I'm pretty sick of the quality of camo clothing quality available currently. Even at the big box stores, paying more money. It's almost white on the inside, fades after 1 or 2 washes and not very durable for the cost paid. I know deer are color blind and was thinking about just wearing higher quality work cargos dedicated for hunting (paying attention to scent of course). I will save the camo for turkey hunting only. I am not trying to hit a nerve with any suppliers here but I feel like what we are paying for is a design or artwork, not functionality. I even think it was #4 of Fred Bear's 10 commandments of hunting, "The best camo pattern is called "Sit down and be quiet". Am I out of line and being stupid or are others in the same like mind?
I wear it when I can. That said I often hunt after work in blue jeans and a carhart polo. Animals see MOVEMENT much easier than colors, patterns, and in highly detailed resolution. I firmly believe that camp helps break up the outline and helps you hide as does plaid and simple earth tones. That said even in the best camo in the world if your out there moving and salsa dancing around there won't be an animal in sight that you can shoot.
For what it's worth with traditional camo I've had pretty good experiences with the comfort, performance, and durability of the Cabelas Microtex line. It's pretty pricey though. And even with that in the closet I still sometimes go out in a solid khaki pant or blue jeans and a simple earth toned pocket tee or polo.
I am still thinking earth tones and washing with detergent that does not contain phosphates. I heard that Deer see in the UV spectrum so phosphates should glow to them like you're under a black light.
Last year's deer season was the first year I completely abandoned "camo." I wore Asbell's wool plaid and brown or dark green wool pants or bibs.
I did not notice any difference in deer detecting me.
While I think it is good to try to break up your outline, that can be done without "modern" camo patterns.
Mike
I wear camo a lot but not exclusively and not for the normal reasons. So here is why I often do...
1) A friend that buys it often gives me some of his old camo.
2) I buy some dirt cheap after season. (Also plaid, brown, and gray when cheap enough).
3) Camo says "Do not wash" to my wife. I use different detergents on hunting clothing.
That being said I also wear and do just as well with other what I call woodsy colors and plaids.
I wear more earth tone colored pants and earth tone plaid shirts. I refuse to pay big bucks for camo clothing. As mentioned before, it's all about movement.
plaid shirts and dark pants
Many years ago I was gun hunting , sitting on the ground with snow .
I was wearing blaze orange head to toe and had two deer walk towards me and past me . They were on each side of me close enough that I could have touched both at the same time .
They didn't stop walking nore did they even act the slightest bit nervous . :dunno:
Sense then I have had deer bust me wearing my ghuillie with the wind in my favor . :dunno:
Explain that ....
My conclusion ; I don't think it matters what you wear as much as how quiet and still you sit .
I usually wear camo bottoms of a fleece material that is also quiet. One is a cheap fleece bottom found in any department store that is lightweight and can be worn alone when warm or layered in colder weather. Top is a plaid flannel or wool shirt or a plaid wool jacket depending on the weather.
Last year I started using plaid shirts from 2ND hand stores with the sleeves cut off over a different pattern of shirt or wool jacket to provide further contrast and breakup effect. I also added an Asbell Pathfinder in grey as a top layer for snow conditions.
Plaid is a camo.
Try convincing Realtree or Mossy Oak of that!
Once in awhile older camo pants/jeans. Always seasonal plaid tops.
Deno
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. My rain gear is camo, and I often use the top as a light jacket in the fall. My most common regular camo is the old style military woodland camo, including camo field jacket. I have both Asbell and La Clair wool, but I usually need less heavy clothes.
I have never hit the big game "woods" in 46 years without camo. Essential...no, but it is my bow hunting "uniform".
I like the highest tech stuff out there for the fit, feel, and design details that help me with carrying stuff.
I donated about 20 years worth of accumulated and well cared for duds to Goodwill about 4 years ago when i switched out all the various items I've gathered for Sitka and KUIU. I know it is expensive but highly durable and comfortable. My work clothes would not be stout enough for hunting.
I wear whatever I want with an ASAT mesh suit over the top. It's the best option I've found for me so far.
Depends on the temps. My Filsen double mac is a sort of camo and my Brunner wool is camo. A brown plaid wool shirt and my brown pattern wool sweaters from Norway are as much a camo pattern as any camo print.
I have accumulated a bunch of camo over the years. The old Winona Camo fleece lined vest is one of my favorites. Nice and warm.
I do own a set of Sitka. I particularly like the pants because they shed water when walking through dew covered grass, and rain.
Having said that I have a plaid shirt I found in a thrift store that I wear in warmer weather w/ cargo pants from a LL Bean (sales rack) that I really like. My favorite top piece when it gets really cold is Asbel wool plaid. It's big enough to cover extra insulation.
The one piece of clothing I miss is a pair of Codet green wool pants. Mine wore out after years of use and numerous encounters with barbed wire fences. I will find another eventually.
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Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. I see no difference. The only thing I never wear anymore is blue. Deer see blue very well. Learned that the hard way
I only wear camo in early season when it is brutally hot and humid still here in Southeast....as not found any light weight plaids that let me keep cool. First cool days in 60s or lower and I am in cotton plaids...and when in 50s or lower I move into lightweight wool and then heavier wool as needed. Yes I know...us southern guys cant handle cold.
