UV, deer, and chinese camo.

[Broadside]

I've been having a real problem with getting busted by deer 50 yards out without moving, sneezing, coughing, or scratching my butt.  I'm becoming increasingly convinced that my wally-mart camo is making me glow blue like a smurf to these critters.  

Like a lot of folks, I don't really have the dough to go blow on new duds.  I could really use a couple deer in the freezer this year.  So...

Does UV killer work? or would you guys rather suggest spending the bucks on better camo, or maybe no camo at all.  I'm not entirely convinced it's necessary given my experiences lately.  Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.

[SERGIO VENNERI]

Perhaps it's not your camo.It might be that you are skylined??

[Marc B.]

I'm not convinced that UV is a problem but I also hunt in plaid tops and blue jeans a lot and have never had a problem taking game. You could always treat your cloths with one of the products on the market or just try a good dose of baking soda in the  wash without detergent as well.

Have you checked your cloths under a black light?

[Rob W.]

Spend your money on a wind indicator of some sort.

[Marc B.]

Originally posted by SERGIO VENNERI:
Perhaps it's not your camo.It might be that you are skylined??

That too    

[TxAg]

Sport Wash is pretty cheap at the store and supposed to remove UV. Try it out before spending a bunch of money

[swampthing]

Most of the darker, dyed, clothing in your closet will not glow.

might be , your just not concealing yourself well enough, especialy if your using a (climber)treestand.
i always feel like a lump on a log with a climber , because there are no limbs.
thats why i prefer a hang on, so i can get in above the limbs.

  just a thought...?

[Cory Mattson]

We have never believed in the "UV" or "washing uv" or "paying more for camo that has uv" or "doesnt have uv".

[Cookus]

Aaron,
   Please tell us about your setup... Assuming you're in a tree, how high are you?

[NBK]

Originally posted by Rob W.:
Spend your money on a wind indicator of some sort.

Yep.

[Thumper Dunker]

Originally posted by Marc B.:
 

Originally posted by SERGIO VENNERI:
Perhaps it's not your camo.It might be that you are skylined??

That too      [/b]

Thats three. If you want to see what a deer (might) see Get a cheap black light and look at your camo stuff. Also if possible take a black light into the woods at nite. uv is not a problem.Just one more way to get your money.

[Bill Carlsen]

I'm kind of in the same boat as Cory Mattson...but...Wal Mart also sells the UV killer scent free laundry soap by Asko. We use it for the scent free aspects and  have pretty good luck not getting busted visually. As for spending money for a wind detector.....milk weed pods are free.

[ripforce56]

I never really bought in to the whole UV thing but I had the same problem last year ground hunting was picked up several times w the wind in my favor fully concealed  in pines, camo matched terrain, down wind, face covered! Every time it was with the same fleece camo coat & pant(not cheap) stuff! Really frustrated me, switched  to wool plaids have not had an issue since same blinds! As stated above it seemed to be in low light situations!

[Eric Krewson]

I have a cockeyed theory, because man has chased deer in camo for the last 50 years deer have become conditioned to look for camoed predators.

I remember back in the 70s when deer never looked up, they became conditioned to guys in trees and adapted to searching the skyline.

I gave up camo a couple of years ago, deer seldom spot me in my tree stand now.

[Ray Hammond]

I never believed either until last weekend

By pure chance squirrel bait and I walked by one of our trail cams at dusk.  We pulled the card and when we looked at the images we saw a new flannel shirt Mike bought and hadnt yet washed which was slate grey and red plaid.  

It was late enough that the IR function on the camera triggered - mikes new shirt was ultra bright white

In contrast my pretty new camo shirt washed in baking soda was a very subdued grey

excerpt from a QDMA article I recently found-

First of all, what is vision? Vision occurs when light enters the eye and is absorbed by specialized cells located in the back of the eye. These cells respond to the light and send a signal to the brain which is translated into sight. The color perceived by the brain is determined by the wavelength of light reflected. In other words, objects do not actually have color they simply reflect light of a particular wavelength that our brain perceives as color. The spectrum of color ranges from ultraviolet on the short end of the spectrum to infrared on the long end of the spectrum. Humans can see the range of colors between, but not including, these two extremes.

