How necessary is Camo?

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mheichelbech
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Re: How necessary is Camo?

Unread postby mheichelbech » Tue Jul 11, 2017 6:44 am

Back in my teens and early 20s I used to think that having the "cool" clothes would help me pick up girls when In fact, what was really important was being able to make them laugh and have fun. A friend of mine who could afford higher end clothes had just as much luck as I did without the little horse on the shirt or whatever name, etc. However, at the time it did help my confidence.

Same thing with camo, it helps my confidence which helps me be a better hunter. Yea, wish I didn't care about it but I do.

One thing I do believe is that the more expensive gear is USUALLY also the lightest and warmest. Being a little guy, I'm always on the lookout to cut weight wherever I can. Furthermore, I'd rather spend $300 (or more) on something I use for 10-15 years than $50 ever 2 years on stuff that wears out.


"One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1893
76chevy
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Re: How necessary is Camo?

Unread postby 76chevy » Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:08 am

I have killed deer on the ground wearing jeans and a flannel. The best camo is "don't move camo" LOL

Army camo is great and the price is usually very good too.
". . . there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun." --Fred Bear
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Re: How necessary is Camo?

Unread postby JoeRE » Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:19 am

The modern hunter has been brainwashed into thinking camouflage is clothing. Camouflage is just blending in. Blending in is very important to any hunter, always has been. Buying expensive clothes with fancy patterns is not. Native hunters rolled in mud and such to put on "camo" for 1000s of years. They even sometimes wore animal skins as live decoys, to me that is a form of camo as well. Just fooling eyeballs.

I have taken to sewing short pieces of paracord onto my cheap army surplus hunting clothes. The pattern is usually the old woodland tri-color and for deer I rarely need more because I try to be very careful about breaking up my outline and also movement. If I need a little extra blend-in I tie some vegetation to me - it does wonders. I learned that trick from a thread on here a couple years ago BTW....

In the snow I swear by plain whites 8-) That about covers my take on camo....
Rich M
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Re: How necessary is Camo?

Unread postby Rich M » Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:30 am

I had an uninsulated OD jumpsuit I wore for years until it wore out. Did get a new unisulated jumpsuit in camo - only cause they didn't have OD. There is a tote of camo in my garage, goes back to the 70s and is still usable. Just don't like wearing it as much. I'll wear jeans and a camo shirt/jacket - or my coveralls.

FL guys will wear flip flops, shorts and a mesh camo shirt (with thermacell) when hunting the 95 degree early season - and kill bucks.
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Re: How necessary is Camo?

Unread postby john1984 » Tue Jul 11, 2017 10:21 am

I don't know if it's necessary but it can't hurt. Does a police officer always have to wear a uniform in order to be a cop??? Camo clothes is the uniform of hunters.

Wisconsin law makes all hunters wear blaze orange during any firearm deer season EXCEPT waterfowl hunters,,,,, Why is that? ???

Obviously the WI DNR does think Camo is necessary for waterfowl hunting.
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Re: How necessary is Camo?

Unread postby 1bhtr » Tue Jul 11, 2017 2:14 pm

As others have said two years ago I switched to the asat leafy suit, it works great I fidget alot and can usually pass the stare down test. But this last fall I got some predator fall grey in an IWOM and I couldn't believe the difference in deer behavior when they were 20yds and less. I'm not saying everyone needs it but I would suggest trying some and see if the difference is noticeable, my hunting buddy and I were very surprised...
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Re: How necessary is Camo?

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Tue Jul 11, 2017 5:11 pm

JoeRE wrote:The modern hunter has been brainwashed into thinking camouflage is clothing. Camouflage is just blending in. Blending in is very important to any hunter, always has been. Buying expensive clothes with fancy patterns is not. Native hunters rolled in mud and such to put on "camo" for 1000s of years. They even sometimes wore animal skins as live decoys, to me that is a form of camo as well. Just fooling eyeballs.

I have taken to sewing short pieces of paracord onto my cheap army surplus hunting clothes. The pattern is usually the old woodland tri-color and for deer I rarely need more because I try to be very careful about breaking up my outline and also movement. If I need a little extra blend-in I tie some vegetation to me - it does wonders. I learned that trick from a thread on here a couple years ago BTW....

In the snow I swear by plain whites 8-) That about covers my take on camo....



