Sat in my treestand today on a piece of private property I have hunted on several years. I have never had a problem with deer spotting me, but every deer that came by within 30yds would stop and look up right at me. I checked the wind several times and did not make a single motion, but they somehow still knew I was there. Luckily they never did spook, but I doupt I would have ever gotten a shot if it was a buck. I believe not moving and having the wind in my favor are the only two reasons the deer did not spook. At the end of the day I remembered about people talking about how deer along with several other animals have see in the UV spectrum. When I got home tonight I got out a black light blue (blb) bulb and turned it on. Well my new Bass Pro coverall suit reflects UV light. It had a purple glow to it under the light. I put the light on some of my older camo and nothing happened. I guess I bought myself a new ground blind suit, since I will never wear it again hunting in the open. Has anyone else found this connection with their camo? I know that not all camo has UV reflecting dye added to them, but my new suit sure did.
Not to worry. Wash your camo with a scent free cleaner, let it dry outside then treat it with UV Blocker. I've been using this stuff for years. I still use camo from the '80s. Everything had the UV brightners. Heck, I kill a 10 point this year while I was wearing some of the "Original Realtree" camo that I had treated with this stuff. It'll cancel out the "glow" as tested with a black light.
I don't know, I've never bought into the whole UV theory. Sounds to me like another product to relieve hunters of their money. how high off the ground were you in your stand? If you were below about fifteen feet they could have just spotted you, and not the UV. Whitetails have incredible peripheral vision. Just a thought
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The gobbles are getting louder.....in my mind, anyway.
I It was opening weekend here for archery and the deer have not had pressure, since last hunting season. I never had any problems other years. My treestand is around 15ft in the tree. I may try the UV killer sportswash. I just hope it works like they claim. I have heard some people say that it works by only dimming the UV reflecting dye and not eliminating it. I will give it a try sometime. The suit may have to sit off to the side until hunting season is over for that. I don't trust it after that exprience. None of my other hunting clothes would glow purple under the blb light; so I think I will stick to them. Here are some papers to read that may convience some people. I would have to try that sportswash, test it with a blb light, and then test it out in the woods to be sure if that product works at all. I think I would rather check my clothes for UV reflecting dye right away; before having to deal with sprays or spooked deer. [/align]
Here are some websites on deer vision. There are two websites on horse vision that are the same, but can give a person an idea on deer vision. I'm not saying that deer and horse vision is the same. Hope this helps a little more for the people who are interested in this thread.
Well I went back in that stand on Turkey Day and wore my old camo that would not glow under a blb light. This time the wind was not all that great, but the deer did not spot me like they did in my other suit. I did have a doe that picked up my scent and was searching for the source for about 15 minutes, but never found me in my stand. Thought I would just update what I found.I just know that I will check on all future purchases from here on out and make sure they don't reflect UV light. It won't cost me any more money to just quickly check something that I feel may help my hunting. Hope everyone had a great Turkey Day.
It's TRUE!
