The "concept" of camoflage?????

[woodchucker]

If the concept of camoflage is to "break-up" your outline and help you "blend in" with your surroundings.....

1)Why is ASAT "better" than MossyOak,RealTree,etc.?????

I know.....I've heard it all LOL,ASAT breaks up your outline better because the other patterns are to "busy" and "blob" at a distance. BUT.....we want game at "spittin' distance" so does it really matter if it "blobs" at a distance,as long as it works effectively when game is only feet away?????

2) Why is it that most big game animals can "dissapear" into nothing.....and they are solid colored?????

(Now this should be going for a while LOL)    

[madness522]

If you're blobby at a distance they see you a long time before you see them.  You are in their backyard and they know which blobs should be where.  And a blob that moves is way outta place.

[jhansen]

I agree with Madness.  It is more movement than anything else.  I've had deer staring at me when I was wearing jeans and a dark T-shirt and they eventually decided I was harmless as long as I didn't move or the wind didn't carry my scent to them.  It is my opinion, and opinion is the lowest form of knowlege, that most camo is created to sell.  The only thing that will really break up your outline is a ghilly suit and if it is windy the strips of material will wave in the wind and attract attention.

John

[woodchucker]

But if I wear a brown pair of pants,and a green sweater,I look like 2 "blobs" yet niether "blob" looks like a man.....

[swampbuck]

Chuck is this your way of starting trouble since it's too early to start snow dancein LOL

By the way it's only 6 months till Christmas    

[ChuckC]

The "concept" of camouflage was to break up your outline and make you less visible to those that may want to see you.  Camo can be as simple as wearing clothing that is somewhat the color of the back ground, to wearing clothing that exactly matches the background.  I use the term clothing to mean nearly anything including a couple leaves if that turns you on.

Problem is...  there is no one size fits all camo currently available.  

As above, there are several schools of thought.  

Some say, just wear plaids or similar designs of dull (not shiny) earth tones and move slowly.  I agree to a point.

Others say you need large patterns that break up your physical body pattern, even if it doesn't match the background color per se, it makes you look less like a human and more like nothing special. (Predator, ASAT and the like) I agree a lot.

Still others like the myriad of special designs that nearly perfectly match specific backgrounds.  My problem with these is that they are now typically darker, and they match ONLY those particular backgrounds.

If an animal just "shows up" and sees you hiding in these sort, they may not see you at all.  If, however, they see you moving to get to a hidey place and that dark blob which dissapears against a tree really stands out against the grass, they may not ever just "show up"

The bottom line ?    Who knows.   Wear what makes you feel good.  Don't move quickly.

Shoot straight
ChuckC

[JDice]

I would like to make one addition to ChuckC's closing comment - and hunt into the wind.

[woodchucker]

Now Tom.....Would I start trouble?????      

Just looking for some "intelectual discussion" LOL        

(summers always seem so long.....)

[stabow]

I’m no expert but in my opinion camouflage is overrated, movement and sent will get you busted more times than not......stabow

[rbbhunt]

Food for thought:  Deer have walked within feet of me (I hunt on the ground)while wearing blaze orange and just walked by. Maybe look for a minute and then move on.  If I had moved or they scented me though, the jig would be up!!!

[rbbhunt]

Also, about the ghillie suit: if the wind blows the strips, then the leaves and bushes are also being blown around.

[Lytic]

I like ASAT and agree with Chuck that most of the sticks and leaf patterns are too dark. I don't feel they do much to eliminate the human silhouette, if anything I feel they distinguish it. I agree with the rest that scent and not moving are advantageous, but since this was a question about camo patterns let's leave scent out of it. Also not moving may work for alot of guys but I personally do a lot of hiking and spot and stalk style hunting so it's not a real viable option for myself. I've used ghillie suits I've made myself and it was quite effective, but then again that is 3D camo and I believe this was more aimed at the 2D prints.