I dont change clothing for different animals...what I wear for deer I wear for everything.
This bear was shot at 12 yards...stand was barely over 6 feet up from ground. :)
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I think it's more of a modern thing with my generation. Hunting has become a fashion show with camo. It's one f the reasons I went all traditional 10 years ago. To many guys think camo and high tech gear makes them a better hunter. I think you just have to sit and be quiet. That's all
My beard is pretty much white, I have had complaints about it. I wonder if I should dye it in an ASAT pattern or would a brown green military pattern be good enough. I can tolerate a face net in the spring for turkeys, but not in the fall.
I started wearing camo in 1969.
This guy doesn't go to a fashion show when hunting. I don't think it makes me a better hunter, time, experience, and education are the "shortcuts" to that. I'd hunt in the blue leisure suit I was married in (1978) if I wanted to and not feel too much at a disadvantage (except for the laughter from Bjays).
Neither do I feel the need to fit another's definition of traditional. That's why I avoid the word "traditional" like the plaque it has become when referring to the recurves I choose to use.
I've never met anyone, including my self who could sit unmoving for 2-3 hours. Camo helps "confuse" the animal's view of the hunter. I'm sure plaid works the same.
Like almost everybody I bought into the camo thing years ago. I believe it works ! but... I have had too many close encounters wearing plaids to discount them. I own too much camo to just not use it, but I own more and more plaids and similar stuff too and I don't feel the need for full camo as I once did. Do wish my beard wasn't white so I could dispense with a face color or cover. During elk trips I have been known to just dye my beard a dark color for the trip.
My only fear with the white beard is that during the early muzzleloader season, I have had muzzleloaders point their guns at me because they saw something white. I saw one doing it with my binoculars. That is who complained about my white beard. He said he brought his gun up with the safety off. He got a response from me that he was not expecting, I get really angry when people point guns at me.
I wear plaid shirts all the time as casual wear. I dump them for camo, which as Bowwild states are my woods uniform for almost 50 years. I've done it in plaid, camo and solids...they all will work. Go with a preference and believe what you will.
These days I actually WANT the fabrics used by many high-end camo makers. I've tried, bought, owned and worn many of the camo items from Sitka and KUIU...their patterns in their unique fabrics. I've come to prefer them over the solids and plaids (fabrics) I have worn at times. This is especially so on demanding hunts in far-flung places under extremes of weather. I see no down side to the camo patterns, and plenty of upside in the fabrics....for me.
The advantage of solid green wool pants is that they tend to match the growth on some days. A deer looks my way and says, "oo is that a hunter? No, just a nice pile of harmless cockle burs."
I usually hunt without camo but at the first of season may wear a camo short sleeve shirt. I don't have anything against camo, just like wool and cotton plaids better.
Normally camo pants and a plaid shirt.
50-50 for me. Wool plaid or grey works as well in my hardwoods. Sometimes a mix. Late season single color grey and darker single color shades.
I wear both. I am moving towards the more modern camo's like first lite and sitka as I find them more packable and lighter in weight for the same protection. As I get older that is important.
Sometimes but I try NOT to. My hunting areas are often along trails that hikers use & I'll often camp near other hikers. Whether I agree with some of them or not, the fact is simply that this is CA and I'm going to make a lot of folks uncomfortable by being out hunting at all. Carrying a traditional bow is a lot more friendly looking than carrying a rifle. Wearing plaids & solid, natural colors is more friendly than wearing camo. It's not a hard and fast rule but more my rule of thumb. Brown cargos & a green plaid shirt from REI invites conversation but camo tends to repel others out here.
Sounds petty but 2/3 times, if a couple walks by, it's the wife or girlfriend who asks me if I've seen much or otherwise invites conversation. That never happened in camo or with a rifle. Rangers, cowboys, hikers, trail runners are all good folk who share the woods with me. Besides, if I've gone all day without seeing any deer (pretty common), taking a few minutes to chat with a fit, pretty looking gal is a good pick-me-up for the day.
If I grew a beard it would be white. Yes pavan, the trouble with a white beard is it looks like a deer's azz......or throat patch.
Just Asbell wool( See Avatar ) and sometimes a First Lite ASAT wool vest over the Asbell pullover. Grey wool pants or those Columbia wool bibs that have a dark green camo pattern to them. That's just for COLD weather hunting though.
Sam are you hunting by a college campus? I have never once had a pretty girl stop and chat while was out hunting. I did find a pair of pink panties in the woods with some other naughty items, that may have belonged to a pretty girl, but these days you just never know for sure.
QuoteOriginally posted by YosemiteSam:
Sometimes but I try NOT to. My hunting areas are often along trails that hikers use & I'll often camp near other hikers. Whether I agree with some of them or not, the fact is simply that this is CA and I'm going to make a lot of folks uncomfortable by being out hunting at all. Carrying a traditional bow is a lot more friendly looking than carrying a rifle. Wearing plaids & solid, natural colors is more friendly than wearing camo. It's not a hard and fast rule but more my rule of thumb. Brown cargos & a green plaid shirt from REI invites conversation but camo tends to repel others out here.
