Camoflage does it work?

[383SB]

Juster’s comment that animals use it is spot on.

Yea, I can say from experience with and without on outfitting clients, it works. Dedicated mountain bow hunters take it to the extreme. Doesn’t mean you can’t hunt without it, but it is a benefit especially with open rock between you and the game. One of my guides with his personal sheep and a good example of properly chosen camo.

I’ve also stood on shore a hundred yards from a boat and completely invisible to them for a minute, despite shouting directions their way. It works.

Your right in that it works, but is not necessary, doesnt even have to be a match

 

[Highwind]

I'd say that in about 20 years of wearing camo I believe that I've gotten closer to deer when wearing camo... Or I became a better stocker, or both. When it come to camo I look for something that will closely match the bark color of the timber. Lots of good camo out there but some camo looks too artificial. But it may not matter too much to deer, but I think it does - so I try and get camo that closely matches the bark on most of the trees where I hunt. I figure that I'm standing up most of the time and stocking slowly so I want to feel like I'm closely matched to the trees... so that I can stand still and limit getting busted. And use the wind because if you have any degree of sweat happening it will carry your scent. During the heavier period of the rut one can get away with a bit more of some mistakes.

 

[freddyfour]

In Ontario I just do not see the point during rifle deer and moose season. The orange vests and hats just screw it all up.

 

[53Izzy744]

I really like the mountain specific camo patterns, it’s some of the better hunting patterns out there. I’ve posted this before but it’s what I use and in the areas I hunt it seems to fit in quite well, especially when the Oregon grape starts to turn and it’s waterproof.

I am a big fan of flecktarn as well when in brush and timber. The shadows make it even better although most of my hunts seem to be overcast lol

 

[Ardent]

Your right in that it works, but is not necessary, doesnt even have to be a match

Very cool way to get a billy, respect. You face is winter camo, shirt souvenir, and pants mossy oak?

 

[Buck_Up]

That is an awesome pic. Really shows both the altitude and slope HF!! Nice goat too.

Your right in that it works, but is not necessary, doesnt even have to be a match

 

[Butcherbill]

I am a big fan of flecktarn as well when in brush and timber. The shadows make it even better although most of my hunts seem to be overcast lol

It’s great and best of all it’s cheap to buy, camo isn’t the be all end all of gear so I don’t spend a lot on the stuff. Army surplus is where I will always go to buy it. Is it an edge when siting still, sure. Especially when the wind is in your favour, covering your hands and face help a lot I find as well.

 

[yonderin]

Not strictly necessary. Many times I have sat in the open or in open trees and have had critters come pretty close to me or stalked close to them when not wearing camo.

Even when wearing orange. Movement is an even bigger warning than scent, in my opinion.

 

[hsatimmy]

Wear a bear, with an orange vest. Animals ain't looking for a bear with a rifle

 

[LittleBoyLefty]

Very cool way to get a billy, respect.

Absafrigginlootly! Very cool.

 

[3macs1]

I guess for me I am at the stage I don't really care if it works or not but know it helps with waterfowl and predators deer not so much
It is the warmest, driest clothes I own so not only do I wear it hunting I use it around the house on a regular basis
Just came in from snow blowing the driveway and was camo head to toe even gloves LOL
Mind you I have hunting camo and house camo just to keep the hunting as clean and sent free as I can
Cheers

 

[CV32]

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.

I believe it was Gerry Blair who wore a Santa suit while coyote hunting to prove that movement and scent control were far more important than camouflage.

(It has been established that coyotes (and canids generally) are dichromatic, seeing mostly in shades of blue and yellow, and are far more tuned to movement than colour or pattern.)

 

[fratri]

I believe it was Gerry Blair who wore a Santa suit while coyote hunting to prove that movement and scent control were far more important than camouflage.

(It has been established that coyotes (and canids generally) are dichromatic, seeing mostly in shades of blue and yellow, and are far more tuned to movement than colour or pattern.)