For me it's ASAT, and that's my opinion from using it in the field. We may not pick up on the scents and sounds like our quarry, but we do have good eyesight. So if it looks good to you in the field I'm betting it'll work good for you.

[ishiwannabe]

I cant say I have a favorite camo. (Although alot of the brand names are very dark IMO) I can say that no matter where I hunt, high or low(stand or ground) I try my hardest to use the natural cover to block my outline. i.e. A pine tree behind the oak my best stand is in...I make ground blinds out of blown down trees, I usually set up in the hole left by the roots.
And as far as movement, I move alot. I look around, I adjust positions. I have even raised my bow from the ground, nocked an arrow and shot a deer while the deer was within ten yards-and alert. Movement isnt the enemy, you just have to know when you can move, when you cant and how to make it look natural.
Above all of that, scent and wind will make or break you.

[VTer]

I'm 6'2', 260ish #'s. I'm going to be a blob no matter what I wear. I wear layers, and I wear what's comfartable. I almost never, nope never, have matching pants,shirts, coats or whatever.

[rg176bnc]

The original Advantage camo was my all time favorite for tree or ground hunting in my part of the world.  It wasn't quite as dark as most of todays patterns.

[ChuckC]

I think a lot of the "original" patterns were better than what we have now.  Original Mossy Oak treestand and especially Full Foliage was at the time my favorite early season camo.  I have intentionally snuck in on several people wearing head to toe full foliage...  Then... they went and changed it.  In my mind, not for the better.
ChuckC

[BAK]

Well, the concept of camo isn't to break up your outline, it is to keep you from being noticed.  Now breaking up your outline may do that, and it may not.  There are some basic truths about not being noticed.  Don't attract attention to yourself, hence no movement.  Do blend in to lessen the likelihood of being seen, hence drab earth tone colors.  And what I consider one of the most important and least addressed, don't wear anything with a "hard, reflective" surface.  Most animals blend in so well because they are stealthy, drab, and because of the hair, non reflective.

[Daddy Bear]

The more recent college level lab studies on deer and their vision seems to indicate that the old wool(not synthetic)red and black plaid pattern is probably the most ideal material, colors and pattern one could have for deer hunting camouflage. Many of the modern synthetics with their sharp camo patterns glow like a neon sign to the deer. There is not enough UV wash in the world to kill the glow from these modern synthetics and dyes.

As for camo in general, there is a difference between camo when you are still vs camo when you are moving. Sharp detailed camo that breaks your outline well when you are still has a double edge sword as it is easier to spot the sharp edge detail with your movement if on the go. Many of the blurred patterns are better for movement per military tests as the eye has nothing sharp to catch. This is where the digital camo came from.

Bottom line for deer is they do not see colors as we do and their ability to pick up on movement is far greater then ours. It's been determined they actually see certain colors such as greens, UV, etc., which can stand out against the background. Whereas the red and black wool plaid pattern is detected as differing shades of gray which blends into the background.

I firmly believe that most commercial camo patterns are developed and marketed for the sole purpose of catching the eye of the hunter vs fooling the eyes of a deer.

later,
Daddy Bear

[Arwin]

Since I started using an ASAT leafy suit, I have killed way more game than ever before. I too beleive most camo is way too dark.
 If your in a tree and leaning away from the trunk, whats mostly behind you? Sky and a few limbs, maybe a leaf canopy early in the year. Dark camo matches the tree trunk but I have never been tight up against a trunk while shooting.
 Same thing applies to ground hunting. The space behind you is usually open with lighter colors, especially the changing fall leaves or brown ones in November. My ASAT is all I'll ever wear, besides that ugly Swiss camo I bomb around in after deer season is over.  

[JDice]

One other factor to consider - the fabric used to make your camo - must be "quiet". Specifically - our camoflauge needs to hide us from all of an animal's senses - not just their vision. Put another way - the best camo pattern available (whatever that is) isn't going to hide us very well if we make unnatural sounds every time we move. Camo'ed rain gear is an obvious problem area - especially when cold.