I found a pair of pants that fit me in NatGear pattern. I like it and i think it's really going to blend with the bare hardwood trees around here. There's no leaves on this pattern, just indistinct bark or blotches that look like same colors as the deer sneak around in.

I hate my old pattern in Mossy Oak. That's my least favorite camo. My husband has some Advantage Timber that is a bit too orange, but lighter than the mossey oak and he also has some Marine BTU? Their new digital pattern. He likes that a lot.

Would like to hear some pro's and cons of different camo patterns.

Plinker

Real Tree Hardwoods. Is friggin AWSOME. If u hunt around alot of bare trees that wont let you down.

Know what ya mean....

If you are hunting on the ground in leaves or in the trees during the fall when the leaves are brown Realtree Hard Woods is good stuff. The Old Mossy Oak Fall blend was good in that situation too.

Advantage Timber is hard to beat during early season Bow hunting when everything is still green as well as spring Turkey season too.

Mossy Oak Break-Up is about the most adaptable to any situation IMO.

I've got so much darn camo around my hunting room, just can't get enough it seems.

Another thing that jsut burns me up about high dollar camo is how fast the dang stuff fades. Seems like now days some of it wont last but a season or maybe two. I have found some material that is just plain hard to beat for durability, that's the 100% Nylon Material that Trek-Lite is made from. That stuff is just plain tough and it keeps it's color for years. I've got three shirt and two pairs of pants made from the 100% Nylon (Parachute Type) material and they are about 5+ years old and still going strong. They have been washed literally dozens of times a year and they dry in just minutes. You can even wash them easily in the field if camping out, some unscented soap a crub down in the creek and throw em' on a tree limb, ready to go again in minutes. Hard to beat IMO.

Reloader

Faded camo works just fine and might be better. On the ground in dense cover, the darker camo works OK. But in a tree stand, you do not want dark, close patterns. If you stand in the woods and look up through the trees, you can tell what you should look like. There is a lot of sky showing through the branches and leaves. Don't block the sky! And if you notice, the branches are not so close together that they blend into a blob and block the sky.
I have been in 5 different stands so far this season from 12' to 16' and have seen a lot of deer that I either did not want to shoot, or were on the wrong side and I couldn't shoot. I have not been spotted once with my ASAT camo. A lot of the deer were at eye level to me, walking in. I have sat in an open tree in the middle of an open field with Skyline camo (the almost white stuff) and had deer walk right under me. This can't be done with the dark stuff.
The problem with ground hunting is that deer know every branch, tree and stump in their living room, just like you do at home. If the wife moves the couch when you are at work and you come home and walk through the room in the dark, you are going to fall over it. Same thing when you appear in their woods. You don't belong there! You think deer are stupid? If it wasn't for tree stands, there would be very few deer killed. Your job is to blend in, not to become a large black blob that wasn't there before.

Predator is what lots of folks use. I use the fall grey pattern for late treestand hunting. It works everywhere.

Anyone have experience with any of the blaze camos? What do you like?

Would be good to use during gun season if they work. Have to use something by law and good sense suggests the gun hunters should be able to see you.

You know there is way to much camo on the market, I get a headache when I go into a store that sells it!

The best is the standard US military green pattern. works in all different environments.

quote:

I hate my old pattern in Mossy Oak. That's my least favorite camo. My husband has some Advantage Timber that is a bit too orange, but lighter than the mossey oak and he also has some Marine BTU? Their new digital pattern. He likes that a lot.

Would like to hear some pro's and cons of different camo patterns.

Plinker

The new Marine BDU's were designed with the human eye in mind so no idea how well they work
on deer etc. The Corps didn't study that as far as i know. I like only the green leaf woodlands and I still wear jungle U's so I just might out
of touch.

Actually, solid blaze orange is the best and deer will not see you at all. Some states don't allow the camo blaze orange. Best to check before you buy.
The only reason I don't wear orange for archery is I don't want anyone to know where my stands are. Plus my stuff is too hot and bulky for archery. I would love a good set of orange built like the ASAT or Realtree suits.

