New hunter...decided not to buy camo patterns.

[_Scooter_]

New to hunting and hoping to eventually get out and hunt deer and wild pigs in Northern CA. Needed to update/replace a lot of my old hiking and camping clothing anyway (some of it literally is 15+ years old from when I used to work for The North Face) and is bright colors. I also have some older Marmot flake-lined softshell pants I used to ice climb in that would be great winter pants.

Recently picked up some Eddie Bauer Guide pants in khaki, a North Face softshell jacket in light grey and a pack in a loden/ranger green. Have some OR Crocodile gaiters in black that aI've had for years and a dark grey Mountain hardware down jacket that's super packable that I've had for like 7-8 years that's still going strong.

If I was turkey hunting I could see the benefit of wearing camo, but my understanding is deer and pig dont have great eyesight and and dont see many of the colors we humans see, and as long as I avoid blues and bright green I should be ok, and technique and being able to not silhouette yourself and unstained wind patterns and the ability to remain quiet and still is more important than camo. Plus, as a new hunter I really dont want to look like the stereotypical sponsored hunter on the TV shows and sort of would feel like poser all decked out head to toe in camo. Added bonus is these clothes can do double duty for hiking and backpacking trips and I dont have to look like I'm going out hunting.

Anyone else out there not a fan of wearing camoflague while hunting?

 

[fngTony]

I have a ball cap and fleece gloves in camo, everything else is earth tone or black. My pack suspension is camo and the bag is two tone green and grey. I try to wear a shirt that contrasts my pants ( med grey shirt with light tan pants). Honestly a really light colored shirt won’t look too bright once your pack straps and binoculars are draped over it.

 

[22lr]

I am moving away from camo myself. I don't have room to have a lot of duplicates in my gear, and I don't like wearing camo in public all that much. If you mix the color of your top, bottom and hat with greens or grays, you are more or less going to get a lot of the same affect. Sometimes camo is important, but sometimes it just isn't.

Understand the animals you are after and I'll bet that just neutral colors will be just as effective for you. That said, I totally get the appeal of camo and some patterns out there will make you all but invisible to the eye, it's just not what I'm after. Simply breaking up your outline will go a long ways towards camouflaging yourself. But take a lesson from the crazy people that bow hunt for sheep in those white suits, sometimes it's better to be highly visible and just trick the animal into thinking your something else. There is no magic bullet for camo, understanding the strength and weakness of your quarry will help more than any amount of camouflage.

 

[MaraviaDave]

From my perspective, solids in medium earth tones do a better job of helping you to blend in, at ranges beyond 50 yards. Popular camo patterns have too much contrast. The dark colors are way too dark and the light colors are way too light. Kuiu’s Vias is a good example of this.....it kinda ends up making a person look like an outta place zebra.
This picture was taken while sheep hunting, wearing Kuiu Attack pants along with an Arcteryx jacket.

 

[alexanderg23]

No. I started wearing camo at 4 y/o. Camo is always cooler, and better. There’s many times wearing camo made a difference not only in the woods. I like camo and NaturalGear is the best pattern, too bad high level clothing is t printed in it.

 

[Rob5589]

You'll never kill anything unless you match head to toe, as well as all of your gear, in the same camo pattern

The one true benefit to camo I have personally experienced is duck hunting. Those suckers can pick out your damn trigger finger if outside your glove!

Other than that, mostly feel good for the hunter.

 

[JeffRaines]

I have a set for archery deer(and soon elk), turkey and predator calling. Do I think it makes or breaks the hunt? For turkey, yes. For the others, I’ll take any advantage I can get, but wearing solids probably wouldn’t “break” the hunt.

People greatly overestimate camo. While I agree it can give you a slight advantage, it still doesn’t cover up stupidity(moving when you shouldnt, not playing the wind, being too loud).

Bear hunting in the mountains or rifle anything gets the solids.

Just thought of something, anytime I’ve been spotted by a deer wearing Open Country they booked it quick without even giving me a second thought. I haven’t tried Subalpine yet, but Fusion definitely bought the most time. I have a theory that animals “learn” the patterns. Anyone have any similar stories to share?