Understanding the general make-up of the eye also is important. In all mammals, the retina, located at the back of the eye, consists of two types of light sensitive cells called rods and cones. Rods function in the absence, or near absence, of light and permit vision in darkness. Cones function in full light and permit daytime and color vision. Humans can see a wide range of colors because we have three types of cones in our eye. One is sensitive to short wavelength light (blue), one is sensitive to middle wavelength light (green) and the third is sensitive to long wavelength light (red). This three-color, or trichromatic, vision is the most advanced form of color vision known.

Differences Between a Deer's Eye and a Human's
First, deer have a higher concentration of rods (nighttime cells) than humans, but a lower concentration of cones (daytime and color cells). Therefore, deer have better nighttime vision than humans but poorer daytime and color vision.

Second, deer have a pupil that opens wider than ours. This allows more light to be gathered in low light conditions. Third, deer have a reflective layer in the back of their eye called a tapetum that causes their eyes to shine at night. The tapetum acts as a mirror and reflects the light not absorbed by the receptor cells when it enters the eye the first time back across the cells for a second chance. In other words, deer get to use the same light twice while humans get to use it only once.

A third difference found between a deer's eye and a human's gives us some idea of their ability to see UV light. The human eye is protected by a filter that blocks about 99 percent of UV light from entering the eye. This filter protects our eye, much like a pair of sunglasses. It also allows us to focus more sharply on fine detail. The trade-off for having this filter is a severe loss of sensitivity to short wavelength colors, especially those in the UV spectrum.

Deer, on the other hand, do not have a UV filter. Therefore, they see much better in the UV spectrum but lack the ability to see fine detail. This explains why deer often move their head from side to side when they encounter a hunter. Since deer lack this filter, they would be expected to see a greater difference in UV treated fabrics than humans.

[Broadside]

First off, thanks to everyone for trying to help me figure this out.  Ripforce pretty much summed up my setup...

Originally posted by ripforce56:
I never really bought in to the whole UV thing but I had the same problem last year ground hunting was picked up several times w the wind in my favor fully concealed  in pines, camo matched terrain, down wind, face covered! Every time it was with the same fleece camo coat & pant(not cheap) stuff! Really frustrated me, switched  to wool plaids have not had an issue since same blinds! As stated above it seemed to be in low light situations!

I'm still not sure about the whole UV deal, and everyone seems to have a different take on it.  I'll switch up camo for plaids and see how that works out.

[Marc B.]

Originally posted by Eric Krewson:
I have a cockeyed theory, because man has chased deer in camo for the last 50 years deer have become conditioned to look for camoed predators.

I remember back in the 70s when deer never looked up, they became conditioned to guys in trees and adapted to searching the skyline.

I gave up camo a couple of years ago, deer seldom spot me in my tree stand now.

I don't think its so crazy, I've had the same experience over the last few years.

[buckeye_hunter]

As long as I wear older faded clothes, the deer seem to notice me less. Of course, good back cover is essential to break up your outline.

[Zradix]

Skylined..maybe..

Sportwash DOESN'T remove UV brighters....but it's ok as a washamchine detergent for hunting clothes.
UV killer SUCKS!
I don't know what they're doing in the vids but NONE of my materials I tried either or both of those products on lost the UV glow.

Many of the UV brighteners are right IN the fabrics.
not ON them....so they can't be washed off..especially the man made fibers.

I've researched this a LOT. I've soaked bits of clothes in all sorts of solvents/acids/bases/super strong detergents...that UV brightener isn't coming off.

Basically id you're clothes glow you're sorta up a creek.
...guess when the UV glow is the most apparent...dawn and dusk!


On a side note..Purex free and clear is GREAT hunting and everyday clothes detergent.