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Does cammo really matter?

Old 02-06-2014, 06:51 AM
  #1  
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Default Does cammo really matter?

I've shot plenty of deer wearing nothing but a t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. My dad and grandfather killed TONS of deer and almost never put on cammo.

I see people spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on cammo and put on their solid color orange vests. Isnt cammo used to break up the background? My question is does it really make a diffence?
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Old 02-06-2014, 07:16 AM
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for bow hunting it is better to have it, but when your shotgun or rifle hunting its not that big of a deal.
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Old 02-06-2014, 08:03 AM
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I began in the hunting/fishing retail biz when I was 14 in 1985 (in Memphis, TN. We were the first retailer for Mossy Oak in Memphis/Shelby County and one of the first with Real Tree and certainly were THE biggest "proshop" until BPS came into town in 1997.) and worked on and off in that biz (was my step-brothers) until I got out of it in 2006. The majority of camo is for the consumers eyes, NOT the games eyes! If it "looks right" in the eyes of the purchaser then it will sell. That is why the "Big 2" (Mossy Oak & Real Tree) are constantly adding "new patterns" every year or two. They must convince the consumer that they MUST HAVE the latest and greatest to be successful. (Success means SALES spelled "licensing/royalty income"!)

Breaking up your outline is a funny phrase created years ago to convince everyone that highly detailed camo was the ONLY way you could possibly do that! I don't care WHAT color/pattern you wear, if you are silhouetted against open sky or are wearing bright colors against a dark background, then your outline WONT be broken up! The only way you can truly achieve breaking up an outline (ESPECIALLY since most game is either full out color blind or at least doesn't see color EXACTLY like humans) is via 3d suits like leafy suits or gihillie suits. And if you are wearing such suits then what you have on under those suits means NOTHING!

As the OP stated, what good is head to toe camo when you then put a bright orange vest and hat over it???

The basic "earth tones" of olive, med browns, med grays etc are all that is needed in most cases! The BEST situation is to create a blind of some sort (either commercial or even better, from natural, local vegetation) to hide behind, especially in a tree stand. "Blending in" isn't nearly as important as REMAINING STILL! Movement is what game (ESPECIALLY big game) picks up on and usually ends up busting us over. (Well I'd say that is second to scent, but that's another discussion)

You keep your hands and face covered as well, keep the movement down to a minimum and use shadows and natural cover to conceal yourself and you'll have 99% of that problem licked and it wont require several hundred bucks or more worth of "professional camo"! (But the "industry" doesn't want anyone to hear that because it would put them out of work.) If commercial camo was required then how did men like Fred Bear, Ben Pearson, Ben Rogers Lee or Nash Buckingham SLAY the game decades before the advent of such???


HL

Last edited by HatchieLuvr; 02-06-2014 at 08:05 AM.
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Old 02-06-2014, 08:18 AM
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what I focus on more than cammo is scent away. I buy the soap to shower with the night before I hunt. I buy the detergent to wash my hunting clothes in and the toothpaste, deoderent,. i also buy the spray to use before i go into the field. i can gaurentee you your money is much better spent on scent away products than camo. as long as you keep very still the deer won't see you. its the smell that gives you away.
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Old 02-06-2014, 09:06 AM
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Ive never had a full set of camo I believe in scent control I have to confess that I have never killed 1 with a bow dont know if camo has anything to do with that
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Old 02-06-2014, 09:33 AM
  #6  
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I'm not sure that camo makes a huge difference, heck a plaid shirt will look almost the same as a camo one to an animal as colorblind as a whitetail deer. Another facet that might be well worth considering is that most people do not wear camo clothing day in and day out, especially outside the hunting seasons. As alluded to above, depending on the type of hunting you do, scent control may be of even more concern and part of a dedicated regimen of scent control is to not wear your hunting clothes other then when hunting.

The foreign smells clothing picks up during a typical day around town are smells that deer are not so familiar with and tend to shy away from at all costs. That in mind, buying camo clothing to use exclusively when hunting might be a good way to also become a hunter that's more scent-free and adds success in this manner, rather then giving the "credit" to the camo patterns alone.
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Old 02-06-2014, 09:47 AM
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Originally Posted by Tnhunter444
I'm not sure that camo makes a huge difference, heck a plaid shirt will look almost the same as a camo one to an animal as colorblind as a whitetail deer. Another facet that might be well worth considering is that most people do not wear camo clothing day in and day out, especially outside the hunting seasons. As alluded to above, depending on the type of hunting you do, scent control may be of even more concern and part of a dedicated regimen of scent control is to not wear your hunting clothes other then when hunting.

The foreign smells clothing picks up during a typical day around town are smells that deer are not so familiar with and tend to shy away from at all costs. That in mind, buying camo clothing to use exclusively when hunting might be a good way to also become a hunter that's more scent-free and adds success in this manner, rather then giving the "credit" to the camo patterns alone.

I have to agree with you TNhunter. I keep my and my daughters clothes in a sealed rubbermade box with a couple of earth scent wafers and we smell like dirt all season.
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Old 02-06-2014, 09:55 AM
  #8  
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I probably should have also mentioned that although a deer's vision is not good at all with respect to seeing "colors", a hog's vision is much better than a deer's and it would be a good idea to at least wear earth tones, or camo, when hunting hogs. Hogs are, of course also much smarter than deer are known to be, so the idea of bright colors worn by hunters could well be something a hog perceives and picks up on faster than a deer might.

BTW, we're just recently back from our annual hog hunt to Georgia and we had a great time once again! Not quite as successful harvest-wise as some other years, but my enjoyment comes with the hunt, not just the harvest!
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Old 02-06-2014, 10:49 AM
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Originally Posted by Tnhunter444
I probably should have also mentioned that although a deer's vision is not good at all with respect to seeing "colors", a hog's vision is much better than a deer's and it would be a good idea to at least wear earth tones, or camo, when hunting hogs. Hogs are, of course also much smarter than deer are known to be, so the idea of bright colors worn by hunters could well be something a hog perceives and picks up on faster than a deer might.

BTW, we're just recently back from our annual hog hunt to Georgia and we had a great time once again! Not quite as successful harvest-wise as some other years, but my enjoyment comes with the hunt, not just the harvest!
Nice to hear you had a good time in GA! What part of the state where you hunting in? We usually hunt pigs near Albany and have had great luck.
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Old 02-06-2014, 11:05 AM
  #10  
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It doesn't matter when you're in your truck; it matters once you get out of your truck - LOL !

Remaining motionless is the BEST camo (the wind also matters) !!!

Second best is the 3D stuff.
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