Sounds petty but 2/3 times, if a couple walks by, it's the wife or girlfriend who asks me if I've seen much or otherwise invites conversation. That never happened in camo or with a rifle. Rangers, cowboys, hikers, trail runners are all good folk who share the woods with me. Besides, if I've gone all day without seeing any deer (pretty common), taking a few minutes to chat with a fit, pretty looking gal is a good pick-me-up for the day.
I don't understand. Those folks you talk about who are uncomfortable with hunting are often more than just uncomfortable.
They put time, energy and money into trying to end your hunting, and for that matter, redefine your whole world. Lots of them don't even want you to eat meat. They are NOT worried about your comfort.
Brown or green cargo pants and plaid shirts. When the temps drop a little, I wear a brown fleece light jacket over the top. I actually had the brown fleece on when I shot this one, but took it off to trail her.
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I like camo but I don't think it is better than a good plaid.
What camo has is that it is designed for hunters so it has good features like extra pockets. One thing I look for in hunting clothes is that they don't have to be light reflective like most synthetic fabrics are being wool the very best.
QuoteOriginally posted by mgf:
I don't understand. Those folks you talk about who are uncomfortable with hunting are often more than just uncomfortable.
They put time, energy and money into trying to end your hunting, and for that matter, redefine your whole world. Lots of them don't even want you to eat meat. They are NOT worried about your comfort.
Exactly, I hunt in Georgia and Ohio. Both states allow you to carry a handgun (with proper licensing) while bow hunting. That would be the only reason you would need to carry while bow hunting. Neither state has Grizzly bears, wolves, mountain lions or other dangerous "wild" animals requiring firearm protection.
I wear plaids, solids and camo, almost all of it in wool. Don't really have a problem with quality, fading, etc. I buy good stuff to begin with and it serves me well. Some of my wool is more than 25 years old and still looks almost as good as the day I bought it.
Like Kevin D, I have begun to experiment a bit with some of the newer camo synthetics, mostly for their wind blocking, reduced weight and rain blocking properties. So far, I'm impressed with the quality and the camo.
No camo for me,plaid shirts with grey brown or green cargo pants
Terry
Love Predator camo.
But anymore, plaids or earth tone outfits.
Last buck I shot, wearing earthy flannel shirt,
and tan carpenter pants. Straight from work to the field.
5 deer walked by, I was standing in the end rows of corn. Last in line was a small 8, 23 step shot. Game over!
We live in a monkey see monkey do world, saggy pants, tattoos, scruffy faces so one can look like an actor in a Viagra ad and of course camo for hunters.
I don't have any of the above mentioned traits but was a camo devotee for a lot of years and felt naked in the woods without it.
One day I had the thought; if we have conditioned deer to look up for hunters in a treestand we have probably conditioned them to pick out guys in camo the same as they are conditioned to pick out any number of natural predators.
I know, crazy thought but I sure did get picked out a lot in my camo. I quit wearing the stuff and got picked out a lot less.
Perhaps I appear as just another farmer or hiker in my street clothes instead of a predator in my camo.
Anyway, I don't wear the camo stuff anymore. I do carry a camo Cat Quiver to my stand that I traded for years ago and really like. I don't think there were any non camo ones made but I could be wrong.
My normal attire for an afternoon bow of bow hunting, I am headed to my ground blind in a white oak patch;
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Just wear dull earth tones, Wool seems to do well absorbing light Instead of reflecting it. I've had deer look right at me while wearing wool plaid and never think anything of it. They went right back to eating.
I have old camo around that I wear at times, but just if it happens to be what's clean and not smelly...
I genuinely prefer wool plaid coats and not just because it's trad. .
And Fred Bear's advice does hold true. There's no substitute for sitting still and being quiet.
Eric.... I believe your thought there. Prey animals, heck, all animals and all living things tend to change to better fit their habitat. Changes to the habitat mean new needs. The ones that do it best, with a dash of luck thrown in, tend to pass on their genes the best. Pretty soon, the herd has changed to reflect that trait.
I see deer... all the time, come into the marsh woodlots that I hunt and first thing that they do is look around UP IN THE TREES.
Camo just might be something that they now are looking for as well. It certainly can mean the difference between looking like a predator and looking like a non worry.
Mostly a pair of hunter green BDU pants and dull green/brown plaid jacket most of the time. Blends well enough with the surroundings.
I have a set of the new pattern USMC utilities I wore. Two reasons I got them. Bug juice in fabric and no UV. But these will have to last. They won't sell them in PX unless you are active duty. But when it gets cold on put on my plaid shirts. In other words "mix and match".
Last year I golfed in the morning with a pair of black marmot scree pants and north face polar fleece top. It was such a nice day I decided to hit the stand on the way home. I seen several deer and killed a nice doe that evening that was ten yards away. I was intrigued so I wore black for the next few weeks. No busts what so ever.
If wearing/buying camo, I'd rather have the old brown WWII camo. Its still the best "camo" pattern going, IMO. However, its almost impossible to find nowadays. That leave plaids for now!