I have heard talk on here and from reading from the old timers like Howard Hill, Fred Bear, John Schulz talk about how they could stalk right up on animals just wearing plaids. My question is this: Do we need camo to effectively stalk game?
How did Guys like the ones mentioned up above get so close to their game without camo?
Are animals more wary today than back then?
It's all about marketing. I've been in the woods with jeans and a tshirt and was able to creep up to a group of deer. Had a Doe 2 years ago look through me while I was wearing plaid. It all comes down to movement and the animals nose, everything else is sheer marketing.
Consider it this way, primitive man depended on hunting for survival, he didn't wear Realtree or Mossy Oak.
No, what we think of as "camo" isn't needed. Then again, plaid is camo to the eye.
But as one who has been bowhunting since 1978 and had club members bowhunting my property since the 1940's, the bowhunting pressure back in those days was so light that the deer acted nothing like today.
For example, Michigan has the most bowhunters in the country with over 320,000 bowhunters. Back when I started, there were 1/10th as many licensed bowhunters.
I recall in those days that we could stalk right up on deer during bow season, especially young deer. Now, if a deer sees a hunter some 500 yards across a huge field, it bolts in a panic.
Take a look at some black and white or sepia pics of guys in plaid in the woods and guys in camo in the woods. Both work quite well, although a lot of the newer camo patterns turn into a dark blob at longer distances. Thats why patterns like ASAT work so well. Larger pattern to break up outline at any range. Most of the big brands like Realtree and Mossy Oak are intended to catch hunters, not deer. Large patterns with lots of contrast are the ticket like plaid or ASAT I think. That said I have mostly RT and MO gear cuz thats what was cheap...
Edit - should say the most important is how much you move... movement make every pattern stand out
I like my camo, but I also like my plaids. I have had way too many close encounters wearing plaids or some sort of "busy" floral or other pattern to discount wearing it, including with coyotes.
ChuckC
camo works really good when hiding from humans.
Biggest deer I've ever shot was while standing under a tree wearing a green plaid shirt/jacket had deer all around me they never busted me. So I think any pattern that breaks up your outline will work.
I always wear a hodgepodge of camo patterns and Asbell plaid an it works great. Matchy stuff is for marketing and humans to 'look good'. All that matters is breaking up your outline and playing the shadows in the woods.
Get a good pair of binos, wear Earth-tone colors, keep your nose in the wind, and spend more time dead stock still than moving....you'll see deer if there are any.
I've used both for years, movement is what gets us busted if they can't smell us. I've had deer look through me on public land in Michigan wearing solid grey wool pants and shirt on the ground. I was wearing my camo TG hat, though, so maybe that was the trick that day...
It's all about the movement, or lack thereof...
I agree with everyone as far as movement a scent I concerned.
But let's not forget they did not have camo back in the day. And today there a lot of great patterns to suit your surroundings. I think whichever you prefer.
Camo looks great walking around WalMart.
I love my camo but I have come up on critters just wearin jeans and a t shirt. My granddaddy quit wearin camo a few years back he just wears insulated jeans and a heavy plaid coat. He gave me a box of all his old camo and I was like a kid in a candy shop. :bigsmyl: It was all realtree camo from when that company first started. The old hunting equipment and clothing has always caught my eye. It just seemed simpler back in the day.
I was sitting against a tree a couple of years ago during gun season, so I had to wear hunter orange. An older doe, a yearling and two fawns walked into the woods from a plowed corn field. She saw me - looked right straight at me - but the tree was wide enough to break up my outline. She stamped her foot a couple of times and then walked right up to within 20 feet of me.
She veered off to the side and the rest of the parade came up to me and did the same thing. It wasn't until she cut my trail to the rear of me that she bolted and took the rest of them with her.
No camo; just motionless.
QuoteOriginally posted by reddogge:
Camo looks great walking around WalMart.
Nothing looks good walking through Wal-Mart
Camo catches hunters, not game.
IMHO, texture is worth ten times more than pattern.
Shot a doe at 5 yards a few years ago.Sitting on the ground in brown pants and plaid shirt.Do not own any camo
Do you have a point or questions?
If anybody gets a deer this year wearing a powder blue wedding tuxedo with the white ruffled shirt I would like pics! LOL :biglaugh:
A few years ago someone on one of the sites did a bit of experimenting with different camo patterns and black & white photos. He stood in ground cover as well as some treestand shots. Some hid the hunter better than others with the big patterns coming out on top.
Then he tried a very loud Hawaiian shirt just for kicks. That shirt was far and away the best camo of the lot!
Fuzzy fabrics like wool or fleece don't reflect light like smooth shiny fabrics. Wear what you got but stick with big patterns and non-reflective fabrics. I would never spend the money for new name brand camo.
Warm weather deer hunting I wear an old Predator Brown jacket and camo jeans. Colder weather I wear an Asbell wool pull over and green wool pants.
Heck---I just saw the title of this thread and checked in to see what qualifies to be called "Old Timer." :D
Kingsnake
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/IMG_0584.jpg) (http://s65.photobucket.com/user/rnorris/media/IMG_0584.jpg.html)
No camo in this picture except my hat. Asbell wool Timber Ghost plaid, and dull green moleskin pants.
