What kind of camo to buy for a Noob?

[AngelicFatum]

This will be my first year bowhunting, and I need some camo. Any advice is welcome.

I have a few Q's:

Early vs Late season, two sets of camo?

Do I need camo raingear?

What patterns do you guys like? I'm leaning towards realtree APG, or maybe predator?

Oh and I'm on a sort of tight budget.

Thanks guys!

[harvey lee]

Welcome to the wonderful world of archery hunting. Being you are new to the sport, ask questions as many here are more than willing to help another out.

I have just about every pattern of camo clothing made. The first years I hunted, I wore dark green pants and a darker shirt. Get up in the tree and play the wind and clothing isn't a big a deal as the camo companies make it out to be.

The scent free clothing is nice but one does not need to invest in this expensive stuff. Try to get high up in your tree and play the wind right, you can put the odds in your favor without again spending alot of money.

The camo outfits are great but one does not have to spend a pile of money on it either.

I have rain gear and do use it at times but usually don't hunt in the rain simply because it's very hard to track a archery shot deer in the rain. One will lose the blood trail very fast.

While looking for gear, do yourself and your family a favor and purchase a safety harness for tree stand hunting. It may save your life one day.

I use alot of the Realtree camo pattern.

[AngelicFatum]

Thanks for the input Harvey. I think I'll skip the pricey scentblocker for now. What brand of clothing (not camo) have you had the best experience with?

[charliepete2]

Buy what ever is comfortable and lets you stay in the woods the longest. Pattern doesn't matter, background, lack of movement, and scent control do.

[harvey lee]

To be honest, I really believ that I could hunt in a dark green or brown shirt and pants and have just as good of results as if I were wearing the best set of camo out there.

I have shot deer in blue jeans and a dark shirt many years ago. I'm not saying that camo does not help but one can harvest a deer without all the camo out there.

[mrklean]

I put under armour under my camo and from what i am told that also helps with some scent blocking the tight clothing. I think its all preference. You could have a different camo for everyday of the year pretty much. Just find something you are comfortable in.

[Scoot]

I have to 2nd harvey lee's take on this- any old camo will work just fine. Follow hubertica's advice paying very careful attention to wind and you'll be fine. Find something comfy and inexpensive and you'll shoot as many deer as the guy who has the $500 clothes.

As far as two suits- I use layers and have a nice insulated wool jacket and pants for late season.

[Rippinlip]

Comfort means everything, make sure to pull your bow back with the new camo on, some are really tight when you get to full draw. If it seems really baggy buy tourself a arm guard to hold your clothes tight to your arm so you do not get string slap on the release.

I agree with Harvey about rain gear, I do not hunt if it is going to rain for an extended period of time.

Some of my most comfortable camo is the simple long sleeve shirts and camo pants bought at a local retailer after the deer season when they sell it for about nothing.

[Rotwieler]

I like predator fall gray (I hunt out of poplar or birch), in pines it doesn’t matter much. If you have plenty of cover behind you, when you look at your stand from the ground, it doesn’t matter a whole lot either.

Ever notice when there is a camo commercial on TV and they show a guy in a tree stand the camera is taking the picture from another tree stand and not from the ground.

Just remember at dusk it doesn’t matter what you are wearing, you’re just a dark blob in a tree.

wash your hunting clothes in the UV brightener killing soap

[BradB]

Here's an idea for you. Just get an ASAT Leafy Camo suit (~$140) and you can wear it over anything you want. It's lightweight, packs small, and you can carry it out to your hunting site in bluejeans and a Metallica T-shirt. Put it over whatever you're wearing and and you are instantly, and pretty cost-effectively, well camouflaged.

ASAT = All Season All Terrain. Just Google it and see what you think.

[USPENAMC]

mosquito suit/ netting if you cant stay out there cause the bugs are biting your missing out and you dont want to be miserable. maybe buy a jacket with layers that way as hunting season gets colder you can choose how much to start piling on...

[Meat-Run]

There is some great tips or advise here but one that I think most over look is contrast camo pattern. Contrast camo is in most cases your best bet. It literally takes a dark blob to almost a 2 dimensional figure in a tree. Take Predator camo as the perfect example it's dark and light patterns makes harder to focus on any specific shape. One of the best reasons the double-bull blind sold so many was because of the pattened predator camo. I started using the white and tree pattern (forgot the brand) that is almost a snow camo with tree limbs and branches all over it. If you were to look up at a hunter in a tree 20ft or higher you will so more sky in the background than other trees so keep that in mind. Another tip would be purchase the pattern that suits your woods you hunt. If your in pines or thick brush you can get away with more greens but when fall comes try to move more to greyish colors to more contrasting colors.

thats my .02.

Good luck,

mr

[harvey lee]

Not getting skylined is of great importance. I always try to get up into a tree that has some branches or leaves in the background so this will not happen.

I once had a stand location where I would sit right on the edge of the woods in the last tree along the field edge. The deer would pick me out almost every time as they came from the deep of the woods and saw me. I got busted every time I hunted it. When I moved the stand into the woods 5 yards with treaa between myself and the field edge, that stopped happening to me.

