Camoflage does it work?

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Ottawa12

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Is camo really all its made out to be? Or is just a fad?
Was thinking about that this evening after i shot my cow elk on an open hay field. Wearing carhartt jacket, coveralls and a blue and black plaid crowncap. Had to stalk in from tree line couple hundred yards to get the shot i wanted and they never seemed to notice me. A few looked my way i just stayed still and they didnt seem to notice me
 
It breaks up your shape more than a solid color, it doesn’t make you invisible. Wether an animal pays attention to you or not is another story. Some camo patterns are better suited than others from my observation while out in the woods, I prefer military camo over hunting specific camps but some of them are pretty good. The mountain hunting camo is pretty effective from what I’ve seen in pics from hunts that have been posted.

That being said I’ve shot things in solid coloured clothing before.
 
Given that animals often see colors differently than humans it's debateable whether or not camo really works of not, but it does work for humans - so it's harder for other hunters/people to see you. And that's what camoflage was originally invented for, was to keep other people (enemy soldiers) from seeing you
 
Yes for turkey, yes for waterfowl, yes for predators, yes for antelope and elk....these critters all rely on eyesite to some extent to survive.

Deer see colors differently but as above it breaks up your outline, movement is the giveaway for deer. Bear and moose can't see worth a ####e so mostly no matter for them.
 
The deer family don't see as well as we do. Birds, predators, etc see quite well. Most camouflage is designed to be effective for the eyes of "the most dangerous game of all", people.

If we're talking about deer hunting, their other senses are far more important.
 
Juster said:
Animals use it.
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Yes, but what they are wearing doesn't look anything at all like Real Tree or whatever pattern gets sold in the stores. We can learn a lot about camo effectiveness from looking at what animals use. Their color patterns are so good they also tend to carry highly visible signal devices like the white butts on mule deer, or the white flags on white tails. But just try to sell someone the dull "shades of grey" pattern that mule deer use in the local sporting goods stores. Like fishing lures, most camo is designed to look good to human eyes, not the animals.

Solid blocks of any color are, I suspect, easier for animals to spot than a broken pattern of colors that blend with the environment, but movement of any kind is highly visible to most animals no matter what the color of that movement. So, yeah, it "works", but it is no where near a cloak of invisibility, and solid colors (even the blaze orange stuff which is not blazing orange to deer) can be made much less visible by just not moving. What you wear is far less important than how you move while wearing it.
 
My ancestors just wore some leather to cover some of their body and just let their red/brown/white skin show and hey I'm here. We're all here, survived for thousands of years without camo.
 
Camo works for every living creature, including people... but that does not mean that you can ignore movement, and your profile (don't skyline yourself, you need a backdrop)... and of course, for big game, your scent is a major concern, so pay attention to the wind and thermals.
 
billdick said:
My ancestors just wore some leather to cover some of their body and just let their red/brown/white skin show and hey I'm here. We're all here, survived for thousands of years without camo.
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I'm betting their leather blended in pretty good... and I'm betting that they thought of that.

Camo has been around for thousands of years too... just not the mass produced, name-brand patterns that most people think of when they hear the word "camo."

Hunters for thousands of years have figured out ways to "blend in"... it was not "Real Tree" or "Mossy Oaks" idea. Blending in means, getting closer undetected... getting closer undetected equals more meat in the icebox.
 
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camo does work ,I use predator camo I have had all types of big game walk with in feet of me stop and stare for a minute then continue on their way .
The wind has to be in your favor ,a bush ,tree, ect behind you helps a lot and as some one else has pointed out don't move
 
Not super scientific or current, but this was an interesting YouTube series a while back. Interesting to compare the different camos in the various terrains and with 'ungulate view'.

 
Ebola said:
Hunting in a clown suit sounds interesting. I want to do that. Make up, wig and goofy shoes in all. Really screw with people's heads.
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That won't screw with anyone's head...

There are times when camouflage does not make one bit of difference... lots of deer have been shot by guys where blaze orange coveralls... that is pretty "clownish." Those are not the times that you wear camo for... you wear it for the marginal times... blending in, means getting closer to game... over the course of a hunting carrier, say 50 years, there will be many times where camo makes the difference, maybe on that "once-in-a-lifetime" buck or bull.

That does not mean that you can't go out and fill your tags wearing Jean's and a Mackinaw... it just gives you a little edge... sometimes that is all that is needed to make the difference between getting the shot or eating baloney sandwiches.
 
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