Hunting without camo

[Charlie Lamb]

I didn't talk to Fred about camo but I think Fred was more concerned with other aspects of the hunt or certainly didn't have it at the top of his list of important stuff to pay attention to... like being quiet, not getting caught moving, and working the wind being foremost.
I know I don't.

[YORNOC]

My personal opinion: I've been in the woods and.. when being still.. have had many animals continue their business without seeing me. I've also had animals pick me off quickly in the same situation. Game has seen me immobile in camo and ran. Purely sight, including bears.

So I figure...if I can afford camo, I'm going to use it as another tool. If I don't have it...I'm not going to stay home. I will hunt either way.

I will not pay huge amounts of money for any particular type of camo though. Other qualities, sure...but not just for a camo pattern.

[macksdad]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I plan on hunting in brown pants a plaid flannel and a plaid wool pullover . Gonna try to pay a lot of attention to other details like wind, shadows and being still. I know plaid is a form of camo but I just wanted to try getting away from the commercial stuff.

[Gordon Jabben]

Steve, good luck hunting this year without camo.  I don't ware camo very often and I seem to do alright.  I used to use red and black plaid and thought it was invisable to deer.  I'm going to try it again this year.

[Thumper Dunker]

Movement,  noise and the wind. Have had coyotes spot me at 300-400 yards out in full camo . camo shoes to full face mask and gloves . Have also got them at ten feet in blue jeans and a green or brown T shirt. You do not need (camo ) to blend in but you do need to blend in.

[sidebuster]

Lot of deer were harvested by bow hunters and gun hunters before camo was invented.  That speaks volumes of whether it helps or you need it to harvest your game.  

Have you looked at the latest Cabela or Bass Pro hunting master manuals.  The manuals have grown almost to the thickness of the Bible.  So many gadgets now available to hunters that it's almost ridiculous.

If you watch the Outdoor Channel or Sportsman Channel  you see more commercials for these gadgets than you see of the hunting shows.

IMO hunting has lost something due to so many high tech gadgets.

[GingivitisKahn]

If wearing commercial a camo pattern makes you feel more stealthy, then you are probably more stealthy. So wear it.  Personally, I like plaid but will wear a mix - whatever is temp appropriate and cleanish.

If you wear something in which you have no confidence and that makes you feel as though you are sticking out like a sore thumb, then it's my opinion that this impacts how you move and so forth.  If plaid seems right to you wear it but if you feel like the ultimate ghost in then get that.

[German Dog]

Take some black and white photos...A few years ago i had my wife take a bunch of photos of me in the woods with diffeent camo and even solid colored clothing and some plaid. I compared, Natgear camo, Realtree stuff, Predator fall grey, tan fleece, and a Filson plaid red/black.

Conclusion..... Lighting and background make a big difference and can make or break the purpose of the camo. But in general, Natgear camo was a very bright blob, Realtree stuff was very dark blob, filson red plaid was a dark blob, tan fleece was a medium blob and the Predator camo was a mixture of dark and white. However, one thing that really showed up was that with the Predator camo that my arms almost disappeared.

Most movement I beleieve(especially treestand hunting) is in the arms.

[reddogge]

I say wear what you feel comfortable in, plaid, solid, or camo, whether the latest and greatest or decades old mix and match which is what I wear. I've hunted in camo since 1967 but do hunt in plaid jacket occaisionally when the weather is colder. All of my warm weather camo goes back to the 60s and 70s.

[Charlie Lamb]

This is what I think...
   

[sidebuster]

Ditto that Mr Lamb

 

[Ken Taylor]

Although I prefer earth tones and plaids, then old and/or open camo patterns in that order, I wear whatever I can get to fit me while serving whatever purpose I am wearing it for (warmth and/or wind and/or rain and/or staying cool).

It is not always easy to find specialized items of clothing in odd sizes... I am built like an orangutan and they sell virtually everything in camo now.

Nothing wrong with wearing anything camo or not as far as I'm concerned. Sometimes I hunt looking like a vagabond... I don't think that I am very "marketable" though... LOL!

[kennym]

My theory is as long as it doesn't reflect light and somewhat blends in colorwise, you're good to go.

Most camo has good pockets,and I wear it ......

