Lennyjoe,
You know about planes.
Camo, well...this goes w-a-y back.
Birds , like other critters, have some gifts, just the way Nature does to give a critter what they need in this Predator-Prey relationship.
Eyesight is one, hearing, and taken note of surroundings to name a few.
Now the Sunflower, Milo and what all gets cut. Well birds, take note of flight paths.
Just like a pilot that flies the same route, gets used to landmarks and all.
So a field is yellow, green, and has dark brown "roads"
Field gets cut, and now the field is a tan, brown, gray "appearance.
Green Camo screams "Not Natural!"
Black, even at night, contrary to what some believe is not "camo". *grin*
So folks run out to the box store and gets Green Camo plus whatever shells, license at the last minute.
New "tan" or khaki is Not natural either.
I've climbed up a tower, atop a barn, even been in a crop duster/ single engine plane and spotted Dove hunters.
I mean it is that obvious.
I sure don't have the eyes birds do.
Mentors & Elders shared this with me as a kid.
I have shared with others as they did with me.
One trick has always been "'tater sacks" or "peanut sacks". Burlap sacks.
Natural Neutral Earth colors.
New stuff like camo vests , are best washed and made to look "faded" and "worn"
Take a Green Camo vest, new or washed, a new khaki , a washed khaki and just hand out in a field. Tree line, fence, whatever.
From the ground, one can see the difference, from the air for sure.
We'd hang "sacks" near spots we were going to shoot weeks and weeks ahead of time. *wink*
Doves get used to seeing these spots as being normal.
Gun Barrels. Ha!
Folks bought into the marketing of covering blued barrels for doves, and duck hunting.
Green Camo tape come out and I kid you not! You can spot this as NOT being natural.
Glint of sun is normal, farm / ranch equipment, buckets, pumps, irrigation, all "glint".
There is no green camo on this stuff. LOL
Flooded timber, duck blinds, goose pits and these waterfowl are the same way.
They are accustomed to a Stanley Thermos, White 9.9 outboard motor in a green or aluminum Jonboat.
Stick a green camo gun barrel out and "Hey, lookee there, we got a duck hunter that went and bought camo tape" .
I pulled the same deal on some folks I hang with in regard to Black at night.
Black trash bag and fishing pole.
It was pitch dark, and I reel this bag in and they hear it, and spot it immediately!
I later did the same thing with a gray trash bag, and they heard it, but could not see it, or find it.
One year I stood in front of a Blue Ford Tractor and all 15 doves taken were felled coming into me. Just fell at my feet, or I caught them with weak hand.
Wearing jeans, just like the old boy that used that tractor.
Done the same thing in front of a John Deere Combine. JD green and yellow, all that glass glinting sun and felling doves.
Folks all hid in the tree lines and there I am in the middle of field.
One spot I use is directly under a Irrigation "A". Bright shiny Steel/ Aluminum and ...I'm there to remind folks to NOT shoot the $$$$ equipment.
"Gumdrop" is long passed. A Lab/Collie/Something mix.
Farm Pond with a Pier and we would fish off the pier, great buds we were. He minded me better than the folks that owned him.
[I spoiled him better]
We'd sit on the pier , doves come over, I'd shoot and Gumdrop would retrieve doves out of the pond.
Get a bit upset after limiting out, so we would catch bream and crappie.
Danged dog would jump in and following the fish in.
Doves, bream, and crappie makes for some good eating!
Property owners, their kids, and myself took a lot of doves from around that pond, cane pole fishing and popping doves at the same time.
The Grandma used a Apron for a shell pouch.