Camo? Bah!!! Humbug!!!

I believe the original poster asked for everyone's "thoughts on camo."

If we sit here and discuss the merits of camo all day, what's it do you Texasbagman? No need to get sarcastic.

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I believe you need to read the original post. Maybe you will understand it the second time. NO WHERE IN THE POST DID HE ASK FOR OTHERS OPINIONS/THOUGHTS.

The title of the thread is "Camo? Bah!!! Humbug!!!"

Yep, that really sounds to me like he hasn't made his mind up yet.

Some points.

I have a mate who is fanatical about hunting Sambar in the Victorian Alps.
These deer have a rep for being as difficult to hunt as almost anthing on the planet. Chris usually hunts wearing realistic camo patterns with some blaze included.
His comment to me yesterday on the subject was that his ability to stalk close to undisturbed deer had increased markedly upon his adoption of a face-mask.
This comes from a man who is up in the hills with rifle and/or video camera twice a week for 9 months of the year.

The other is the conditions under which you're hunting.
Someone raised the scenario of camo-clad hunters on video following the levi-clad stetson-wearing guide. Question then becomes how often the conditions that make for good TV (open space and lots of visibility) contrast with the conditions pertaining to stalking in heavy cover.

What is camo supposed to do?
A man in a spotted suite may well look just like a spotted man...
OTOH, a man with his outline well broken may look less like a man to game, even though he stands out more to us.

Cheers............ Peter

I've probably spent more hours hunting geese than anything else, so my response is in that context.

I do believe in the advantages of camo, just because it has been drilled into me and it makes sense.

Having said that, I cannot begin to tell you how many hours we have spent crouched in a deep, camoflaged goose pit with the birds flying 100 or 200 yards north or south of us, but then when we get up to pee or find a wounded bird, a flock comes right overhead, nice and low. It's become kind of a joke--when the birds avoid us we suggest getting up and moving around because it so frequently draws in the birds. After 30 years of seeing this same, consistent behavior, I am starting to wonder a bit, at least when it comes to geese.

I have a couple of used army woodland camo shirt I often wear when hunting and fishing. Also have a couple in kahki. I particularly like the nice pockets (4) with buttons these shirts have. I think camo gives some advantage when hunting, but not a whole lot. A good brown, khaki, or the old drab army olive green work as well as anything.

As for the guy who will be hunting in carhart brown, I've had deer walk right up to me about 10-15 yds. while sitting on the ground wearing an old cotton canvas coat about that same color as a Carhart.

Motion, your face, drab color, scent, noise, and then camo are about how I rank concealment factors in importance when deer hunting.

I've taken to wearing a camo bandana or brown scarf around lower face to hide skin.

As anyone had any luck with face paint?

Camo does work!

Deer will often stay put and stare because deer are not always that shy. Elk are much more skittish! If you stay perfectly still, many animals won't notice......but have you ever observed camo'ed people walking in the forest and then seen regular clothed people? It is SOOOoooo much easier to pick up the solids. Elk will perceive contrast similarly.......They're no dummies......they know when they are seeing something out of the ordinary. The broken pattern is less likely to "catch their eye."

I always wear my camo.......But I just wear used BDU's from the local military boys. Cheap camo!

This is what I plan on using.

Having said that, I cannot begin to tell you how many hours we have spent crouched in a deep, camoflaged goose pit with the birds flying 100 or 200 yards north or south of us, but then when we get up to pee or find a wounded bird, a flock comes right overhead, nice and low. It's become kind of a joke--when the birds avoid us we suggest getting up and moving around because it so frequently draws in the birds

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LOL, I know. I took a buddy of mine goose hunting for his first time last year. The birds were all going wide of our blind (don't they all once a single bird 3 hours ago spotted you?)

I told him to get ready, and that I was about to call some in. I stepped out of the blind, took a pee, and like magic a flock materialized, low and coming right at us, my buddy got one.


Camoflage is incredibly important for goose hunting as them buggers can spot you 5 miles away- especially your face. On the other hand, I don't think you need good camo for deer, I've had deer walk within 15 yards of me without spooking while wearing head to toe balze orange- movement seems to spook them more than anything else.

Whiteknight- unless you are bowhunting, wear an orange vest also- people in carhart coveralls do look alot like deer. I'd be scared to wear something like that with only an orange hat with some of the yahoos in the woods.

My hunting togs are about evenly split between camo of many patterns and drab colors. Orange hats have sufficed for obeying the law here.

