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Q:
This will be my first year bow hunting whitetails, actually hunting period and i was wandering if camo is really necessary. I've heard from some that it is not needed, (seeing as how during gun season your in mostly blaze orange) just as long as your "sent free" and I've also heard from others that they wouldn't be caught dead in the woods without it so maybe yall can shed some light on this topic for me. Thanks
Question by KProbst. Uploaded on September 26, 2011
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Answers (13)
I was always told that the reason people wear camo deer huning is to break up your human outline in the woods.
Wear natural colors and cover all of your skin. Facemask, hat, gloves. Deer pick up movement not camo patterns. If you are hunting in the shade, which you should be, the shadows will act as a camo pattern. Hunted tonight from a brier bush on the ground wearing an old flannel shirt and had a doe 5 steps away. Last night had 7 doe from 4-20 yards and none picked me out tucked in the bushes.
But, if camo gives you confidence then go for it.
You don't need the latest camo pattern to be successful, but some kind of camo sure helps when the deer is less than 20 yards away.
It helps break up your outline and human form - a big blob of one color stands out in the woods because a big blob of one color doesn't exist naturally.
No matter what you wear, moving will bust you. On the other hand, there have been times where I have been busted standing still. For example, one time I was just on a walk, spotted some does at close range (very thick, brushy area) before they spotted me, and froze. After they stared at me for a while, they figured out what I was. I am confident that if I was wearing camo I would have gotten away with it like I usually do.
i use it to break up outline, they our clorblind but they still see blotches i belive s what i been told, i bought a 2 layer jacket and bibs last year for around 160 work great, pattern is mossy oak break up infinity
I suggest reading "Whitetail Strategies" by Dr. Robert Sheppard who has taken several hundreds of deer with a bow. He writes that camo is not that important.
Again I stick with what works- I personally wouldn't get in a tree without it but I guess as long as you break up your outline in some way you should be fine- clothes like flannel shirts with different patterns would probably suffice!
Most bowhunters use some sort of camo to break up their outline. Personally, I prefer to use a ground blind instead. These can be purchased or improvised using bushes and piled up branches.
wouldnt be caught dead with a bow in my hands not wearing camo....trust me it makes a difference.
I trap deer for research purposes, and have captured well over 500 deer. I have been within 20 yards of deer with the most obscure clothing on...camo isn't as important as playing the wind. That nose is like a 2nd set of eyes, and they trust their noses more than their eyesight...if they get just 1 whiff of you, they don't even need to see you to know "it's time to scram!" Try to avoid blue...according to research, deer do see blue pretty well. Good luck!
never used it and done just fine.
These deer down here walk around looking up in the trees, and they ain't lookin' for acorns. Camo is a must on these deer, as is good back cover on the tree you climb. The sun at you back helps too, if the wind allows it.
Camo never hurts in my opinion. Last year I had 5 does within 5 yards of me. I had my realtree on at the time. Later in the season I had a pair of wranglers, a cabelas wooltimate jacket and a blaze orange vest on and shot a buck from 3 yards away. He saw me but wasnt quite sure what I was so he kept walking closer and closer. That brings me to the scent control. Do I think the scent control products work? Maybe. I do use them on occasion but I usually just hunt the wind. Hope that helps you out.
Because of the close proximity of bow hunting, camo is necessary to break up your outline. Studies have shown that deer see blaze orange as very light gray and that they can see into the ultra-violet light frequency too, so the UV brightners in laundry detergent probably don't help. Scent control and movement always seem to be bigger factors anyway.
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Wear natural colors and cover all of your skin. Facemask, hat, gloves. Deer pick up movement not camo patterns. If you are hunting in the shade, which you should be, the shadows will act as a camo pattern. Hunted tonight from a brier bush on the ground wearing an old flannel shirt and had a doe 5 steps away. Last night had 7 doe from 4-20 yards and none picked me out tucked in the bushes.
But, if camo gives you confidence then go for it.
I trap deer for research purposes, and have captured well over 500 deer. I have been within 20 yards of deer with the most obscure clothing on...camo isn't as important as playing the wind. That nose is like a 2nd set of eyes, and they trust their noses more than their eyesight...if they get just 1 whiff of you, they don't even need to see you to know "it's time to scram!" Try to avoid blue...according to research, deer do see blue pretty well. Good luck!
I was always told that the reason people wear camo deer huning is to break up your human outline in the woods.
You don't need the latest camo pattern to be successful, but some kind of camo sure helps when the deer is less than 20 yards away.
It helps break up your outline and human form - a big blob of one color stands out in the woods because a big blob of one color doesn't exist naturally.
No matter what you wear, moving will bust you. On the other hand, there have been times where I have been busted standing still. For example, one time I was just on a walk, spotted some does at close range (very thick, brushy area) before they spotted me, and froze. After they stared at me for a while, they figured out what I was. I am confident that if I was wearing camo I would have gotten away with it like I usually do.
i use it to break up outline, they our clorblind but they still see blotches i belive s what i been told, i bought a 2 layer jacket and bibs last year for around 160 work great, pattern is mossy oak break up infinity
wouldnt be caught dead with a bow in my hands not wearing camo....trust me it makes a difference.
I suggest reading "Whitetail Strategies" by Dr. Robert Sheppard who has taken several hundreds of deer with a bow. He writes that camo is not that important.
Again I stick with what works- I personally wouldn't get in a tree without it but I guess as long as you break up your outline in some way you should be fine- clothes like flannel shirts with different patterns would probably suffice!
Most bowhunters use some sort of camo to break up their outline. Personally, I prefer to use a ground blind instead. These can be purchased or improvised using bushes and piled up branches.
never used it and done just fine.
These deer down here walk around looking up in the trees, and they ain't lookin' for acorns. Camo is a must on these deer, as is good back cover on the tree you climb. The sun at you back helps too, if the wind allows it.
Camo never hurts in my opinion. Last year I had 5 does within 5 yards of me. I had my realtree on at the time. Later in the season I had a pair of wranglers, a cabelas wooltimate jacket and a blaze orange vest on and shot a buck from 3 yards away. He saw me but wasnt quite sure what I was so he kept walking closer and closer. That brings me to the scent control. Do I think the scent control products work? Maybe. I do use them on occasion but I usually just hunt the wind. Hope that helps you out.
Because of the close proximity of bow hunting, camo is necessary to break up your outline. Studies have shown that deer see blaze orange as very light gray and that they can see into the ultra-violet light frequency too, so the UV brightners in laundry detergent probably don't help. Scent control and movement always seem to be bigger factors anyway.
Post an Answer