The tag on my Natgear recommended sport wash, but i didn't have any. Washed it in unscented Arm and Hammer to get rid of the new smell. So i'm up on the deer stand and not making any movement and heard snorting and looked to my right and there's a 5-doe/fawn group walking past, not panicked but at a fast huddled pace. I hadn't been moving, and it was downwind where i didn't expect them. They either spotted the UV glow or winded me. I'm thinking winded, so i'm moving the stand (climber) so it's on other side of where they were passing.

Plinker

quote:

Originally posted by bfrshooter:
Faded camo works just fine and might be better.

My husband's buddy has a pair of faded hardwoods coveralls. Makes him look just like a tree trunk. Really, humans with upright vertical shape should blend into trees better than deer with their horizontal back.

Plinker

quote:

Originally posted by invader66:

quote:

I hate my old pattern in Mossy Oak. That's my least favorite camo. My husband has some Advantage Timber that is a bit too orange, but lighter than the mossey oak and he also has some Marine BTU? Their new digital pattern. He likes that a lot.

Would like to hear some pro's and cons of different camo patterns.

Plinker

The new Marine BDU's were designed with the human eye in mind so no idea how well they work
on deer etc. The Corps didn't study that as far as i know. I like only the green leaf woodlands and I still wear jungle U's so I just might out
of touch.

ooops, "BTU's" That's British Thermal Units, HUH? My bad, sorry. Thanks, i meant BDU's.

Plinker

quote:

Originally posted by Critter_Killer:
Real Tree Hardwoods. Is friggin AWSOME. If u hunt around alot of bare trees that wont let you down.

I agree, but it's not common around here. All our local Walmart has is the dark leafy stuff. We have one fairly large sporting goods shop, they too, carry mostly dark leafy. They have one rack of good stuff that is mostly empty. If you want something different have to order it. They must send the factory overruns to the small towns.

Plinker

Yeah a get my stuff new at half price from a factory outlet.

http://www.outinstyle.com/

Has good prices and sales time to time. I wonder
sometimes about camo. Deer etc see light different than us. If you use tide or all etc it is no longer camo to the deer. A Wildlife Bio
guy explained that to me once. First 10 deer i killed i wore blue jeans and an old OD field jacket. True i was not bow hunting but was in shotgun range and on the ground.

Here's a new one I've been eyeing, not that I really need MORE hunting clothes....

Sticks!

Don't worry guys, if you scroll to the bottom of Sue's page you will find a link to the main store. Lots of other options there.

What do you think of that pattern?

Fred Bear said something to the effect---"the best cammo is sitting quietly"

the chef

Maybe, I have ESp, but I was thinking exactly about Fred Bear, when I saw all the dolts at the Ya Ha Tinda the last couple of days in every conceival pattern, all of them trade marked of course. My thoughts were with all of Fred Bears accomplishments, I don't ever recall a picture of him, dressed in Camo.
The military manuals I've read, emphasise that good camuoflage is as much prudent use of the terrain, as of clothing and you can quickly negate the camouflage effect of your clothing by simply moving to a different spot.
Irregardless of what anybody says, we don't know exactly how different animals see and basically all those fancy patterns, every one proclaimed the best by its maker, simply gives us the delusion we must be invisible, since another hunter has trouble seing us, kind of like the emperors new clothes. This camo thing is getting to be ridiculous. After all, why do we ned camo toilet paper or even special deodarant. If you smeel that bad, maybe you should take a bath before going into the field.
Grizz

You got it Griz. Thats why lighter stuff is better because it gathers the color of the surroundings. I killed deer for years with regular clothes on.
These camo makers only want to sell stuff that is good for hiding from people.

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
Here's a new one I've been eyeing, not that I really need MORE hunting clothes....

Sticks!

.

What do you think of that pattern?

Ann

I like it. The pattern is big enough not to be blurred at distance.
The article in the last African Hunter mag's issue concerning camo presents an interesting camo mesh.

I'd like to get the sticks and limbs archery jacket for in tree stand since it and would help with the skylining affect in a tree.

The question of whether camo really helps or not, well it would just seem it has to help. Practically all animals are camouflaged. The deer themselves are camoflaged. So well, in fact, they can't even see each other that well. That's why they have the white tails they flag so fawns can see and follow when they're running from danger. If they could easily discern the brown of their mother's coat, they would just catch the body movement and would be no reason for the tail to be white for them to follow. I believe they can't see her body any better than we can, but they see white.

