to your outline. Seems like you'd just look like a big brown blob in the tree.

I have to agree with idog, play the wind and sit still.

[Bassboy1645]

As a newer generation hunter I wasnt old enough to hunt when the original tree bark and mossy oak hit the scene. Mainly I have now mostly real tree hardwoods grey. Sit still and it does a decent job. Also notice the more you use it the less it shines.....the new camo on the rack just glows.....I hunt alot so new camo isnt really a concern to me as it dulls fast. But as far as outline goes i dont skyline myself and i always try to put the sun and a good leafy tree behind me....for pine trees I have columbia wool series which is mainly olive drab wiht 2 shades of greens. it works awesome in pine tree areas of northern mn but it sticks out kinda in the hardwoods im more framiilair wiht back home.... none the less i sit still and it dont really matter. Tree trunks and limbs also are a great source of outline break up..last x mas my buddy got a new leafy suit. We hung it up to dry and descent before bow season and i seriously had a hard time picking it out in the tree it was hanging in....so from my experience id have to say this 3d stuff leafy suits and ghille suits are ultimatlye the way to go...... juts plain white i think works best in snow...that is if you lay in the snow like i do for varmints...also think darker duller colors for shadows and low light where as brighter and more open patterns work if your in sunlight or more open terrain. just my experiences.

[onthefly]

I guess my point is more that deer only see in shades of gray. So, if blaze orange works, then why do we need 900 color camoflauge? Companies are selling detailed, many colored camo based on what humans see, not animals. And, my goal is to look like the tree I'm sitting in which may be a different shade, but certainly isn't 3D if you look at the bark.

I read in a magazine a comment from a guide that said he his all his new camo with a can of flat, gray spraypaint too dull it down and eliminate some of the detail.

[bergie]

My experience is the longer you do something the more you simplify it, I have been hunting for almost 50 years now and here is my take for what its worth. Most important thing is know the area your hunting, next don't shoot at something unless your pretty (Contact Us Please) sure you can make a clean shot, next always hunt the wind, the best spot in the world ain't worth dump if the wind is wrong, next sit very still, ideally the area you are watching can be watched by only moving your eyes, if I hear something behind me and I know I can't get a shot there I don't turn around to look, most hunters don't have any idea how many deer they spooked by moving, they just fade away and you never know they were there. If you do all these things you could be sitting up there in a clown suit and have deer walk right by you. Good Hunting

[irvingdog]

Don't get me wrong...

I own more camo than any guy has a right to. More of a red-neck fashion statement than anything.

If I had to choose a camo pattern that has impressed me functionally, it would be Skyline for deer, and Realtree green for spring turkey.

[CANOPY SAM]

Bergie and Irvingdog are exactly right! Just like fancy fishing lures are made to catch fisherman - not fish. Fancy camo patterns are made to fool hunters - not game.

Activated carbon suits, multi-colored 3D camo patterns designed by field engineers, $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$! MONEY!!!

I've shot deer with bow and arrow standing in a lone, leafless tree in the middle of the prairie, wearing nothing but blue jeans and a red goose down coat! I've had deer run right up to me, right over me, and right into me wearing blaze orange while sitting on the ground in an open field, and kneeling right in the middle of the trail they were running down. Even ducks and geese won't pick you out if you use the surrounding cover to your advantage.

Keep your stuff scent free, pay close attention to the wind, and sit really really still, and they won't even know you're there.

Turkeys might be a little better at picking you out on the ground if you don't break up your outline a little bit, but you can usually get away with a tidy little ground blind.

I simply smile when I see people throwing $20.00 jerkbaits at muskies, and wearing $500.00 worth of camo in the field. Heck, I wouldn't even spend that much money on camo if I could! I'd ruin it too fast through normal use.

[harvey lee]

I own plenty and maybe to much camo. The camo surely doesnt hurt. One of the biggest things you can do as stated also above is to play the wind. Another when tree stand hunting is to get very high and there is a much less chance of them spotting you or also seeing you or catching movement. I find myself climbing higher every year.

[BobT]

I look at it this way. A deer is not going to "take off" at a sound, scent, or vision by itself. It needs at least two of these components to identify a threat. The best camo you can have does one thing...break up your outline. Even for those of us that see color, this works. Until you move your outline blends well. Funny, I have never seen a firearms deer hunter camo his face. Truth is, our eyes and our face outline is the most powerful give away we have. Someone once told me, and I have since come to believe this completely, that a deer identifies us as a threat by seeing our eyes. Predators have their eyes both facing forward whereas prey animals have their eyes on the side. Think about it. It's true.

While bowhunting I have had more deer pick me out no matter what I used for camo so long as I failed to hide my face. Once I hid my face, camo no longer seemed to matter much.

Scent and sound only alerts them to your presence. Movement and subsequently visual identification pinpoints your location.

Bob

[hookset]

That may be true with most deer, but older does and bucks know that "where there is smoke there is fire".

hookset

[BobT]

I can agree with that to some extent. I don't believe the deer will take every means necessary to leave just because it smells something. Human scent is nearly everywhere and they are not unaware of it. It's like having someone break into your home. I would feel much more comfortable knowing which room they were in than not but knowing wouldn't necessarily make me dash for freedom. This is similar to military reconnaissance. Know where your enemy is and its strength. Not knowing is far worse. I believe animals instinctively use the same tactics. The older ones do a better job of it by not getting caught at it. I think we would be totally shocked at how often we are watched from a distance.

Bob

[SSSTaxidermy]

I also agree that changing your pattern might be one of the biggest advantages you can do that is in your control. Wind & eliminating or controlling human scent is out of our control for the most part. We play the odds here...

And adding to what BobT was saying about the eyes. I read an article some time ago, that deer (bucks especially) can sense when they are being stared at. It was an opinion article from an old Native American hunter. Is it true? Maybe somewhat?