ok Since trad bow hunting requires one to get up close and personal with the game -- which design/brand camo do you use and why -- also what area of the country are you hunting??
I have mainly used mossy oak breakup -- usually look for a design with as much dark browns and black as i can find. Only hunted in north east GA and these deer can pick a needle out of a haystack. I have even tried a leaf suit and they pick it out every time, but the underside of the leaves are not camo'ed so maybe it looks white or lighter colored to them--guess that's what you get for getting the cheapest one.
Kuiu, asat, and Sitka mothwing from the swamps of middle Georgia to the rolling pines of eastern Alabama to the tundra of Alaska..
Dull, dull, flat and dull. I think that the material is way more important than the design on the clothing. I recently walked into stands with a hunter that was wearing the "latest" APB whatever. He had a "sheen" in the flashlight light. I mean glowing! The material had to be mostly polyester or nylon. The "camo" was irrelavant due to the shiny material. I believe you are better off with flat, dull plaids and solids than shiny treeoak. Get quality hunting clothes that are not "shiny", whatever the print is.
I use USGI woodland camo in mild weather, also some old Vietnam tiger stripe USGI. In colder weather I wear brown jeans and plaid wool.
The older I get the fatter I get so whatever still fits! I have had it all and and wore it all. I think as long as it breaks up your outline your good. I used to only hunt in wool plaid and flannel plaid shirts before I could afford camo and saw just as many as animals and they got just as close :dunno:
I honestly don't think the pattern matters one bit. I think color does matter some. Light colors when you are in a tree since if a deer looks up at you you wanna blend in with the sky. . Most camo is too dark from a distance. Flannel works just as well as anything. Good wool works well because it has no shine.
I think you have the right idea wearing mossy oak break-up. I wear that on occasion (it seems to have shrunk... or my gut has grown) If hunting from the ground, pay close attention to your background. I saw were a guy had all the leaves brushed away from a medium sized hemlock on the edge of an overgrown field. He would have stood out no matter what he was wearing. Again, mossy oak break-up infinity.... one of my favorites.
The older I get the fatter I get so whatever still fits!
Amen brother. I try real hard to always hunt the wind and blend in as much as possible with my surroundings whether it be on the ground or in a tree. Any camo pattern will work, as long as you keep the dark patterns out of the light, and the light patterns out of the dark. Also, as stated before, pretty and shiny is a no-no.
God Bless, Steve
Depends on where I'm hunting and when. I have a good selection of Mossy Oak Breakup Infinity that seems to be a good choice in the woods or from a treestand. I have an old set of Badlands Rock-o-flage that is good in cornstalks or near fields.
Don't notice either works better than plain 'ol plaid.
Early season, when cover is available, I don't think it matters much. However, when the leaves fall and the trees are bare, camo plays an important role. I have some predator fall grey that I have had encounters with deer that leave no doubt in my mind that it works. It's the big pattern that makes the difference. I also like ASAT and sticks and limbs. I mostly hunt in Alabama, but sometimes I travel to Mississippi and Illinois.
Natgear for now. When it wears out I will probbably try ultimate camo.
I'm getting too old! I'm still in awe of Mossy Oak Tree stand!
Sitka early season and asat the rest of the season. Lawman
ASAT or Predator fall grey/brown for me.
If pushed, I'd also add Realtree Max1
I'm a believer in the KUIU Pattern as it really breaks up the human form. My second caribou bull last month was killed right out in the open tundra. I just crouched down and became another boulder on the hillside while a dozen or so caribou paraded right by me. The bull was the next to last caribou in the line.
Last Fall a blacktail buck saw the movement when I drew, 20 yards away and on the ground, but couldn't make me out. Had some of him for dinner just last week...
Jerry
I,ve got 3 kinds I wear, Predator spring, Predator fall, or Predator snow camo. Good stuff.
I like cabelas outfitter camo for all around. I like Max 1for elk hunting too.
I like 3-D camos with an overlay effect of branches and leaves that breaks up the human outline.I dont like really dark camo that highlights the human outline and makes a hunter look like a dark blob.
