What do they see?

[Yellow Dog]

Just finished a few days doing a little hunting in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. When I came home I was downloading my trail cam pic's and it got me to thinking. Here's a couple of pic's, one during daylight and one with the IR flash. I'm wearing wool and during the daylight my jacket and pants are a dull muted color, just what I like. With the IR flash my jacket just glows. I've heard deer can't see colors and they see things in "grayscale". Is my jacket glowing to them as it does with the IR flash at night in the light of day?

     

     

[Yellow Dog]

[elkken]

I don't think it glows anymore than the trees or your bow that is catching the flash in the dark.

[eagleone]

Fleece or wool my IR pics look the same- it drives me crazy.
Interested to see people's responses!
   

[ti-guy]

Does the Ir flash used to help a camera to take pics in the dark represent the biologic stucture of a deer's eyes(cone/batonnet)? Not sure...  :confused:    

[Steve O]

Mike, I   think the ungulates are sensitive to UV light, not IR reflection that the camera is picking up .

[Stumpkiller]

Deer do NOT see in infrared.  They tend more towards the opposite end - the blue spectrum - as I have read.  Avoid jeans and fabric whiteners.

[ripforce56]

All I know is I switched from commericial camo and synthetic fabrics to wool plaids this, I have had way more close encounters w deer and have only been busted once and that was my fault! I swear by natural fabrics now! I used to wear nothing but Red/Black plaid got real close to deer with it, however the human eye could see it real well, now its Asbell wool all the way!

[Bob B.]

Stumpkiller is right on.  Deer see the blue portion of the spectrum and can not see the red wave lengths.  Although you can see your jacket as a brighter look, the deer likely will not, they are not turned for that frequency.

Fabric whiteners enhance UV light ... they see that no problem.

Bob.

[YORNOC]

I have pictures of me on trailcams just like you, seems to glow. But then I'll be in a stand in the same coat and deer look right past me.
All wool, except one is Cabelas Wooltimate fleece.
The deer dont seem to notice me at all if I'm not moving.

[buckeye_hunter]

The reflection on your jacket looks the same as the trees and ground to me.

[maineac]

Deer don't see red. My understanding is that they only have two color cones in their eyes compared to our three.  We see red, green and blue, and our brain puts those colors together to make all the shades we see. Deer only have the green and blue cones.  I have a lens that restricts the red wavelengths that tests on deer showed no response to. I have also read that they see into the ultra violet wavelengths which the lens can't replicate since our eyes won't register those wavelengths.

Here are a couple of picts using my camera, one in normal color and one with the deer vision lens on.

 

 

Here are a couple with red flowers

 

 

[BigBucksnTrucks]

There is a lot of debate regarding deer and the colors and spectrums they see.  I firmly believe your best bet is not moving, regardless of what your wearing.  I tend to think that even with the best camo, wool or what not, if you move, and the deer sees you, he's going to spook.  I've had accidental encounters with deer where I stood absolutely motionless in regular street clothes and even though the deer looked in my direction, they didn't spook.  Anyways, that's my 2 cents.

[Joeabowhunter]

I agree with BigBucksnTrucks.  How many deer have you seen because of the twitch of their ear or tail.  When they are still they disappear.  I think we are the same.  Camo of some type helps breakup your sillouette but motion will always give you away.