Camo. is it a must?
 

The Camo most of us all ware including me; does this truly make a difference in regards to the deer seeing us?

I know other fellow hunters that have taken thier fair share of deer and really never ware camo, any camo. Now, I don't know if they hunt from a blind or not.

I personally feel more invisable, and have spent a ton of money on the clothing, infact have developed a camo product and hope to have it on the market in the future, regardless, does us using camo help us to get, deer.

I understand the deer see in different shades and believe that they are color blind? So if this were the case camo should'nt be a factor or would it?

KEEP HUNTING THE GREAT OUTDOORS & GOD ALIVE, PASS IT ON!

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

A bit extreme for an example, but I was hunting on a warm day many years ago with a man that was walking across a plowed peanut field wearing a white T-shirt that had a nice 8 point walk across the field to him. When he saw the deer he stood still and he came within 40 yards of him.

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

I say it is NOT necessary. Our fore-fathers hunted without modern camo and they took deer just fine. Remember those red and black checkered wool coats? People wearing blaze orange seem to take deer every year too. Heck many of the Indians didn't use anything more than a friggen loin cloth! They did begin to experiment with wearing hides and moving right in with the herds though.

MOVEMENT is the key with animals like deer and even turkey. Staying still is better that having full camo. Camo just allows you the freedom to get away with some minor movements. How many times has it been said that if you remained perfectly still, you could hunt wearing a tuxedo! Based on some of my experiences, I believe that statement to be absolutely true.

I'm being somewhat hypocritical in saying that it isn't necessary though since like you, I still spend money on camo. IMHO, the best pattern out there is Predator.

-Mike

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

This year is the first year I have ever used camo, I have hunted successfully for over 35 years without it. As MJL said, it is not a neccesity, but it does allow you more room for error. By staying perfectly still with my eyes at slits I have had deer get within 20 feet of me and then simply decide something was wrong and turn around and go away, walking, but looking back.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

Every year I see adds for the new, improved camo that turns you into supper stalker. Movement like everyone has said is the key. I wear camo that I bought 8yrs ago. It is the ASAP camo that is not poplular now but it does just fine for me, holes and all. If you market your new camo make sure you tell us we can glide across the forest floor
,shoot our weapons 90% more acurately, and be able to harvest our prey with merely waving the fabric. Everyone else makes wild claims,why not?

If it crawls it falls, if it flies it dies.

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

Some good input, thank you so far the the comments. Coyote, that was a great suggention!<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

As far as the marketing points of it, it's not just a new como. design, it's a hole concept in sporting, outdoor and hunting apperal.

keep your eyes out for it some day in the future, COJASMC SPORTS WARE or MCTAGGART OUTDOORS, somthing with in this nature of brand names. Hey, when it's a done deal go ahead and give me some addresses and I will be sure to send out some free units/accual products-clothing to my fellow deer hunting forum people.<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

Or something to do this BIGFOOT! as far as a name. checking on registrations.

KEEP HUNTING THE GREAT OUTDOORS & GOD ALIVE, PASS IT ON!

Edited by - JRED on 11/12/2002 11:56:00

Edited by - JRED on 11/12/2002 12:02:53

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

last year during muzzleloader season i was sitting under a tree wearing jeans, t-shirt, and orange cap. a doe walked straight to me from 40 yds out, i took the shot at 10 yards directly in front of me. the whole time she kept looking at me expecting me to move or something, i stayed perfectly still and avoided eye contact. when she was about 20-30 yds. out she would drop her head and then raise it back up quick and look trying to catch me moving i guess, it was pretty neat.

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

I dont think so, but I do agree with MJL. Movement is the key thing along with silence.

Starrman

Ron Starr

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

I believe that deer do see some blues, but otherwise they see no colors. I use solid color blaze orange coat and pants when hunting and have had so many deer within 40 yards I couldn't hope to count them. Only a few have looked at me and those that did soon looked away. I have had deer walk right up within a few yards of me on a trail. On the other hand, when I have inadvertently moved, I have always been busted. There is no room for error on the movement issue as others have alluded.

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

Warm QUIET clothes are far more important than camo. As others have said, movement is the key, don't do it. I will add one other piece of advice. Get in a tree. Second best, get in a blind. I went out this morning and had a least 5 does wandering around within 20 yards of me. My tree stand was in a different place and I just wanted to hunt for a little while before work and see where the deer were moving. I was sitting on the ground with my back to a pine tree. The deer didn't spook, but I couldn't move. Hunting like that is agony to me. $60 spent on a climbing tree stand from Wal-Mart is a much better investment than a full set of expensive camo and probably cheaper too.

