Dewey wrote:I’m on the side that will say camo does help and will go far enough to say there is even a big difference between patterns. I used them all over the years and get busted much less with the open patterns like Predator. When you look like a big dark blob in the tree with no leaf cover mature does and bucks will easily pick you out even with little to no movement. Young deer you can pretty much get away with anything so they are a poor standard to go by when deciding what works. When you hunt older deer that actively scan trees looking for hunters you will no doubt see how some patterns work better than others. Hunting a lot of marsh with lone trees that are majorly sky-lined taught me that very quickly.
This.
Does it matter?....to some degree. From a distance, most camo is very similar as the pattern looks like a dark blob.
I prefer patterns that break up the human form/blob shape, like Predator or ASAT. (There are a couple others as well, just listing those as two examples I have used). My experience is that keeping movement to a minimum is more important.
Have shot some nice animals without camo, too!
Bull Elk - 6x7 - 21 yards - over a waterhole in a very arid southwestern state - 92 degrees out in the middle of the day - only wearing bright red shorts (no boots, no socks, no shirt, no facemask !)
Bull elk - 6x6 - 40 yards - wearing bright red shorts and a navy blue shirt - mid day.
Buck - 12 yards - 11 pointer - during a 62 degree day during the rut - wearing knee high rubber boots, black shorts, and a short-sleeve camo t-shirt, no facemask. Pretty sure I could have worn a clown suit and he wouldn’t have noticed as he was cruising mid-day!
Sure, those might be exceptions....
How many times have you been busted, with the wind in your favor, and good cover to breakup your outline, while being absolutely dead still, with no movement whatsoever?
Deer certainly can be jumpy critters!!!!
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No sponsors. No camera crew. No team. Just me and my bow. And that’s the way I prefer it.