Hunting without camo

[macksdad]

I know this had been a topic on here before but I want to know what you guys really think. We spend so much time and money on this whole camouflage deal but is it really worth it. I have never seen a pic of Fred Bear in camo and I know he has harvested way more game than most of us have ever or will ever harvest. So is the camo really necessary? I know in my days of shotgun hunting here in ohio with blaze orange, if you remain still and hunt the wind they would never see you, however my shotguns effective range is much farther than my stick and string. Hope to get some good feed back on this. Charlie Lamb if your listening I would like to hear your  thoughts on this, I know you got to spend some time with Fred Bear and I bet you guys discussed this subject. I guess it is my personal goal to have a successful year hunting without camouflage.

[longbowman]

I'm a big fan of wool. I guess it goes hand in hand with this stuff we now call "Traditional Hunting".  I see camo patterns that look great to me but deer wouldn't know the difference between them and a green plaid shirt.  I also don't go for all the scent elimination stuff because I honestly don't think it works but those who buy it obviously do and that's what matters.
     Brush yourself in on the ground with more behind you than in front and keep the wind in your face and you can leave the camo and scent lok at home.

[Bill Carlsen]

Fred wore camo...I bought a jacket just like his when I was about 22. It wasn't as common or as sophisticated as it is now but we all had it back then...at least we did around here.

[wooddamon1]

I use both camo and earth-tone plaids from the ground and I've killed deer wearing both. If you wanna see Fred Bear wearing camo, check out his "Field Notes" book. Great read too, by the way!

[Night Wing]

I wear Predator camo. Some may say it really doesn't help, but I think it does and..........I look and feel great in it.    

[NJWoodsman]

I have found wearing a Cabela's leafy suit makes a big difference on the ground. I have had small game walk right up to me. Seems to help with deer in a stand, too. Can't fool their nose, though.

[B/W lvr]

Glen StCharles talks about Fred bringing camo to there Little Delta camp and it was the first time used by them. If you like it use it. Frank

[KentuckyTJ]

This has been beat to death but here are my thoughts again.

True that you can fool most deer most of the time with no camo, but the time that the mature buck of your dreams is coming right at you and happens to look up and sees you and runs off before you get a shot is it really worth wondering if a camo covered hunter would have killed him????? Deer do see in B&W (I suppose) and they are highly tuned to see movement, I think a light color moving against a dark back ground or vise versa is a bigger issue to overcome. Example look at my shirt and my face in my avatar.

Camo is not expensive and you only need one set. Buy one of the slip over leafy flauge jackets and pair of pants. It's light weight and the netting the leaves are sewn on is cool in early season heat. I've worn mine over shorts. You can put it over late season cold clothes also. It works very well.

[Nate Steen .]

I've proven to myself year after year that plaid and earthtone color wool clothes are as effective as commercially marketed 'camo'.  However, 'camo' sometimes lets you get away with movement at wrong times I would guess.....

if the wind is in your face, you move when the animal is looking away, and are quiet....any clothing will work....there's been alot of animals shot while the hunter was wearing jeans...

a well know example...Chuck Adams, used jeans and plaid wool shirts for about 2/3 of his 'slam'...great success on big animals.  He only switched to camo when the sponsorships came in...

[KodiakMag]

Old Army BDUS is what I use. I also wear plaied shirts.

[PaddyMac]

I wear predator and when I do I think I am invisible as long as I don't move. Am I more invisible than if I were in my earth tone Pendleton plaid? Probably not. I wear my Pendleton plaid to the pub. And when I do I am an amazingly handsome man. Am I more amazingly handsome in my plaid than in my Predator? Probably not.

My brain is my biggest challenge. I go with whatever works in that department.

[Jake Diebolt]

Anything to break up your outline helps. Plaid is a form of camo, when you think about it. As a distinct, solid mass, you stick out...as a bunch of smaller "pieces", you have a higher tendency to fade into the background.

I think it helps, but I don't think its easy to quantify how much. Other factors, such as scent, movement, noise, etc. are equally important or more so than what you're wearing. Prey species use all their senses...fooling just one (in this case, vision) only gets you part way there.