That's what I generally do, except I never thought of paracord, I hot glue pieces of fish net and tie on burlap and such.
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Rich M
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Re: How necessary is Camo?

Unread postby Rich M » Tue Jul 11, 2017 11:48 pm

john1984 wrote:I don't know if it's necessary but it can't hurt. Does a police officer always have to wear a uniform in order to be a cop??? Camo clothes is the uniform of hunters.

Wisconsin law makes all hunters wear blaze orange during any firearm deer season EXCEPT waterfowl hunters,,,,, Why is that? ???

Obviously the WI DNR does think Camo is necessary for waterfowl hunting.


We're not debating but reflecting personal choices. I'm into earth tones but not camo. Personal preference for not advertising that I'm a hunter everywhere I go - people tend to overlook me and that is fine.

I now know you don't hunt ducks - should try it someday, it's fun. Ducks and geese see color - ever wonder why male birds are usually gaudy - cardinal, mallard drake - how about a turkey? They all see in color, and often at a magnification higher than our 1x. If you wore orange they'd spot you in a heartbeat and that would be that. Carhart-like canvas jackets used to be the mainstay of duck hunters - they blend in with the marsh. Then camo had all these advancements in screening and advertising. So, many waterfowl hunters wear marsh camo now.

Far as I know, deer do not see colors, they see shades of light and dark.
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john1984
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Re: How necessary is Camo?

Unread postby john1984 » Wed Jul 12, 2017 1:28 am

Rich M wrote:
john1984 wrote:I don't know if it's necessary but it can't hurt. Does a police officer always have to wear a uniform in order to be a cop??? Camo clothes is the uniform of hunters.

Wisconsin law makes all hunters wear blaze orange during any firearm deer season EXCEPT waterfowl hunters,,,,, Why is that? ???

Obviously the WI DNR does think Camo is necessary for waterfowl hunting.


We're not debating but reflecting personal choices. I'm into earth tones but not camo. Personal preference for not advertising that I'm a hunter everywhere I go - people tend to overlook me and that is fine.

I now know you don't hunt ducks - should try it someday, it's fun. Ducks and geese see color - ever wonder why male birds are usually gaudy - cardinal, mallard drake - how about a turkey? They all see in color, and often at a magnification higher than our 1x. If you wore orange they'd spot you in a heartbeat and that would be that. Carhart-like canvas jackets used to be the mainstay of duck hunters - they blend in with the marsh. Then camo had all these advancements in screening and advertising. So, many waterfowl hunters wear marsh camo now.

Far as I know, deer do not see colors, they see shades of light and dark.



I wasn't sure if birds could see color or not, but what you say makes sense about why a lot of male birds are extra colorful. I used to waterfowl hunt a lot but not in the last 7 years. I always wore Camo.
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Re: How necessary is Camo?

Unread postby Rich M » Wed Jul 12, 2017 2:57 am

Cool - duck hunting is my favorite.
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Re: How necessary is Camo?

Unread postby tgreeno » Wed Jul 12, 2017 3:16 am

This is a great discussion!

I think many of us agree maybe camo isn't necessarily needed to kill a deer. But most everyone still uses some type of "camo". Be it standard camouflaged clothing or some type of earth tones. I think trying to "blend-in" with your surroundings is everyone's ultimate goal.

Ideally having different camo patterns for different scenarios would be the ticket. But most of us aren't going to buy 3 or 4 different camo's for specific set-ups. My thinking is: Anything that helps to break-up my human outline is going to make me harder for the deer to see.
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Re: How necessary is Camo?

Unread postby JoeRE » Wed Jul 12, 2017 12:43 pm

My main point would be that not getting seen by deer is a lot easier than other critters. Turkeys, ducks, geese, crows can all see color and can spot movement so much better than a deer there is hardly a comparison.

The big thing is not about standing statue still, its knowing when you can move and when you cannot on a deer. If the deer is moving you usually can get away with slow movements even if its in the open. Slooooooow. Same with if there is a good breeze moving vegetation around you. Same with if the sun is behind you. Fooling a deer's eyes is all about breaking up outlines and appropriate movements matched to a deer's alertness.

On the flip side those birds will spot a wrong color in an instant even if you are as still as a post and can see a finger wiggle from a crazy distance. I wear a ghillie suit when bow hunting turkeys, wouldn't have a chance w/out it.


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