Probably 3/4 of the deer I've taken since the first in 1962 fell while I was wearing green wool pants and green and black or red and black plaid wool shirts and coats.

Face and head coverings are crucial. A GI Helmet liner(Think Radar Reilly) hat and a camo baclava are standard.

I practice good scent discipline, and watch the wind. A 12" piece of fly tying floss hangs off the muzzle of my weapon.

Movement and noise are more damaging than lack of the latest camo.

You know, I'm not 1/10 the hunter...

You know, I'm not 1/10 the hunter or outdoors men you guys are ( I mean that). But I'd just as soon tie antlers to my head and walk the woods snorting then wear anything brown during deer season.


Respectfully,

jdkelly

I guess I'll get them in black instead.

I guess I'll get them in black instead.

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What I do- Black jeans and black Resistol hat. Dark shirt and appropriate amount of orange in the from of a goose down vest which is reversible; orange/realtree.

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My own personal thoughts on camoflage are that camoflage is more useful for the stalker then for the deer-stand hunter. Deer, of course, do not see colors the way we do. However, they can see contrast. Camoflage that contrasts little from the surrounding environment and which creates the illusion of light and shadow, should at the very least provide the stalker a few more seconds in which to spot, aquire, and shoot the game animal. I dont believe it makes them completely invisible, it just buys time. I've hunted in blue jeans and a t-shirt; but that was because I was invited to a hunt with no time to go home and get camoflage. Typically, I select military surplus camo that uses broad bands of differant colors to create the illusion of light and shadow, such as for instance, the Russian VSR "flora" pattern. I dont like most of the commercial camo patterns. They tend to turn into a blur at longer distances.

Anyway, my two cents.

They tend to turn into a blur at longer distances

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Is that not what they're designed to do? Blur = no human outline

I think scent is more important than what are you wearing. They can smell BO a mile away..

The second one is metal clinking... Animals are sensitive to "unnatural noise" like metal clinking... Change in the pocket all but guarantees them running off..

I think scent is more important than what are you wearing. They can smell BO a mile away..

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This may sound silly, but which would deer/other animals be more scared by, human body odor or deoderant?

If you have a fireplace, hang your clothes near it to make them smell like woodsmoke- its a strong cover scent that doesn't seem to spook deer. I think you can actually find deodorant that smells like dirt, I bought some dirt scented detergent several years back to wash my bowhunting clothes in.

Or.. just use unscented antiperspirant. Keep anything with a perfume in it away from you.

I just wear an old pair of camo BDU's, shirt and pants. It may work, it may not, I just don't want to get my jeans and other clothes dirty and nasty out in the field .

I wear camo BDU's in the woods, not so much for the camo pattern, but because they are practical (no, I didn't say "tactical"!!!). I like the loose fit, multiple pockets, reinforced seat (you know when you've turned 40 years old when you wear out the seat of pants before the knees), and the fabric is tough but still dries fairly quick. Also...the price is right at $30 at the local army/navy store.

2002 gun season I had a buck walk in front of me at about 10 feet. Sure, he had other things in mind (mounting a doe)

I was dressed in carhart coveralls, and a blaze orange jacket and hat.

Last year, same spot, same outfit, I had a herd of young deer grazing in front of me.

IMO, if you are trying to tag does for the freezer, or a normal buck, then scent control and holding still work really well.

Tree stands, camo, extreme scent control is for hunting the wily bucks with the big head gear.

I'm thinking about a "snakeskin" camo suit I can dress up in to "belly crawl" in with my trusty double barrel........

I buy camo only because its the most functional clothing not because its camo.

The closest I ever called in a turkey was to about 15 feet. I was wearing a white sweatshirt and blue jeans, no head net or hat of any kind. I was stunned.

I see blacktails out my back window every day- house is on the top of a bluff with a 1 acre field surrounded by forest at the base. I'm always amazed at how hard it is to spot those deer from above just sitting/standing in the field. I would think plain brown would work pretty well, but I would be afraid of some trigger happy yahoo shooting me.

I am going to start deer-hunting this year and I ahve seriously considered getting a pair of the USMC's new patterned BDU's just for hunting. they were designed to blend into a variety of different environments and everything that I have seen points to them being extremely hard to pick up.



I figure if I buy them a size larger, I can layer as I need to in order to stay warm.

W

That new USMC pattern, as I understand it, ain't even for sale on the civilian market. Corps only.