I'll probably invest in camo when I can afford it, I like to have every advantage. But does anyone seriously believe that the pattern of the camo matters? (aside from the obvious, birch pattern in a cedar forest)

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

I usually wear blue jeans, camo jacket with orange vest and cap (cap is orange/black with camo pattern). I also wear camo gloves and some camo on my gun.. since I do a lot of ground or still hunting. You definitely have to watch your movement.. however, I have found that if a deer is looking at me I can move VERY slowly and get away with it. I think having my arms/hands/gun camoflaged helps since I need to move them. Also, I agree with quiet clothing being more important. When a deer sees a human shape after seeing movement then I think it pays attention. If you are not moving they might think it is a tree stump. When hunting on the ground I like to have some sort of blind.. or hunt from a ditch where my movement is much less noticible. I have taken 3 deer..all from the ground while still hunting and the key is to have my gun in shooting position before they are in sight.. because my movement has scared many others away.

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

I have some camo, that i bought last year when a store was going out of business, it was 60% off so it was to a deal to miss. especially since i needed sometihng to wear besides my carhartt brown stuff that looks a little to deer-like to be wearing around during deer season even though i wear that orange hat.
movement is very important, but i do like the camo for breaking up my outline. espescially since ive been primarily hunting from ground level.

propmahn
save the world, reload your brass

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

i have to wear orange..and i hunt on the ground....and i hunt in thick stuff with shots no farther than 50 yds...movement is criticle when your rifle hunting from the ground in the deers bedroom...orange doesnt make a diffrence at all...keep movement and noise to a minimum and you should be ok....

[Deleted]
 

[Deleted by Admins]

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

Back in the 80's I hunted with a great group of guys from work and we never wore store-bought cammo. We used to have lots of fun at camp trying to invent our own cammo patterns. My best efforts were when I stole some black fabric dye from my wife. We boiled some water in a large kettle and dipped only one leg of our Levi's and one arm of our plaid or stripped shirts into the dye. Man it works great! With one leg a different color than the other your outline is completely broken especially if the pants are tan or green. I personally think that it works even better than today's &quot;perfect&quot; store-bought cammo.

Yes, all of us wear purchased cammo from time to time nowadays but every one of my buddies still prefer our home-brew outfits. It is just a fun thing to do,

Elsie
&quot;Downsize government - all government!&quot;

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

I hunted in carhart coveralls and and orange vest this past weekend. I could have worn camo but I'd rather be warm as I don't have any warm camo. I figured if I was wearing an orange vest (it's the law)it wouldn't make a difference. I was a little scared about another hunter seeing that brown though. I do wear camo in bow season because you have to get away with more movement.

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

i have taken deer while wearing blue jeans and a carhart i think setting still is most important but while bowhutnign i do wear full camo because of the closeness to the game, i think 3-d camoflague gives you a big advantage

&quot;She said if I hit that fishin hole today, she's be packin all her things and she'd, be gone by noon....I'm gonna miss her, when I get home.&quot;

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

well i agree with MJL927 MOVEMENT is a big key, i wear carhartt coat and overalls, with a orange vest. I have done just fine with out camo but its just kind of conditioned in poples minds that you need camo.but as long as you can sit still you should be just fine.

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

again movement is big and camo isnt all that necessary if you hunt open areas with long shots, but bow hunters and other people (handgun hunters as well) take most shots at 25 yards or so, and in that range camo helps you get away with more movement

propmahn
save the world, reload your brass

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

I have to agree with everybody so far. Being silent and still is more important than matching the forest floor or ceiling. Camo DOES have the advantage of letting you get away with more movement. I think it can also instill confidence (or more confidence) in some hunters. That can be important especially with newer hunters. None of that however can replace the safty factor that blaze orange provides us from other hunters.

Personally I try to blend in some sort of camo to help break up my solid blob figure when gun hunting. Hey they (the deer) use to their advantage. Why not us!?! jred - Good luck with your product.

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

The pourpose of camo is to have lots of shapes and shades on you so it breaks up your outline, not to make you the same color as your surroundings.
Since deer do see differently than us, it doesn't matter what color your clothes are but being the same SHADE as your area helps.
This covers small movement sometimes, and makes it harder for deer to pin point you.

It is not required but it does help sometimes.


-Ray

&quot;Hey ya'll, watch this&quot;

[Deleted]
 

[Deleted by Admins]

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

A flannel shirt and Levi's worked for many years .I have always got my deer so when I sometimes wear cammo I couldn't tell if it helps or not . When I move at the wrong time ,make noise ,or otherwise goofup even the cammo don't help. It does look sharp in the pictures though. LOL

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

i want to know where you people can wear a flannel shirt and pair of jeans out in the woods, i know id get hypothermia

propmahn
save the world, reload your brass

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

I also agree that movement is the key. I also feel that I need all the advantages that I can have while hunting. I have heard from many hunters that blue jeans are the worst thing you could possible wear. That deer can see that shade better than others???