[pauljr]

Charlie you kill me. Ive shot em in full camo, ive shot em in jeans and flannel shirts. Heck ive shot em after work wearing steel toe shoes carharts and stinking like a combo of welding smoke, ciggeretts and sweat. Alot depends on the situation. That being said if i have the buck of a lifetime coming down the trail to me i want every advantage in my favor. Lord knows hes got the upper hand and 9 times out ten hes gonna wind me or see me. With the winding me the probable outcome. Ive given up the smoking and use the scent free soaps now just trying to turn the odds a little in my favor.

[Can Hahaka]

plaid wool or cotton (warmer weather) and pants with cargo pockets (lots of 'em) and right now I cannot find pants with multiple pockets in anything but camo. So, that is what I use.

[Pointer]

I spend a little time each season channeling my inner Fred..lol... wool pants, plaid shirt, wool vest and hat. I also have a nice pair of cotton/canvas military BDU pants that are hunter green...I wear these on those warm mid-October days with no bad weather in the forecast..I have my share of camo but I don;t believe it;s totally necessary...sit in the shadows and don't move. I've had plenty of deer within bow range while sitting in a ground blind without camo...even had some walk within 20 feet while I was just sitting up against a wide tree with no blind material in front of me at all..It's movement that gets you busted more than anything else.

[jax]

I like camo to hide from other hunters

[Bowwild]

I'm an all out camo fan. Sitka Gear is my favorite but I have Predator and other stuff.

Yep, like lot's of folks, I've killed deer with bows while wearing the required blaze orange during times when youth or mzzl season's overlap bow season.

I like camo. I believe the right kind helps break up my shape and helps to confuse the deer's eye to disquise small movements. My buddy and I were elk hunting parallel to one another in 2006 in Colorado. He was wearing green predator. He was only 20-40 yards away at times and I had trouble picking him out. My human eyes are far more capable (in daylight with color abilities) of finding still objects than a deer's.  

There are other critters in the woods that see better than deer (with color-seeing ability). Animals with colorful differences between the genders (think birds) see color. Otherwise their mate-attracting strategy would be lame. Some of these beasts may sound an alarm when they spot you which might just cue the deer you are after. Think turkey, blue jay, crows, etc.

With the availability of all price-ranges in camo these days I see no reason why one would want to wear otherwise? Unless one wanted to go straight from work into the woods? (I've done that too -- change in my office and walked out the door at Patoka Lake (Indiana). Pull on light coveralls over work clothes in other instances.  I can think of one other reason but I'll keep it to myself because I think it would be offensive to some.  Suffice to say the simple choice to carry a recurve is a strong enough statement, if I were interested in such things.

I see nothing non-commercial about plaid, plain colors etc.  

Bottom line though it is a personal decision from the socks up. A hunter is made no better or worse than the next guy for their choice in outerwear.  I do require a noggin cover. If not, the mirror, instead of hair, I've been packing around since the mid-30's will signal rescue planes from the next state over.

[Jeff Roark]

Charlie,

Thats not allowed you know? You can't taint the worshiped plaid by wearing real tree or mossy oak at the same time! the Trad gods will not be happy.

Me personally, I need all the help I can get. I'm gonna wear predator and ultimate camo. I'm going to brush my fangs, gargle and even drink some baking soda while taking chlorophyll. to help the stink from the inside, while bathing with baking soda and hunter specialty soap. Then a a little mineral stick deodorant.

I'll then do my best to hunt the wind, stay in the shadows, and not move much even when I have cover in back and front of me.

With that, I have done all I can do without going broke. $25 for camo bdu pants, $22 for predator spring green t-shirt, baking soda, soap, deodorant, maybe $10, all else free.

[Eric Krewson]

Camo is to hunters as make-up is to ladies. Once accustomed to it you feel naked going out in public(or to the woods) without it. I felt this way my first trip to the woods in no-camo clothes. 40 years of wearing the stuff made me feel like it was a necessary part of a successful hunt. Guess what, I saw no difference in the deer's behavior while wearing street clothes.  

Being a contrary sort, I am determined to be a non camo hunter in the future, even plan to turkey hunt in 18th century garb with my flintlock.

Most of my change is due to be sickened by the steady barrage of the latest and greatest hunting products that we hunters lap up like starving dogs. Case in point, Scent Loc clothing, made the company owner a fortune even though it is for the most part ineffective according to all my friends who bought it.

I refuse to participate and make almost everything I hunt with now, including my flinter. If I can just learn how to operate my wife's sewing machine I will only buy nocks, points, an occasional can of black powder and a few yards of course cloth.