 

[Moose2367]

Shot a fallow spiker a couple months ago, wearing brown top and pants(eddie bauer guides), sitting in front of a tree with zero cover, shot him at 4 metres (12ft)
Have got some camo, but hardly wear it, can't see myself buying any in the future either.

 

[Felix40]

You'll never kill anything unless you match head to toe, as well as all of your gear, in the same camo pattern

The one true benefit to camo I have personally experienced is duck hunting. Those suckers can pick out your damn trigger finger if outside your glove!

Other than that, mostly feel good for the hunter.

I used to think that too. Then we shot a 3 man limit on public with one guy wearing a yellow sweatshirt. It just doesnt matter that much.

 

[wesfromky]

One of the things I have noticed is that hunting specific brands, esp the higher end ones, take into account things like noise and shooting ergonomics. Not as big a deal with lighter layers, but when you are trying to bowhunt with a heavy jacket, those things make a difference to me. I would buy earth tones in those items if they were offered, but often aren't. If you are not bowhunting, they probably matter way less.

The other thing that I do is to use a Firstlite 3d shirt over my other layers along with the 3D mask. Not so much for the cammo pattern, but because it seems like it would help make your outline a bit fuzzy.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Hmmm.

I think for most ungulates in most rifle hunting situations it doesn’t matter as much. Turkeys or predators it probably does.

Going back to ungulates, I like to bow hunt from the ground and I have been at bad breath distance with some white tails - 5 yards - while wearing first lite and Sitka camo. Have had some deer look directly at me inside of 20 yards and not be able to make out what I was because of the visual disruption. Movement, sound and scent are primary but I still think camo helps, especially close in.

 

[BenHankins]

If you are just starting out western hunting I think going the solid route is not a bad idea because it’s a lot cheaper to get good quality stuff. I don’t like that a lot of the big named technical clothing companies are usually not hunter friendly. I like to support companies that are geared towards hunting to support the industry. Now if you are whitetail deer hunting with a bow I would definitely get some sort of camo and really whitetail hunting you can get buy with cheaper materials as long as it is warm. Sure you can kill a deer from a stand with a bow in solids but why not have an extra advantage if you can...


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[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Lots of clothing options. Sometimes I'm all in camo, sometimes I'm all in solids, and sometimes I'll do a mix.

Work the wind so the animal cannot smell you, minimize your movement so the animal cannot see you, and watch your noise so the animal cannot hear you.

At the end of the day, run with what gives you the most confidence and not the most arrogance.

 

[RCB]

I went the same route as you. Went with earth tones which are good in the outdoors, but can still wear around town without looking like a dork. I’m a rifle hunter so I’ll be covering myself with a bright orange vest anyway.

Going non-camo also gives you a lot more options. Lots of great outdoor apparel that does not market toward hunters. Scan the clothing forum and you’ll get the impression that only 3 clothing companies exist, but it’s just not so. Somehow folks managed to kill tons and tons of deer before Sitka existed.

 

[bjfoxhoven]

Solids work well, actually solids don’t show movement quite as much. Mountain lions are solid color and they get dang close to prey lol. Just cover your skin and eyes when real close, that makes a big difference. And try to break up the outline on your head, neck, and shoulders. I have asat Camo though now and have had deer not see me real close too; so I can say it does help. But I may have had the same result with a Tan colo. going forward I won’t have camp pants at all. If I was rifle hunting I would only have solids.

 

[coyotecreek]

Really it just comes down to what you want to spend your money on. Both camo and solids work and I wear both, but prefer camo. Hunting whitetails with a recurve I have to get close and camo makes me feel more confident, plus I just like how it looks. It’s my money, I’ll buy what makes me happy!

 

[MuleDeerMike]

I wouldn't worry about camo unless your're hunting turkeys, then I would definitely wear camo. Hunting in a ground blind it probably won't matter though.

 

[Rock-o]

I have three pieces of camo - one jacket, one pant, one pair of gloves - and doubt I'll buy any more. Everything else is solid.

 

[tracker12]

I hope not to ever. uy another piece of Camo. Love solids just wish c companies would sell more.

 

[JRMiller]

Deer and hog hunting in Nor Cal...that’s a good one