The Camo-less Challenge... (TTT for 2014!!!)

[Wapiti Chaser]

Cool thread. Never got busted this year. Had to chase a few away as it got too dark and they were within 5 yards ! I did put a little gray face camo on.


 

[straitera]

Count me in coach. Have already been camoless for decades. Texas has hunter orange in public woods. My orange is solid color.

[GingivitisKahn]

woodchucker's camo or not to camo fixation is working overtime today.  :-D

So is this close enough to be considered 'camoless'?  The hand warmer, neck gaitor and hat all have bits of camo cloth but I consider those to be ancillary gear.

 

[myshootinstinks]

No problem here. Some good hunting clothes are made in camo only and that's only reason I've ever worn it.  I usually hunt in common work clothes.

[David Mitchell]

The way I see it the "I just wear plaid" thing is still a measure to break up your outline and so constitutes a sort of camo mentality as Guru already posted.  Nothing against plaid--I wear it some but also wear my camo.  My view is that unless you are totally indifferent to what you wear in the woods you are making an effort to conceal yourself which is all camo is. Some just want to do it a different way.

[doowop]

I wear sweat pants and any colored t-shirt when deer hunting. The thing is I wear them under my gillie suit!

[Benny Nganabbarru]

I've been wearing normal clothing for the last few months, and have enjoyed a couple of wins:

 

 

[moose eye levi]

plaid and earth tones ya cant beat it ive gotten closer to game with that than wearing anything else they dont expect to see people in  plaid hunting anymore so game dosent see you as a thret...that is if they even see you at all.

[Guru]

Originally posted by moose eye levi:
they dont expect to see people in  plaid hunting anymore so game dosent see you as a thret...

Com'on do you really believe they can tell the difference between camo and plaid???

With all due respect, for you guys that think you're not wearing "camo" by wearing plaid, or earth tone colors...think about this....

  The whole concept of camo is to blend in, that's exactly what you guys are trying to do blend in...

If you really don't want to wear "camo", wear solid colored yellow, orange, etc.....

This "non camo" thing really has me baffled    

[FerretWYO]

Originally posted by Guru:
Com'on do you really believe they can tell the difference between camo and plaid???

With all due respect, for you guys that think you're not wearing "camo" by wearing plaid, or earth tone colors...think about this....

  The whole concept of camo is to blend in, that's exactly what you guys are trying to do blend in...

If you really don't want to wear "camo", wear solid colored yellow, orange, etc.....

This "non camo" thing really has me baffled        

I think that Guru got it right on this one. Plaid is one of the best "CAMO" patterns you can get. I just read that in another post.

Camouflage is a method of crypsis – avoidance of observation – that allows an otherwise visible organism or object to remain indiscernible from the surrounding environment through deception.

You are doing that if you are wearing anything that could possibly break up your outline or standing behind anything that will do that. You have found a way to do it with out spending a lot of cash though.

I have seen people wearing plaid red or brown shirts while hunting and let me tell you there are hard to see. They are wearing Camo.

Ben those are some huge hogs Congrats my friend.

[FerretWYO]

Originally posted by doowop:
I wear sweat pants and any colored t-shirt when deer hunting. The thing is I wear them under my gillie suit!

 that is funny

[Over&Under]

My father is not a big "camo" guy and wears just plaid wool shirts from woolrich, and jeans most all of last season.  He seems to have no problem getting close to game, and as Randy said, he blends in very nicely.  I on the other hand really like wearing camo when hunting, and because of my impatience, tend to get busted more often...    

My point is that usually it is movement or wind that gets you busted as many have already noted, and weather you wear camo or plaid you are still trying to disguise the little movements that you just cannot hide completely and /or break up your outline.  

It is merely a matter of personal preference and sometimes a cost issue.  Both work just fine, in fact some camo patterns out there tend to make a person look like a blob, more so than some larger plaid patterns.

[Steve Clandinin]

When I started hunting there was no camo,Period .All was wool. I got caught up a bit with in the 80's Now with all the New hunters and Hype honestly it discuists me. all is wool,blends,checked and solids.I really don't even want to be associated with it.Elitest,No.just sick of a lot of attitudes,just my thing.

[unregistered]

Sure I'm in.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Good point, Curt. Perhaps using the word "camo" in terms of trying to go without it is missing the intention or ambition, at least for me. I absolutely do want to blend-in to my surroundings, but I want to do so wearing (for want of a better word) "normal" clothing, clothing that not only works in the bush, but that I'm also happy to duck into the shop in - clothing that is more in the "style" of the early pioneers like Pope, Young, Hill, and even Negley in Africa, where camo patterns weren't, and in some cases still aren't, allowed. It's not something I strongly believe everyone should do, but I suppose it is a small way of going against the grain of modern consumerism and marketing as it pertains to bowhunting - I say "small" because even if I don't wear a camo brand, I am still a modern consumer, and still very much a part of the bowhunting market in other areas. I see it as a little step back in time, and that appeals to my sense of history and nostalgia, and the romance of hunting with the bow and arrow in yesteryear - yes, I know, a bit soppy, eh! Now, I'll probably never get into selfbows and stoneheads, and will always have fibreglass on my bows and plastic nocks, but I view wearing normal clothing as one very small but personally satisfying way of stepping back in time. I must admit that I did enjoy reading Jay Massey's thoughts on the subject in "A Thousand Campfires". And over here in Australia, I have been inspired by the success and viewpoints of Jeff Challacombe and Ben Maher in this area.

[Guru]

Well Ben, for a hunter like you bud, whatever you wear it's working!!  I wouldn't change a thing      

 I know what it's like to do the plaid thing, I killed a bunch of stuff wearing plaids back in the '90's.....but still, I was always looking for and wearing "camo" looking/colored  plaids....

[BlacktailBowhunter]

Most of my gear is camo and necessary for the Oregon weather. However, in the spirit of your thread, I will turkey hunt from my ground blind with no camo  

[jhg]

Originally posted by Guru:
...This "non camo" thing really has me baffled            

I can't speak for anyone else, but I chose to hunt without "clothing marketed as camo" because anything that was 1) quiet and 2)not made of cotton was very expensive and I felt it self-indulgant to be spending that kind of money on something that I do not consider essential to the sport.
But I have some nice wools- one thrift store Pendleton shirt in particular has a color and pattern that is a PERFECT match for early archery season where I hunt. Its so stealth I can't see my arms in spite of myself.

Joshua

BTW, I just bought some very nice camo tech pants made for turkey hunters on deep discount. I just felt weird hunting last year in black fleece stretch pants... (hey, its all I had on hand)

[stickbowguy]

Count me in

[Gary Logsdon]

Perhaps I'm semantically challenged, but the most versatile "camo" I own is a plaid wool  jacket that is as useful in taking my wife out to dinner as it is in still hunting a patch of woods.  Whenever and wherever I wear it Fred Bear's "Gentleman Woodsman" is alive and well.