Blue is supposed to be one of the colors deer do see well. So light or faded bluejeans would be a bad choice. On the other hand (when not hunting and wearing jeans), i've encountered deer can't seem to puzzle out what you are till you move or they wind you.

So, it's a hard thing to determine how much the camo helps and how much is just the manufacturers pushing their product. Breaking the human outline makes sense. I think they think all human heads have a bill (baseball cap).

quote:

If you smeel that bad, maybe you should take a bath before going into the field.
Grizz

That would be another subject of interest, whether the scent elimination clothes work.

Plinker

Interesting about the blue thingy.....I was sitting nice and quietly under a tree a couple weeks ago and along comes a little buck. I was wearing a bright blue fleece jacket of all things. Now of course he busted me but it took him awhile. So even if they do see blue I think it was my movement while trying to draw that really clued him in.

the chef

I think that most camo is designed to catch hunters rather than deer. And I can't believe all of the "in depth" discussions about which style and brand is best for which situation.

As far as the scent elimination clothes, Plinker, is that a turnip truck you're driving?

Regardless of what brand/style of camo clothing you wear, it ain't gonna do you any good if you can't sit still. Like the magic bullets that are supposed to make up for the fact you can't shoot worth a shit, camo is an AID but certainly isn't a replacment for hunting skills.

That Stick camo looks real good. It is true that staying still and quiet is the most important thing, but I have been spotted time and time again with stuff too dark and old military camo.
I have jumped a large doe from her bed at 10 yd's, thumped my foot at her and had her come back to her bed, lay down and ignore me while I watched squirrels. She was licking her side and scratching. When I walked past her, she jumped up and stared at me. I said "ha ha" I fooled you. I had blue work pants on and a white "T" shirt. I was just looking for acorns before season and before leaving for work.
Another good idea is to put a dummy in your tree stand when you are not using it. They get used to it and when you take it's place, they will not look up unless they see you move.

Deer are Brown & White and they live most of thier lives hidden from view.

I've stopped buying camo stuff about 6 years ago. Now i hunt in grey, brown and dark green wools. Different color shirt, jacket or vest than the pants. Plaid wool shirts too. I get just as close as I ever did, somedays closer. However, The older I get he better I am at working with the wind and more patient I am.


I did find some Weatherby Wools on Ebay to try this year.

I believe the BIGGER parterns like Preditor are a better choice. The idea is breaking uop your image NOT blending in. The best use of Camo IMHO is hinding from other hunters.

The very best camo I've ever used is ASAT. I've been hunting on the ground for years and if there's any camo out there that really fools a deer it is most certainly ASAT.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc:
The very best camo I've ever used is ASAT. I've been hunting on the ground for years and if there's any camo out there that really fools a deer it is most certainly ASAT.

http://store.yahoo.com/astacamo/asulle3dsy1.html

They make it that you put over any garment you wear. Seems like that would save some $ just put it over your regular warm or cold weather clothes. Sort of pricey to start though.

Penny

Yes, ASAT is pricey as of the last 5 years. My brother found about 3 websites that carry it and he bought some very nice bibs, jacket, etc. Nevertheless, that pattern is still worth every penny.

The only other camo that I have found is season specific but is realtree or prairie ghost in SNOW camo.

If there is an ULTIMATE camo out there it is snow camo, and obviously, hunting in snow.

Doc, I even use snow camo in the tree stand when the leaves are all off. You don't have to have snow for it to be effective.
I still say that the best camo of all is blaze orange. I have NEVER been spotted on stand wearing it. It would be interesting to learn what the deer actually see it (or don't see it)as.

Seems strange don't it after all these years no one seems to know for sure what deer do $ don't really see.

I don't bow hunt, but I have been "in the woods" for almost 40 years now, and I believe there are two things deer see: movement, and the bright glow of our uncovered faces. I try to always wear a mask, even if in a box stand. I believe that if you are wearing anything that breaks up your outline, and your face is covered so it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb, deer have a hard time seeing you. I have had deer look hard at me on numerous occasions, but until they had two senses tell them I was there, they were alerted but they didn't bolt. Even if you move, unless a deer hears or smells you, they generally don't flag and run. They might stomp, stare and then stand completely still for what seems like an eternity while they study you, but they generally don't run.

And bucks, in my experience, typically watch the does.