I was out yesterday morning for rifle season and, of course, I was blaze orange from head to foot. The only "semi-camo" aspect of my outfit was my bibs: they were the "orange with black lines" type camo intended to break up your outline.

A small7 point walked directly toward me, stopped at 10 yards and looked directly at me in my ladder stand while I was standing and pointing my rifle at him, and then continued calmly on his way (he is now hanging from my gambrel). There was absolutely no recognition or even suspicion on his part that I was there.

It never fails to amaze that the colors in blaze orange that make us glow to other hunters are invisible to a deer, but it is also significant that there was minimal attempt to break up my outline (surrounding branches from the tree where my stand was placed and the black lines in the bibs) and the deer was still unable to recognize me.

This raises an interesting question: is camo even necessary?

Perhaps the answer is: only if you are seeking mature deer who have begun to learn to recognize a hunter and anticipate where one might be lurking (as in up in a tree). This particular deer was only 1 1/2 years old. When other deer have been around me and not detected me while not wearing camo, they are typically fawns and young deer as well.

Perhaps there are other factors that are just as important as visually blending in to the surroundings. For example, it seems that if I return to the same spot (such as a ladder stand that remains in the same place all season), the deer begin to anticipate that I may be there and are more wary. However, if I only visit the spot occasionally (no more than once per week), they do not expect me and are less likely to notice.

I am interested in your thoughts.