[Bear55]

Here is another vote for ASAT and Predator. They both break up your outline much better than the traditional camo patterns. To save $$$ I buy uninsulated pants and XX or XXX long sleeve T-shirt. They work great for early season and you have plently of room to wear your rain gear and warm clothes under your camo.

[Meat-Run]

Harvey,

Looks like we have another tip of the week in this thread. GOOD STUFF!

mr

[fishinmajishin]

Rotwieler knows his stuff...Predator fall gray. Mine just happens to be Scentlock lined, but no Thinsulate. I add layers underneath when needed. All the other type camo works if you are completely backgrounded by a huge tree(the main trunk), but otherwise you are just a dark blob and are easily skylined. Most important though is to maintain motionless no matter what you have on. Scentlock stuff works, but I'd rather rely on scent eliminator spray. Carry a small bottle with you to redose, especially if you have much walking to do. I spray my head,neck, and hands down thoroughly. I use non-scented knee high rubber boots and tuck my pants in.

[snoozebutton]

ASAT and Predator here too. I think Real Tree and Mossy Oak blob up too much at a distance. I agree with Harvey though, your scent and movement are the 2 things that'll give you away before anything else. Stay still and watch the wind and you should be fine with anything you decide to get.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I'll just echo what Harv said.. Camo is great, fun to wear, looks cool.. but to be real honest, sit still and watch the wind. Not a bad idea to have some greens for early season, some browns for late. I just buy stuff late season when it goes on sale and just keep collecting it as I get older.

[chucker34]

Ditto. I bought a set of predator fall grey from Cabelas last year - uninsulated pants, long sleeve tee, insulated coat, headnet and hat - and I think everything came to just over $100. It's not the highest quality stuff but I don't do a lot to it to wear it out, other than washing it and sitting on my butt waiting for a deer to come into range. I got everything slightly larger than needed, and that way I can wear insulated layers under everything as it gets colder. In fact, I can wear the whole set up from season start to finish until end with some adapting. I'm a big believer in making things work in a variety of conditions and not buying too many one offs, that is things that will only work in one situation or once a year. Like that butt out tool. : ) Sure, it stinks to do that task once a year, but do you really need another gadget laying around?

[HuskerBen]

One year, my Dad bought some white painter's overalls and a light colored jacket. He dyed them green, and then tie-dyed them with brown and a little black. It broke up his outline, and it worked out pretty well, although he got plenty of razzing from Grandpa and my uncle. The key, as has been said numerous times, is to sit still and play the wind.

[harvey lee]

Dietz, I have been collecting for years also but I ran into a small problem, the clothes must have shrunk a little bit as they are a little tight.

[Bear55]

I'll just echo what Harv said.. Camo is great, fun to wear, looks cool.. but to be real honest, sit still and watch the wind. Not a bad idea to have some greens for early season, some browns for late. I just buy stuff late season when it goes on sale and just keep collecting it as I get older.

This is true and under many circumstances you don't need any camo to get the job done. However, back in my realtree/mossyoak days I was amazed at how many times a mature doe would stare me down after many younger deer passed by without notice. This includes many times when a the wind was in my favor and I was perfectly still. I was a large dark blob and something didn't look right, after switching to Predator/ASAT this rarely happens any more. Those older deer are much harder to fool so I like every advantage I can get, it is also important to know when you can and can't move/draw and to get your stand higher up in a tree out of their line of sight but that might be for another thread.

[AngelicFatum]

So I picked up a set (shirt and pants) of Realtree AP by Rocky from Fleet Farm for $100. It's kinda light weight, so I'll wear it for most of the first couple months. I like predator camo, but am not a huge fan of the materials they use, except their lightweight poly stuff. I had a predator poly henley in brown deception, but it got stolen out of the back of my truck. I'll have to figure out something else for late season. Thanks for your input guys!

[matthothand]

I support the Hood boys and their Predator camo. Good stuff. I killed my two biggest bucks from the ground at less than twenty yards wearing the fall grey pattern. They were also downwind. Scent control is HUGE with any clothing and even the carbon lined suits need to get sprayed down. They only help prevent odors from coming out but will do nothing to any odors you get on the outside. As far as patterns go I really think fall grey is best in a tree for the same reasons everyone else has pretty much already said. I'd get something with a bit of insulation and in a baggy enough fit so that you can add layers underneath.

[BLACKJACK]

My goto camo is regular green army surplus pants and shirts. The reason I like them is all the extra pockets, four on the shirt and four on the pants, they contain the gear that I need all season long - license, A-hole string, grunt call, small binocs, head net, haul rope for bow, bow hangers. Then as the season progresses I just add layers, long under wear, a sweatshirt. Then as it gets colder, I have a bib/coat combo that is reversible, white camo on one side and brown camo on the other. They're big enough to go over my army surplus, so I always have my 'basic' items with my in all those pockets.

When I first started bowhunting I used to be more crazy about washing them and keeping them in plastic bags but now the only time they get washed is when they get blood on them, playing the wind is the key in my book. And as others have said, I won't hunt in the rain, to easy too lose a blood trail.