[park]

What are you thinking about wearing instead of camo?I wear what ever is old and laying around.I dont wear facemasks or paint.I smoke cigars and drink tons of coffe.If that doesnt work out im going to dress up like a bush like on those cartoons where they are trying to get away.

[MnFn]

Old Woolrich flannel plaid shirt, camo cargo pants on sale from LLBean ($12.00), 30 year old Winona vest.
Kinda a mess, arn't I? But I stalked up to about 25 feet from two mule deer bucks and could have taken a shot at either one. I personally like camo but usually just throw together whatever is handy. I did buy a ghilli last year and had good results with it.

[Looper]

Do an experiment yourself. I did one back when I was a teenager. A buddy and I had a bet one season on who would kill more game.  Him, wearing the new (at the time) RealTree camo; me, wearing my grandpa's  brown cotton duck hunting gear.  We hunted everything we could: deer, ducks, rabbits, quail, doves, squirrels.  In the end, we basically tied. We both got 2 deer. He got more ducks, I got more of everything else.

I think it's more important to practice good woodmanship.  Use the wind, the shadows, available cover, etc. Like some of the others, though, I've had more really close encounters while wearing a leafy suit than I ever did while wearing solid colors.

The most unnerving experience I ever had, though, was when I was wearing a dark green Filson jacket and my brown waders. I was in Alaska, on a moose hunt, and a big brown bear took a dump less than 15 feet from me. I was sitting with my back against a huge rotten stump overlooking a river bottom, and he came strolling down a trail to my right.  I was in plain view of him and was so focused in the opposite direction I didn't hear him come up. His breathing caught my attention. He drop his load, which was massive by the way, and moseyed right on by me. I guess I blended in just fine.  Thank goodness.

[KodiakMag]

It can and has been done. Fred could probably stalk a deer in a yellow and blue jumpsuit. I guess he was just freaky good like that. Anyway wear plaid that will break up your outline and stick to shadows and you'll be fine.

[Lee Viv]

In my opinion, any clothing you wear that tries to blend in and fool an animal is camo.  There are many kinds of camo. Commercial camo, which is what most people just call "camo", and earth tones, plaid, whatever.  It is all used as an attempt to blend in with surroundings, i.e. the definition of camoflauge.  I think anything will work, as long as you restrict movement, stay in shadows, play the wind...I've shot deer wearing plaid, blaze orange, and "commercial camo".  If you're trying to blend in, you're camoflauging yourself.  Just my opinion.

[Bill Carlsen]

Here in NH you can take a turkey with bow during the Fall deer season. I would never think of hunting turkeys on purpose without camo so it is an essential part of my "gear". Most of my under garments are wool and fleece goes over the top although I do have one wool camo hooded shell that I wear in the cooler part of the Fall. The other benefits of regular camo hunting clothing is simply that those garments are made for hunters....lots of pockets in the right places, easy maintenance, quiet, long lived, etc. Just for practicality's sake, good camo clothing has more to offer than the fact that it is a camo pattern. I suppose if I lived in a place where I would see dozens of deer a day the odds would be on my side whether or not I wore camo. However, last year that is about as many deer as i saw in a 3 month season so I want to tip the scales in my favor on every level. I simply believe that the benefits of wearing good camo outweigh the negatives of not wearing it.

I just realized that everything I said could be seen as hypocritical if you look at my Avatar. That deer was shot during gun season. Orange is not required in NH and I was wearing camo in my stand when I shot him. That pic was taken the morning we dragged it out. I  had killed it the day before but it was too big for me to handle by myself. I had to call for help and wore clothing suitable for the weather and the fact that firearms season was going on. Don't want to be viewed as anything less than honest.

[Blaino]

I feel like most everything in hunting and fishing has a lot to do with confidence. "Why are you fishing a jig I have been catching them on a worm?"  "I got more confidence in catching a big fish on a jig." you hear pro anglers say the word "confidence" more than anybody else.

If you are more confidant wearing camo then you will stay on your stand longer (increasing your chance) and I bet you will be more still then if you didn't have the same level of confidence.  

Wear what you feel makes you your best.

[cody94]

as long as breaks up my out line and it dont draw attention. and i agree with kodiak mag