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

I'm reviewing a paper right now on deer vision. This work was presented by Dr. Karl Miller (name might ring a bell?!) at the annual meeting of the Southeast Deer Study Group. His group conducted this study back in 1993. You can get a copy online...the title of the paper is &quot;Photopigments of white-tailed deer.&quot;

Deer are dichromatic---they can basically see two colors. The findings indicate these colors are blue & yellow (based on the photoreceptive cones within the deer's eye). However, they do not see colors inbetween, just varying intensities. Any colors between blue & yellow, and beyond yellow towards infrared, are mostly seen as shades of black, white & grey.

The biggest finding was the intensity at which deer see short wavelength light (at the U-V end). Deer detect low frequency light about 8 times greater than humans---hence, watch out for those U-V brighteners in detergents. The heightened intensity does not commonly occur in nature.

All of the earth colors are going to appear yellow or gray, and anything on the blue end is going to appear blue. To a deer, blaze orange & red look the same as Mossy Oak---varying degrees of yellow. And a deer's yellow cone is less sensitive than a human's, therefore a deer cannot detect the intensity difference between regular and flourescent orange.

Bottom line and the authors' primary conclusions---just be still and stay away from the U-V brighteners.

That's why wearing blue jeans from a treestand isn't all that unnatural---think about your backdrop from a deer's perspective---a blue sky. Also, staying 15 feet up a tree, about 5 feet above their natural sight of vision, seems to help as they don't really look up unless they either smell or hear something suspicious <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

S&R

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

Most of the deer in the B&C record book were taken by hunters wearing blaze orange.

If you break up your human outline such as sitting against a big tree and you dont move, deer cant see you.

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

Here's the deal:
If you are hunting (as in Bowhunting) then you do need camo clothing!

If you are harvesting (as in hunting with a gun), anything will do!

With a gun you can take the pleasure of killing anything within 200-300 yards... don't tell me that qualifies as 'hunting'!

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

so, does using an advanced compound bow with all the trimmings qualify as hunting? or only use of a simple bow? or how about rocks and sticks? NO, i've got it, it ain't hunting unless you use your barehands! Give me a break, it is not up to you to define &quot;hunting&quot;.

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

Wether you or I harvest deer from 20 yrds or 200 yrds. It's hunting!

There are many way of which to hunt, the priciple always remains the same.

KEEP HUNTING THE GREAT OUTDOORS & GOD ALIVE, PASS IT ON!

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

I do most of my hunting in my own timber, about 80 acres. And I am in this timber nearly 365 days a year, in jeans, t-shirt etc. I sometimes think when I wear camo, the deer get suspicious of me. I've had fawns walk right up to me in the summer. Grunted a 6 point to within 6 feet of me in May. (That rack looked real big in velvet.)He was on the other side of a pasture and I wanted to see how big his rack was.

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

Last year I killed the biggest deer of my life wearing bluejeans and a jacket that was part of my work uniform. I say movement is the key also.

&quot;In God We Trust&quot; I want to live Tooth, Fang, and Claw!http://hunter316.proboards11.com

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

I wear a 3-D Leafywear suit for bowhunting. I had plenty of deer come within 10-15 yards of me without noticing me at all. I've always used camo for both gun and bow but I think it is more important for bowhunting. Camo does help mask movement and you really do have to move while drawing back a bow and preparing for a shot. As far as gun hunting goes I think it depends on what range you are shooting and what your surroundings are like. If you are in super thick brush and your wearing a solid color suit I would think you stick out like a sore thumb. This is just my opinion though.

My question is where the heck do you guys hunt that you can get away with wearing a brown Carhardt jacket? Man, in my zone you would be shot as soon as you moved with some of the yahoo's out here.

MassBowhunter
&quot;Climb Higher, Look Lower, Fall Asleep Less&quot;

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

Hunting or Harvesting? Give me a break!

I've taken 4 deer this year.

Bow, 18 yards
Muzzleloader, 20 yards
Rifle, 35 yards
Rifle, 8 yards

Which ones were hunted and which ones were harvested? I can't shoot reliably at 35 yards with my bow, so maybe that one is a harvest, like picking one off the deer tree.

This Bow vs Gun debate is not productive.

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

I too have ben working on a NEW CAMOUFLAGE/PATTERNS.. Movement will no longer be an issue, & stalking will be made much easier. You will throw your current camo in the trash! It'll be as close to invisible as you can get in the outdoors both to game & human's.. this stuff will FREAK YOU OUT when you don't see it!! lol It will improve any current pattern available today by 100%...
Good luck on yours JRED..

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

The way I test my camo is with an old black and white movie camera,well it's black and white through the view finder.I lay it on my carpet and if I see a &quot;man&quot;shape it's no good to me.I use the leafy type camo,when the wind blows the leaves move and I've watched as deer relax.

Hunting is not a sport,it's a lifestyle.

RE: Camo. is it a must?
 

It was mentioned that clothes should be washed in a detergent that does not contain UV brighteners. Does anyone know what products do not contain the brighteners? I don't think laundry detergents generally list ingredients.

Noom