I like 3-D camos with an overlay effect of branches and leaves that breaks up the human outline.I dont like really dark camo that highlights the human outline and makes a hunter look like a dark blob.Skyline used to make some great camo patters with these traits.
I like outfitter camo when the leaves fall. I use a leafy jacket in the early season
I'm making more of my own camo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShmBWMUjICw&feature=plcp
ASAT.
I have non-insulated coveralls in ASAT that I wear early season over shorts and a T-shirt and then I wear them over wool when it gets cold.
Plaid with green or brown pants
I started wearing the ASAT Vanish Pro 3-D suit. Had a one look right thru me last night!
Over the years I've collected several different patterns. They all work well so I wear whatever I pull out of the box that day. I do make sure not to mix patterns though. A very good friend of mine once told me, "You can wear whatever camo you want just do not mix the ptterns. If you mix the patterns your head will explode!"
Now I don't know how true that is but I'm not gonna take the chance... :saywhat:
Obivously for us nothing but Predator Camo.
He are some pictures to show why
But what ever you choose be sure there is Contrast lots of light and dark in the pattern. That is why a lot of the wool works so well
(http://i905.photobucket.com/albums/ac260/Stjoeriverbows/2.jpg) (http://i905.photobucket.com/albums/ac260/Stjoeriverbows/2-1.jpg) (http://i905.photobucket.com/albums/ac260/Stjoeriverbows/1.jpg) (http://i905.photobucket.com/albums/ac260/Stjoeriverbows/1-1.jpg) (http://i905.photobucket.com/albums/ac260/Stjoeriverbows/adphoto.jpg) (http://i905.photobucket.com/albums/ac260/Stjoeriverbows/adphoto-1.jpg)
I'm more concerned with fit and location of pockets than camo patterns. I've been using Sitka stuff the past few years and really like the way their clothing is cut. I'm pretty lean and got tired of all the bulkiness of some brands of clothing. The Sitka designers really spent some time in designing their clothing to keep the bulk to a minimum. I also am a believer in wearing a slick insulating layer under a gortex wind break, allowing much more comfortable movement.
I'm not really a fan of the price or the digital camo pattern :dunno: I look like a modern Gi Joe!
Been threw just about every kind. I still own a Kelly Cooper Jacket and an original pair of Trebark pants. Killed deer in them. Used no camo. Black wool pants and a plaid wool shirt and killed deer.I own Real Tree Rain Gear. But my favorite camo by far is A.S.A.T. if I had to choose.
Whatever is cheapest at wally world or what I can find at goodwill.
Look at the Ultimatecamo.com website. I just got some of their fleece stuff and love it. They also have cotton jackets. pants, t-shirts, etc. for early season. Well designed and there are pockets in all the right places....important to me.
Ditched all our old Mossy Oak several years ago being that their patterns became more and more "busy" and darker with each passing year.
Since we switched to wool and Predator Fall Grey have not been visually busted one time, nuff said !!! We hunt lone trees in clearcuts on a regular basis and even had flocks of turkeys pass by less than 10 yds with Mason and I in the same tree no less ! IMHO the older Predator colors like Spring Green, Fall Grey, and Fall Brown are simply the best patterns ever developed including the newer patterns they have. It is the lighter colors and open pattern that makes it work. It will not turn into a dark blob at a distance like others do. I will quote Predator's sales slogan and hush up here, " Trophy Racks, not Store Racks ".... :readit:
Natural gear
Mossy Oak Obsession and Asat get me through the seasons where I'm hunting. I throw in Asbell wool patterns as weather dictates.
Mossy Oak Tree Stand coveralls for early season. ASAT wool pullover and LL Bean Camo wool pants for cooler temps. Also using a homemade ghillie poncho this season for the first time...
I always liked the basic Predator Brown. But it seams hard to find these days.
I to like it dark because of my part of the country and our setups. Deer see movement and we all know we must move to draw our bows. From a treestand or ground blind I always have something behind me and am in the shadows (see my shirt in my avatar). When I move if I had something light on it would contrast with the background and be more noticeable to the deer. Bottom line light or dark I think you need to match your background whether it is a dark eastern canopy or a light western sky.