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h227/rnorris/7deadeb4-d8c2-478e-8caf-5e35244c2a69.jpg) (http://s65.photobucket.com/user/rnorris/media/7deadeb4-d8c2-478e-8caf-5e35244c2a69.jpg.html)
(http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/peastes/94f61af3.jpg) (http://s886.photobucket.com/user/peastes/media/94f61af3.jpg.html)
I'm in there, center of the picture, wearing Asbell wool and green wool pants. Commercial camo might work, but so does wool plaid. I'm an old timer, too.
never wear plaid!
and stripes.... it's tacky!! :D
I stalked and shot a doe with a blue T-shirt and faded blue jeans, I also had deer spot me hidden in a brush pile when fully camoed. Turkey, on the hand, can looked right into your wallet to see if you have a turkey tag.
That's funny right there.. :jumper: :jumper:
QuoteOriginally posted by Charlie Lamb:
and stripes.... it's tacky!! :D
:laughing:
Charlie, but while the deer are pointing and laughing (plaids and stripes), you are drawing down on them. .
ChuckC
I've had luck with any dull earthy colors...greens and browns. I wear camo too but I don't feel like I absolutely need it. I hunt from the ground all the time...u just have to sit still
I think that picture of Roger Norris is great. No camo, but you really have to look for him to pick him out. If it was a video and he nodded his head, he'd pop right out at you. I still think deer and humans are attracted instantly to movement.
Ever have something catch your eye from the side and then have to really struggle to find a little sparrow that flew into a bush? Or the flip of a deers tail that tells you instantly something is there, but it takes a bit to pick it out from behind some rather open cover?
I own very few camp clothes anymore and almost never where camp. I do have a camp vest I wear to keep my harness shoulder straps out of the way bit that's about it. 99% of the time I hunt in green or kahkis cargo pants and a place shirt.
My wife says I dress nicer to go hunting than I do for anything else...lol
LB_hntr i don't wear clothes around camp either... sometimes just a vest though. :laughing: :p
QuoteOriginally posted by LB_hntr:
I own very few camp clothes anymore and almost never where camp. I do have a camp vest I wear to keep my harness shoulder straps out of the way bit that's about it. 99% of the time I hunt in green or kahkis cargo pants and a place shirt.
My wife says I dress nicer to go hunting than I do for anything else...lol
Remind me not to share a camp with you anytime soon, haha
Lol...dang auto correct on stupid cell phone...lol
Meant CAMO.....lol
In Roger's photo the only way I could find him was to look for the camo cap. It sticks out to me. Both colour and black&white. Centaur's pic I had to look a while...
I too agree that camo is overrated, and you can certainly be very successful without it.
However, playing the devil's advocate I'd point out that virtually every predator in the natural world, i.e. tigers, lions, great white sharks etc. have a coloration considered camouflage for their primary habitat. I wear both and don't sweat it.
I think you could get by with any earth tone color.
Stay away from too light or dark colors.
A lot of critters have been shot not wearing camo.
I use camo, but at times thinks its not needed.
I'm confident I could kill deer while wearing anything in my closet.
However, I choose to purchase and wear camp clothing when I bow hunt for big game. I like the look, the feel, and utility of the camo clothing I use.
Non-camo clothing won't make me a better or worse hunter.
anybody have an opinion on uv brighteners that are found in most clothes and most camo? some think that if it glows under a black light it will stand out to a deer. i don't have any opinion on the matter, i just don't know enough about it, but i do understand these uv brighteners are absent in most wool clothing, also asat claims they are uv brightener free. if there is merit to the theory, it is interesting to note that most laundry detergent... even stuff marketed to hunters, enhances the uv brighteners. there is a detergent called sportwash that is scent free and uv free, and i buy it just cause its cheaper than the other stuff... but maybe there is something to it... my biggest source of doubt is the deer that have looked through me while wearing flo orange. that stuff has to stand out if they see uv.
Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Commercial camo and plaid both work very well, if you keep still and hunt the wind. Like some of the other guys, I have gotten close to deer with solid colors and no outline break up at all - but never when deer were looking my way. I believe that woodsmanship is more significant than how you dress.
Sam has it. No substitute (except luck if there is such a thing) for woodsmanship.
Experience is a great teacher but some hard knocks can be skipped over with mentoring. One type of mentoring is the virtual kind as provided here at Trad Gang from time to time.
I use plaids and grey or green wool pants while stalking. Light weight army surplus in tamarack pattern is what I used for years and is my first chose for Turkey hunting.Never saw a need to buy expensive camo when there is a perfectly good salvation army store within a short drive.In fact the last two years has been very lucritive in Salvo
Ecatham, sport wash is all we use all year. Its cheap and it is free of all scents etc. Can be hard to find outside of hunting season so we stock up each fall. Usually 2 of the largest size bottles will do it. Works great on cloth diapers. Actually they apparently market it under a different name just for cloth diapers. I have also been told it is what hospitals use...
Does the sport wash remove uv brightness from clothes Or does it just not containe it so you can wash your clothes with detergent that don't have it? Thanks
It contains no brighteners. They also sell UV killer. I bought some last year but never tried it yet.
I have used the sport wash for years and really like it. And you mean people can kill deer without the newest Mossy Oak infinity or Realtree AP???? Heresy :knothead: