Ground Hunting: Camo vs Black

[BlondeBear63]

I hunt the National Forest in the Appalachian mountains. Being it is public land as well as for person reasons, I am a ground hunter. I am currently wearing camouflage, but have heard it may be better to wear black. Any thoughts?

If there is already a thread addressing this, please direct me there.

Thanks!

 

[JeeperCreeper]

I thought pretty much all of Appalachia areas required blaze orange. Regardless, why would black be better? The point of camo is to break up your silhouette, and black will make you just a giant blob of lack of pigment.

Are you trying to hide from game but not humans? Because that's more about movement than attire. Or do you think black is a better camo than camo? Because that's not really my experience.

Heck, old timers wore flannel and denim, and that broke up the silhouette enough, so I really don't think clothing matters as much as knowing the wind and movement/noise control. Then again, I suck at hunting or have bad luck so don't listen to me.

 

[Armored farmer]

I think camo is best.
However, there is a lot of black in nature. Shadows, stumps, logs, bears, moose, turkeys.
Camo if you are on the move, maybe black would do good if you are still hunting. I wear black when hunting from the blind.

 

[red rick]

I think black hides very good . I have a camo shotgun and a black one , when I lean the black one against a tree it is hard to see .

 

[BigBore44]

Black is not better for hiding......unless your hunting at night.

 

[Patocazador]

Aren't black bears in the Appalachians BLACK? I sure wouldn't want to resemble a game animal when I'm hunting .. not with all the questionable people with guns in the woods (I won't call them hunters).

 

[Sav .250]

Public land...........in a ground blind...........camo.
I `ve been a round a very long time and have never seen anybody dressed in black (hunting public land). Except maybe Johnny Cash. J s/n.

 

[BlondeBear63]

Armored Farmer & red rick make good points.

Watching a black bear is what got me to thinking. I know people have successfully hunted wearing every conceivable clothing combination as well as nearly naked, buckskin, plaid, Gilley, drab olive, camo, etc. And black. I use Realtree AP, but wonder if black is more versatile; blend in with shadows, be able to fidget less noticeably, appear as a stump, etc.

Blaze orange is required during rifle season. The law is written sort of vague about other seasons, but we pretty much wear it anyway. I think this may be something to consider.

 

[BlondeBear63]

I think camo is best.
However, there is a lot of black in nature. Shadows, stumps, logs, bears, moose, turkeys.
Camo if you are on the move, maybe black would do good if you are still hunting. I wear black when hunting from the blind.

The area I hunt is definitely not an area for stalking. It is scout then still hunt.

 

[BlondeBear63]

Public land...........in a ground blind...........camo.
I `ve been a round a very long time and have never seen anybody dressed in black (hunting public land). Except maybe Johnny Cash. J s/n.

+1 for Mr. Cash

 

[BlondeBear63]

Public land...........in a ground blind...........camo.
I `ve been a round a very long time and have never seen anybody dressed in black (hunting public land). Except maybe Johnny Cash. J s/n.

No ground blind, maximum 100 yard field of view, mountainous.

 

[BlondeBear63]

I
Heck, old timers wore flannel and denim, and that broke up the silhouette enough, so I really don't think clothing matters as much as knowing the wind and movement/noise control. Then again, I suck at hunting or have bad luck so don't listen to me.

Yep, it's luck. I know a rather successful hunter who chain smokes. It's luck.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Instead of black, brown or green would be better.

 

[BlondeBear63]

Typical foliage where I hunt.

 

[red rick]

A lot of shadows and the far trees look black . Bear I am like you , I have been thinking about black as a better camouflage than the colors that are in most of the camo clothes I see for the woods I hunt . I would like to see a camo color of just black , gray and a dead leaf color like the bottom picture , no white .