Wool Plaids and brown pants !
Good point KY TJ. The loggers have taken all our canopy, haha ! We are hunting scraps of woods now. What really opened my eyes was a few years back when Mason became old enough to hunt his own tree by himself. Lots of times we were only 50yds apart and with the Predator on he blended in much better than the other camos. As long as he was still the Fall Grey blended right in with sky and the Greys of our fall woods. Totally agree though with "matching the hatch",theory on dark vs light surroundings. :coffee:
What is Walt Francis wearing on the top of this page in that mottled sunlight pic ???
When I'm pretending to be a tree, my Gray Longhunter wool shirt and hood work great...(I haven't seen a plaid tree yet).. ;)
(http://www.shrewbows.com/endorsements/PaulWilburn.jpg)
The Tamarack Green when you wanna be a bush.
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Eric-Kazoo.JPG)
Hard to beat plaids.
Shedrock,
I am trying to get some Asbell Shadow Plaid now too. I think it is very close to Predator Fall Grey concept with a good blend of light / dark contrast. As Uncle Ron said before too.... wool diffuses and absorbs light where as the man made stuff reflects light, especially when it is new ! :coffee:
Since I bowhunt in Texas, we have different regions. In east Texas, the evergreen of the piney woods to the arid regions of west Texas.
This is why I prefer Predator camo. My favorite patterns are Spring Green, Fall Gray and the discontinued Fall Brown.
I have enough of all three patterns to last me the rest of my life. I consider myself "smart" when I stocked up on Fall Brown before Predator discontinued the pattern and color.
I use Mossy Oak Obsession some. The turkeys don't shy away from it and they got some of the best eyes in the woods. I also have some Realtree APG that is more open and lighter than many of the other commercial camo. I think fleece helps soften the patterns some too. It don't ever get cold enuff in Alabama to wear wool with the exception of a few days each year. For that senerio I wear ECWS polar weight longjohns with 2 or 3 layers on top of it.
Predator, simply because it's worked so well for me that when I put it on, I feel partly invisible. Camo is SERIOUSLY overrated, and movement is the key, but every once in awhile you may find yourself caught with your pants down out in the open, or find a tree with less than ideal backcover and that's when Predator shines.
I'll add that I consider ASAT and Kuiu's Vias to essentially be the same and just as effective. 5x5 bull last year had me out in the open at 30 yards and he essentially looked through me wearing Vias camo.
ASAT, Predator, KUIU. In that order if you wanna get away with any movement! The rest will work just find as long as you move slow or don't move at all!
I like plaids with a strong contrasting pattern when it's cool weather.
I generally wear cotton Predator or ASAT when I wear camo(for turkeys).
Like dragonheart said, the fabric really matters, cotton and wool absorb the light, a lot of synthetics reflect/shine in the field.
Everytime I go in the woods I see lots of "dark blobs". They're everywhere you look. When I am moving through the woods, I do like Ron LaClair is talking about, I stand in front of a tree regardless of what I have on. I use a big tall black blob to hide me.
Deer are basically 2 solids, brown and white and they will disappear right before your eyes. I had one the other evening bust me moving along through a tree line above a big grass field. I had looked and looked, and simply missed her until she busted me and took off. I simply never saw her standing in the tall grass.
Predator and ASAT
ASAT or plaid
I like just using a red flanal jacket and some old army camo pants.
This started as Columbia wool snow camo. With a little walnut juice , I'm happy with it.
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d34/kennym/016-6.jpg)
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d34/kennym/SANY1210.jpg)
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d34/kennym/013-13.jpg)
The texture and pockets are real important to me.
I hate slick camo that shines in low light...
I like ASAT alot!!!
Another one for a big proponent of cloth... soft cloth that doesn't reflect light!!! Cotton and Wool if I could afford them all...
The best is actually my my ghille suit!!!
ASAT does it all.
Army issued Ghillie suit; nothing else comes close; I can wear whatever is necessary underneath;
:campfire:
Since I hunt in alot of thick ground cover and rainforest areas, my favorite is the old Tiger Stripe pattern.
What ever is clean.Lately it been olive green carpenter pants and a cheap camo T shirts all diferant. Walmart stuff. Or just a faded green,brown,or black t shirt.Black is good for being right up aganst a tree trunk on the shaded side. But I do have a face mask on and a camo boony hat on desert storm colors . Sons stuff. It all works. Movement is what gets you busted.
ASAT,KUIU and fall Preditor is what I wear now.
I also have a ghillie top and bottoms and wear both but some times just the top.
never thought about the wool and plaids. i do use a solid black goose down bibbs when it gets cold down here and never seem to have a problem with them, however i only put them on once i get up in the tree. do like the looks of the predator camo!!
ASAT, Predator (most patterns), Kuiu (Vias and Verdes), Cabela's Outfitter, Sitka (Open Country, Mothwing and Forest), Mossy Oak Treestand, Realtree Max 1, Cabela's Open Country, Skyline Horizon.
All of the above are fairly open patterns, which I think are the most effective. This selection will effectively cover just about any bowhunting situation, but the pattern should be chosen to blend into the dominant surroundings, just like "matching the hatch" in the flyfishing world. For instance, the Skyline Horizon is perfect for late-season treestand hunting in hardwoods and for hunting on the ground in snowy conditions, but it is far too light in color for most other conditions. The Max 1 and Cabela's Open Country are ideal for hunting the open grass flats and creek bottoms in the Northern Territory of Australia for buffalo and boar. And so it goes for the other patterns.
Wool solids and plaids are good too, but when the weather is warm, only the light Merino shirts are comfortable, and wool has its own disadvantages (along with many advantages). The biggest problem for the traveling hunter is wool's bulk and weight, which is why the clothing companies like Kuiu and Sitka do not use wool in their mountain clothing except for the thin base layers, where Merino wool excels above any other material. But this thread is about camo patterns, not materials, and there are wool products that incorporate some of the patterns I have listed (and other good patterns).
The main things are getting out to the places where the animals live, staying downwind, and keeping noise and movement at a minimum. Do remember that turkeys see color and have fantastic vision, so picking colors that blend into the surroundings is vital when turkey hunting, although it is not so important when hunting ungulates that do not have much color vision.
Allan
It think plaid is the worlds first "Didgital Camo"..... :thumbsup:
ASAT - simply amazing!!
I still use the old eastern woodland camo that was fased out by the military. It works good around here and the price was right (free).
Scent-Lok Full Season Velocity in Vertigo Grey for tree stands, Mossy Dark colored camo for ground still hunting. I also mix and match pants or bibs with shirts or jackets in order to breakup my outline further. I have had a huntin Buddy take pictures in the field and I have taken of his to see ourselves in different scenarios, etc.
JL :archer2:
I've been a mossy oak and predator camo hunter for years. I think predator deception is hard to beat.....with that said I'm trying more traditional wool plaids this fall to see how they work.
Asbell wool plaid Evening Stand Brown!
I like KUIU, Had Sitka but switched to KUIU
I like Natgear, ASAT, Predator Fall Gray, and for what it's worth I would like to try some multicam.
This one works pretty well, Evening Stand Green
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/IMG_0015.jpg)
Fun stuff there are two here. (http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv247/pukingguts/P1040259_zps76a155b6.jpg)
(http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv247/pukingguts/P1030942_zps56ec4e40.jpg)
ASAT works for me.
Leafyflage!
Bisch
never mattered much to me or what I've hunted. I have several kinds and usally mix it up if I wear camo at all. its just something to break up the blob,and here lately I've became a pretty big blob. :)
PREDATOR
I LOOK FOR SOMETHING QUITE MORE SO THEN APPEARENCE. ANYTHING WITH BROKEN PATTERNS IS FINE WITH ME.
PREDATOR Spring Green and the Green Deception hard to beat for spring Gobbler season.
Flannel by Theresa Asbell, Silent Stalker Green.