Military Camo v. Hunter's camo

It's mostly about your scent and movement when bow hunting, the camo pattern that matches your background and the surrounding woods should be fine. I know more than a few traditional archers who hunt close and succeed while wearing plaid instead camo.
Others' mileage may vary...

Honestly I havent seen much a difference with camo paterns. I like to keep them similar to the back grounds i hunt, but a buddy of mine uses his digi camo fatigues and does just fine. As previously stated, sent and movement are your biggest issues. One of my favorite hunting shirts was this gaudy brown orange and green aloha shirt, but the pattern matched the Keawe forests i hunted. Most of my shots were inside of 50yds, and closer to 20. Deer would often look right at me, but as long as i was behind some cover to break my outline they usually didnt seem to notice. If i moved, the wind changed, or I made noise, tho they were gone.

Yeah, camo is secondary. Movement and scent are more important. I bowhunted for 35+ years and killed my share of deer. I often wore different como tops than bottoms to help break up my outline. I do believe in a "leafy" type top though. I think it really helps break up the human form.

Absolutely not a factor. The only reason I have realtree is because I found some real cheap at a thrift store otherwise I be out in bdu or tiger stripe.

"...camo designed to..." Isn't design to fool anything. Camouflage has one purpose and one purpose only. To break up the shape of things. A couple large totes full of military kit will do that. So did a red plaid shirt in the old days.
Still don't get why Air Force ground crew types get cammies issued though. snicker.
"...bow hunting..." Requires a lot of practice and upper body tone. Back and shoulders mostly. If you don't have the tone you can seriously hurt yourself shooting a bow. Don't attempt to shoot any bow with a draw weight that's more than you can easily lift a box of that weight either. As in, if you cannot easily lift as 50 pound box, do not attempt to shoot a 50 pound bow either.
You need to be able to hit the 9" pie plate every time at about 20 yards as well.

Jeff, It sounds like you and I have the same collection. My first issue was the OG507 "pickle suit", then jungle fatigues, BDU's (multiple different styles), the "chocolate chips", CVC overalls, DCUs and finally ACUs. I have examples of all of them in totes in the attic. What we should be proud of is that we can still fit in them

I wore out all my pickles long ago, 1966 was indeed in the century. I feel old.

I generally stick with MilSurp camo as it costs much less than boutique camo, especially when hunting deer with a bow. While deer can spot movement extremely well, they cannot fine focus like humans can. That fine detail in the camo pattern you pay so much for is lost on them. This is why they can look up at you in a tree and then go back to feeding if they otherwise are not alarmed. For example......next time you see deer across a field and they look up and spot you, put your hand on your butt and flick it like a tail. Odds are you will see them flick their til back and may even come check you out. In my youth I shot many deer with a bow, sittin' on the ground wearing blue jeans and a blanket lines blue chore coat.

double post....sorry!

I used my issue Woodland and popcorn camo hunting until it wore out or didn't fit anymore. I have both military and hunter camo, and occasionally mix them. The critters don't care. They see motion more than form. Better yet to fool their noses and be mindful of the wind. You didn't have to worry about that in Sniper School, Jeff.

That is funny cause I have used camo for yard work and hanging out clothes for years and people thought I was odd untill the Duck Dynasty show hit big then all a sudden I was trend setter.
Those of you that know me , know the only setting I do is in my recliner, probably wear disreputable camo pants and a T shirt.

Buying new camo isn`t going to break the bank.

I had "military camo." Re-read the above.

H & H hunter makes a good point.
I picked up a hooded realtree rain jacket on the clearance rack at Bass Pro ( Im a small) at 59 bucks it is the best and most useful, piece of outdoor clothing I have.

Again, like you and your son Jeff, I never wore any of my uniforms hunting when I was active. Hunting was what I did to get away. Putting on the salad suit would have felt like going to work. I only purposefully camo up when duck hunting. When deer hunting (with a gun) I wear something that's warm, dry and comfortable

H&Hhunter said:

The one place that new camo might be advantageous is weather proofing. There are several companies that make quiet water proof camo clothing.

Click to expand...

I agree. But that would be about hunter comfort, nuttin' to do with effectiveness of the pattern. IMHO, the OP was whether or not new camo patterns were that much more effective than older military styles, to justify replacing it.

The primary functions of Military patterns are to hide the human form from other humans to save human lives. It is going to be fairly effective if used within the confines it was designed for(i.e. desert, snow, woodland patterns). The primary function of most commercial hunting camo is to be more appealing to the eyes of a prospective buyer than the competitors pattern, while helping conceal the human form from game animals that generally offer little or no threat to the hunter. Think about it.

I have a heavy coat and bibs for when it's cold that are camo. I got them because the price was right. But it's not all that cold usually up here in bow season, so I wear fatigue pants in the early season, and some green wool pants about now. A black coat if I need one. Otherwise a dark plaid shirt. I do like a pair of gloves regardless of the weather which I feel allows me to move around a little more.

I will say I did get spotted 2 weeks ago, but I think it was more because I was eating a footlong sandwich than the attire I was wearing.

Selection of proper camo is very important. Here are some patterns that worked for me.



Taken out my office window.



Taken off my front porch.



Another sniped from my front porch.

i have a good friend who has taken turkeys in the spring gobbler seasons wearing a bright orange junp suit useing a .410 shotgun just to prove a point about cammo hunting cloths. i,ll admitt he is a seasoned turkey hunter and a ex caller. he just sits up against a large tree and does not move while calling with a mouth call and waits untill they are 20 yards or closer to shoot. he firmly belives it,s your outline and movement the alerts game. eastbank.

People killed animals for hundreds of years without camo. Just something to consider.

I won't go as far as to say all eyes are the same but they do have the same basic function. Camo of similar tones break up our outline but don't make us invisible. Smell is probably what gives us the most to deer and similar mammals but movement in a duck blind or tree stand will spook game everytime. That's probably generalizing to much and I'll also add that many camo garments are pretty well thought out in terms of use by the outdoorsman.