Just like this guy while I was hunting deer last month with my muzzleloader, he came right in under 10 yds to my dying animal sound using just my voice before I shot him. He came in and then as he stood there trying to figure out why this big pumkin thing was in pain I shot him..... I had the wind and he had the hunger.... I won
Scent and movement are much more important than camo

 

[350tracker]

As previously stated camo works but movement will bust you...

 

[TheCoachZed]

This, and the other guys who corroborated, are all right.

While there are occasionally places where camo is a big help (mountain hunting, where cover is sparse, comes to mind -- see Ardent's photo), the best camo is to avoid having an animal see you move, avoid having you hear them, and avoid having them smell you. And as another poster pointed out, the biggest "Human alert" an animal can get visually (beside movement) is your big shiny face and hands.

This is always very noticeable with my friends and I when we go duck hunting. The guys who go to some sort of measures to hide their face and hands always shoot more ducks at closer ranges.

I used to get pretty excited about camo patterns, but over the years noticed it made no difference. My first hunting waders were camo, but my current pair is just an old cut-down neoprene dive suit, black in colour .... and it works great anywhere I've tried it.

In my opinion, anyone who sits out in the middle of the open to hunt, except where it's unavoidable (see: mountain hunting) is a dummy anyway. If you are stuck in that position, a ghillie is awesome, but not always ideal if you have to move or climb. Ultimately, the best camo is a tree or a rock that you can hide behind, or a ground blind. Animals, the ultimate predators and survivors, all use natural cover, and if you want to be an effective hunter, you should too.

I am nowhere near as experienced as most of the guys on here, but I have killed a truckload of whitetails in a province where most people don't get their deer, and killed a lot of black ducks when most people couldn't. These are my observations picked up in that time.

Here is what camo is geared towards , humans.......................... marketing tactics makes you think that if you have a hard time seeing it the animals will too.It is the biggest sales scam in outdoor gear bar none especially with the markup on clothing.

When is the last time an animal told you that they couldn't see you but your hunting partner did?

Order of importance IMO.

1-Scent control.

2-Movement.( 2and 3 pretty close and could be interchanged IMO)

3-Noise

4-Silhouette/Lighting/Shadows

distant 5th..............

5-Color/camo

Beat their nose and their ears and you will usually do alright.

Yes some animals have different/better primary senses than others but camo IMO is a fair bit of snake oil.

 

[TheCoachZed]

I believe it was Gerry Blair who wore a Santa suit while coyote hunting to prove that movement and scent control were far more important than camouflage.

(It has been established that coyotes (and canids generally) are dichromatic, seeing mostly in shades of blue and yellow, and are far more tuned to movement than colour or pattern.)

I've heard about that article.

In a lot of the coastal marshes I hunt around here, there's all sorts of junk washed ashore. I started to wonder why I was so concerned about blending in when it was just junk all around me anyway? Some of my best duck shoots have simply come from sitting behind a pile of garbage. Ducks didn't care what I was wearing!

 

[daka]

I wouldn't say that camouflage does not make any difference because it does help a bit to break your silhouette with the surrounding but it is not as nearly important as being still and quiet, not to stand out in open and good scent control but there is a one huge factor that determine the scent and it is a wind. If you have wind in your face you are golden but vice versa is hard to control no matter again what are you using. Some stuff is better than others and defenetly better than nothing.

 

[CV32]

In a lot of the coastal marshes I hunt around here, there's all sorts of junk washed ashore. I started to wonder why I was so concerned about blending in when it was just junk all around me anyway? Some of my best duck shoots have simply come from sitting behind a pile of garbage. Ducks didn't care what I was wearing!

That's a very good illustration of the importance of camouflage that suits your surrounding environment, rather than fixation on particular colours or patterns, especially when your prey has the advantage of being tetrachromatic (e.g. waterfowl).

 

[Grizzly Adams]

Grizz

 

[Sunchild2071]

Camo works well if you don't move much. But movement is the real enemy of concealment.

Absolutely.