What does the game see??? pics

[kadbow]

I noticed on a photo from my game cam that the jacket I was wearing just glowed in the IR flash.  When I got home I did a little test.  Below are photos of two high end modern fabric jackets and one of my KOM bushman shirt.  It really makes me wonder what the game can see.  What do you think?

[DanielB89]

I have also wondered the same.. If we could just find a talking deer we could know.  I know some guys who hunt in blue jeans and a t-shirt and kill plenty.  I also know guys who buy incredibly expensive clothing ever year and kill deer.

[Sam McMichael]

I have read numerous times that most clothes, including some camo, use dyes that go slightly into the UV range as brighteners. Deer see into that range a bit more than humans making a lot of our clothes show up with a glow. Assuming that this info is accurate, it is not surprising that your pictures came out as they did.

[kadbow]

Please no comments on my stick legs.   :D

[KentuckyTJ]

There was just a thread on this. I'll see if I can find it

[monterey]

Originally posted by kadbow:
Please no comments on my stick legs.    :D  

OK!  You caught me just in time.  

[KentuckyTJ]

http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=146323

[kadbow]

Good stuff, missed that one while elk hunting.

[bowslinger]

Many commercial laundry detergents use "whiteners" that reflect UV light.  The military issues laundry detergent that does not use any whiteners or "bluing " agents.  An internet search will provide many documents regarding the use of whiteners in laundry detergent.

Yep, you need to wash your clothes in detergent that has no UV brighteners!

Bisch

[kadbow]

All of these were washed with a detergent that has no UV brighteners.

Wowser, then! Got no other explanation.

Bisch

[monterey]

To avoid the brighteners you can do as my grandma did.  Her laundry soap was a few thin slices cut from bar hand soap.

I'm not sure that the IR flash in the trail cam is representative of what the deer or elk sees.  My understanding is that they are sensitive to UV. How does that relate to IR?

When I was in the military I had occasion to use IR film with IR flash bulbs (yeah, that's right, bulbs,  it was that long ago).  The flash was invisible unless you were looking directly at the bulb when it went off.  It returned no image if the light was not returned to IR sensitive film.  Is that how the trail cam works?

[Tajue17]

that's all I know is I have shot deer standing right against a tree in the open with my work clothes on, black jeans and Black or blue hoodie.

the deer never did a double take towards me as if I was glowing.

If I'm not wearing rubber boots they stop right where I walked and look at me though.

[bowslinger]

The main advantage of camo is it breaks up your outline and may let you get away with minor movement.  If you use the wind, don't move when the deer can see you and are quiet, you can sit in blue jeans washed in commercial detergents and kill deer.  If a deer does not see, smell , or hear a threat, they don't care, in my experience.  However, clothes that glow make movement more evident to game that can see UV light.

[Archer1977]

Hmm...makes me wonder if those poly blend clothes reflect light even if they are washed in no UV brightener detergents. KOM is wool right? I have read that wool absorbs light better than poly material. I would think cotton would absorb is as well.

[maineac]

IR is opposite end of the visible spectrum from UV. Deer see to the yellow, green, blue and violet.  I think the images show off the reflectivity of the clothes.  The fibers of the wool are probably courser, and difract the light better.

[TSP]

Solution...never wash your hunting clothes or hunt deer that carry flash cameras.  Works for me.