 

[Sunray]

"...Aren't black bears in the Appalachians BLACK?..." Black bears aren't always black. There's actually nothing in nature that is black anyway. Usually very dark brown.
In any case, like JeeperCreeper says, the purpose of camouflage is to change the shape of things. Black alone doesn't do that. Make you stand out more to Bambi or Yogi. The old plaid hunting shirt/jacket does not though. Red is better at night than black too. As daft as that sounds.
"...law is written sort of vague..." Laws are like that. Laws don't tell you what you can do though. Only what you cannot. Up here, at least, if there's no law saying you cannot do whatever, it means you can do whatever.
"...Typical foliage..." Hunting regs aside, in that bush, olive drab will do.

 

[BlondeBear63]

Black bears are usually "black", cinnamon, and even blonde. Blonde bears are often referred to as "Spirit Bears" and everyone where I hunt deeply frowns upon killing them.

I am here because I like the High Road people. More experiences than theory. I am here to learn. Even at my age I am not afraid to say "I don't know" or "I don't understand" as well as "Can you explain it to me with as many details as possible?" So if I ask for more information, I am not being wise or smart.

I thought the purpose of camouflage to appear as part of the environment and reduce the ability of your movements to be noticed. I would like to know how red is better at night than black. Given the night is clear and lit by at least a half moon. Good stuff know how colors are perceived, especially given deer supposed do not see red.

 

[CraigC]

I don't see how black could be any worse than blaze orange.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I hunt in Maryland, and that includes the Appalachians and I also hunt from the ground. I have specific places that I wait, one is just inside a patch of vines that form a hedge, and the others are places where trees have grown up split from the ground in a V configuration. I don't wear cammo, as I hunt with a flintlock, and get them in closer than 50 yards. I wear a combination of light brown hunting shirt and brown trousers, unless it's cold then I am in a GRAY wool coat. My hat is black..., and I'm on private land. IN A PUBLIC HUNTING AREA I wear a blaze orange hat AND I put blaze orange on a branch on the opposite side of the tree where my back is, since nobody can see me through the tree.

The key is to get to know the wind, to feel which direction it's blowing when you have the slightest breeze. Using that to pretty well predict which direction the deer will probably walk, AND with the local vegetation helping to break up my outline, the last bit is to not move.

I also only wash my hunting clothes in cold water with unscented lye soap, if they need it, and build a small fire with some oak or hickory and hold my outer layer of clothing in the smoke for a few minutes before the season OR after I wash them.

LD

 

[Patocazador]

"The key is to get to know the wind, to feel which direction it's blowing when you have the slightest breeze. Using that to pretty well predict which direction the deer will probably walk, AND with the local vegetation helping to break up my outline, the last bit is to not move."

Exactly, deer don't use their eyes near as much as they use their noses. If you are downwind or crosswind from the game, it doesn't matter what you wear.

I've deer hunted for ~ 57 years and wear mismatched camo (whatever is clean) in bow season but blaze orange when the shooters are in the woods during gun season.

 

[Varminterror]

The guys you see hunting in black (myself being one of them) are hunting in a blackwalled ground blind.

Black on the ground makes almost no sense outside of a ground blind.

 

[BlondeBear63]

Exactly, deer don't use their eyes near as much as they use their noses. If you are downwind or crosswind from the game, it doesn't matter what you wear.

Old native saying, "A feather fell in the woods. The turkey saw it, the deer heard it, and the bear smelled it."

 

[entropy]

OD Green is my favorite when there are no restrictions. Movement and scent discipline is more important than what color you're wearing.

 

[BlondeBear63]

Movement and scent discipline is more important than what color you're wearing.

Part of my movement discipline is camouflage. Still hunting is anything but still.

 

[BlondeBear63]

I spent a rainy day doing some thinking and "research." Tigers, zebras, leopards, cheetahs, etc all include dark or black as part of the coloration.

At the opposite end of things are snowshoe hares, arctic foxes, as well as polar bears. This led me to consider solid coloration is such to match the environment. Solid white for snow, solid black for night (sort of), and vertical stripes...

I think entirely & solid black to not be an all-around answer. But possibly tiger stripes of black over a color to match the surrounding environment.

Too, other things such as scent, wind, noise, etc have a lot to do with alerting & alarming quarry, I hope to focus on the visual.