A good camouflage test

[rifleman762]

A few problems I see. Sometimes camo has the right fabric or the right amount of pockets or whatever we require to hunt in compared to non camo. Some camo is better than others for reducing your perceived motion. ( solid is best) I like to take pictures of my hunting gear in the field in black and white to see what blends in better. I also think if your camo or blaze orange gives off too much UV light that it’s not helpful. My favorite camo pattern is Under Armor. I prefer solid colors, but sometimes it’s hard to find something other than Carhartt.

Observing your camo pattern in black and white is a great idea. Animals can still spot your outline; the idea is to break up the outline, not necessarily blend in with the correct shades and colours. Notice how an animal will quickly spook if you skyline yourself. Not only is it very obvious motion but they know the human silhouette is danger. This is why blaze orange camo works well. You're not a solid blob anymore and they don't know that it's orange.

 

[kjohn]

Years back, I had a doe and fawn walk past me, within 15 feet. The doe looked at me, then carried on walking slowly. I was fully dressed in blaze orange, standing beside a fence picket. A couple of minutes later, a buck came out of the bush about 50 yards away. He stopped, looked all around, then concentrated his stare on me. Each time he looked away, I raised my rifle a bit until I was able to draw a bead.

 

[keegs]

One of the big things I was told by a biologist. Do not wash your camo with detergent. The detergents that keep your cloths “bright” make you stand out like a sore thumb to animals.

True or not I don’t know. I’ve just always followed it.

 

[JDForBrkFst]

One of the big things I was told by a biologist. Do not wash your camo with detergent. The detergents that keep your cloths “bright” make you stand out like a sore thumb to animals.

True or not I don’t know. I’ve just always followed it.

100% true. There is a product that removes the UV brighteners from clothing. There are a number of clothing detergents that don't have UV brightener, many of which are just as importantly unscented.

 

[Butcherbill]

One of the big things I was told by a biologist. Do not wash your camo with detergent. The detergents that keep your cloths “bright” make you stand out like a sore thumb to animals.

True or not I don’t know. I’ve just always followed it.

No problem there, I don’t generally wash my hunting outer layers all the much to begin with lol. Whatever pants I throw on sure, my coats and wool sweaters almost never.

 

[trevj]

I do know a couple guys who claim a background as those nasty sniper military guys - one thing I noticed - is actually very hard for me to sit or lay perfectly still for 5 minutes - not move a muscle - not scratching an itch, even when an ant or spider crawls across your face - those guys apparently can do that for hours. NO MOTION. Apparently, in their line of work, movement means detection - detection means mortars / artillery coming your way.

The last few years I was living in Cold Lake, I was spending a lot of time out in the bush.

It's surprisingly noisy, and there is a lot going on, out there in the bush. But the noises are in a different pattern, and so is the movement that takes place when the critters think nobody is around.

I have had too many deer walk within spitting distance of me, while I was wearing my normal hunting clothes (aka: whatever I had on when I went out), to be too terribly concerned about the value of Camo for their part, anyways.

Learning to sit reasonably still, and not fidget around is huge. Learn to move your head slowly, rather than snapping-to, when something catches your attention. It helps if you are comfortable. Warm, dry, not sitting on a broken stick or branch, etc. Fast movement, and twitches, draw the eye in like a magnet. And most animals, us included, had a natural 'catch' as far as eye contact. Try it when you are driving along as passenger in a car. Just look at the driver beside you. LOTS of them will snap their head in your direction, and then quickly go back to what they were doing!

Even going walkabout in the bush can be learned, so as to move through an area without telegraphing a mile ahead of you that you are coming. Move a bit, be relaxed, take a dozen easy relaxed steps or so, stop, pause, look around. Take your time. It's pretty rare that you will see a deer that does not have something on it's mind, be that, whatever it was that scared it up out of it's bed, or the hot piece of tail it is currently tracking in the rut, that will not follow pretty much just that pattern.

 

[jayemmbee]

Best camo yet

So good !!

 

[Lead hammer]

100% true. There is a product that removes the UV brighteners from clothing. There are a number of clothing detergents that don't have UV brightener, many of which are just as importantly unscented.

I washed a couple of my hunting clothes in that anti UV soap. Did my blaze orange stuff and one camo hoodie that I had to wash. One bottle will last me a lifetime.

 

[JDForBrkFst]

Lead hammer, yea you only need to use that if something has been washed with a UV brightner detergent. I use the soap from cabelas for all my laundry.
haha. I don't care for perfumed detergents anyways, most detergents screw up any fabric over time. Look up "stripping" towels on youtube. The stuff that comes off "clean" clothing is astonishing.