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Camo or earth tone clothes??

Autumnrider

Autumnrider

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2015
Messages
1,328
Location
Northeast Mississippi
Just wondering if anyone uses camo or earth tone colors for hunting?
I'm thinking about going more toward earth tones instead of over priced camo the next time I need to buy hunting clothes.
 
I've been thinking about this heavily; particularly since getting turned onto saddle hunting... When using a stand, you're basically a blob suspended off the side of a tree from one cleary, horizontal platform (or two platforms in the case of a climber). In a stand, camo is used to make you blend in with other foliage behind you. The goal is to break up your outline. When saddle hunting though, and specifically in the case of one who leans, I believe your goal should be to look like an appendage of the tree itself. No longer should you try to blend in with what's behind you. But instead, capitalize on the tree you're actually attached to. Because of the upward angle created where your feet meet the trunk of the tree, and the girth of your legs, you'd be better served by "becoming a branch". Wear grey boots, grey pants, and a leafy top! :)
 
Red Beard said:
I've been thinking about this heavily; particularly since getting turned onto saddle hunting... When using a stand, you're basically a blob suspended off the side of a tree from one cleary, horizontal platform (or two platforms in the case of a climber). In a stand, camo is used to make you blend in with other foliage behind you. The goal is to break up your outline. When saddle hunting though, and specifically in the case of one who leans, I believe your goal should be to look like an appendage of the tree itself. No longer should you try to blend in with what's behind you. But instead, capitalize on the tree you're actually attached to. Because of the upward angle created where your feet meet the trunk of the tree, and the girth of your legs, you'd be better served by "becoming a branch". Wear grey boots, grey pants, and a leafy top! :)
Click to expand...
I use arborist pants for hunting, for several reasons, they have more room in the crotch and knees. And some are available in with knee pad inserts. Also, GREY is my preferred color and extra oversized pockets add a huge benefit....
Check out Bartletts
May The Magic of The Whitetail Forever Enrich Your Life
 
The last 5 or 6 years what i mostly wear hunting is some od green pants and od green jacket. Still kill as many deer as when I wear camo. I wear my Turkey hunting camo in early bow season just because it was already made to breathe more and be comfy for the heat. Gets cooler I switch to the od green clothes. Jacket and pants I wear are carhartt
 
Red Beard said:
I've been thinking about this heavily; particularly since getting turned onto saddle hunting... When using a stand, you're basically a blob suspended off the side of a tree from one cleary, horizontal platform (or two platforms in the case of a climber). In a stand, camo is used to make you blend in with other foliage behind you. The goal is to break up your outline. When saddle hunting though, and specifically in the case of one who leans, I believe your goal should be to look like an appendage of the tree itself. No longer should you try to blend in with what's behind you. But instead, capitalize on the tree you're actually attached to. Because of the upward angle created where your feet meet the trunk of the tree, and the girth of your legs, you'd be better served by "becoming a branch". Wear grey boots, grey pants, and a leafy top! :)
Click to expand...
I agree with this
 
Red Beard said:
I've been thinking about this heavily; particularly since getting turned onto saddle hunting... When using a stand, you're basically a blob suspended off the side of a tree from one cleary, horizontal platform (or two platforms in the case of a climber). In a stand, camo is used to make you blend in with other foliage behind you. The goal is to break up your outline. When saddle hunting though, and specifically in the case of one who leans, I believe your goal should be to look like an appendage of the tree itself. No longer should you try to blend in with what's behind you. But instead, capitalize on the tree you're actually attached to. Because of the upward angle created where your feet meet the trunk of the tree, and the girth of your legs, you'd be better served by "becoming a branch". Wear grey boots, grey pants, and a leafy top! :)
Click to expand...

stick-insect-brown-camouflage.jpg
I agree with you. I've switched to natural gear more because of good deals, durability and comfort. It's amazing how well deer blend in with their surroundings and they don't wear the latest and greatest.
 
I've worn a mix of both since I started hunting 20 years ago and I say confidently that camo makes absolutely zero difference. Like scent control people will debate that until blue in the face, and it's a debate I could really care less to engage in because I have my answer already.

Price is a part of the equation but I just like buying stuff that serves double duty. I killed two deer last year wearing a gray jacket I wear to the office many days. I still buy camo stuff that is purely dedicated to hunting but less and less as the years pass.
 
I certainly dont think deer care about the individual leaves and sticks in your camo shirt but i like that the pattern breaks up your outline some. I also think for deer old school simple camo patterns do the job as well as the highdef modern ones. This is why so many of our dads & granddads killed deer in an red and black flannel.

The other rule i adhere too is avoiding blue. I read once that the spectrum of light deer see is more skewed towards blues and ultra violet than human vision to help with their dusk/dawn and night vision (and therefore why they dont see red or hunter orange as well as we do). The same article said to avoid UV brighteners ion your laundry detergent since they make colors "pop" to human vision but will make you glow to deer vision. Considering there isnt too much blue naturally occuring in the autumn deer woods, makes sense to avoid those colors.
 
I think not being a blob of one solid color is important depending on how much cover is between you and the deer. I have been looking for some early season camo or possibly not camo for this coming season. I think the importance of it depends a lot on how you hunt and the locations you hunt.
 
Took a pair of grey, flexible (read 65% spandex material), Walmart pants out of the bottom of my drawer last night. I haven't worn them in years because they're an inch and a half too short. Wife giggled at me as I laid the pants on the ground, put my foot on top, and dragged them across the yard. She stopped laughing when I hung them against the trunk of our big white oak. Then I think she zeroed my Present's Day line item for this year's latest and greatest camo. Took exactly 4 minutes to create a pair of tree-matched bottoms...
 
While I dont think all camo is created equal I do wholeheartedly agree that it is of less importance than many people believe it to be. I dont think the best camo in the world will make up for poor fieldcraft.

Honestly in relation the OP I think the performance of the clothing outweighs what pattern it's in. I like merino wool, I don't like cotton based on my experiences, so I will pay for that material in a quality garment (but typically only on sale ) As some one else said earlier some of my clothes perform double duty. So it needs to be functional first.

That being said if having the latest camo pattern will get you out in the woods and off the couch... have at it...just not in my neck of the woods.
 
You can wear the purdiest camo ever made. Even the stuff all the cool kids are wearing, but if you ain't sitting still you might as well be wearing neon blue. So, no camo isn't necessary to kill deer but it is great at catching hunters.
 
Unfortunately, the best thought out and manufactured gear is usually just as expensive as Sitka, Kuiu, or First Light.

We don’t get all that cold here in Texas, but one thing my gear HAS to do in-season is repel water WHILE breathing well enough I don’t sweat on the way in. Doing both is very hard. I haven’t found much better than Sitka’s downpour pants. They handle everything from that heavy dew morning to moderate rain while making sure I don’t sweat through my insulation layers on the way in.
It just so happens that my favorite gear comes in a decent camo pattern....

When I’m in scouting mode, I run beige Duluth Firehose pants, because they just laugh at briars and thorns while I’m off-trail. I have torn countless denim pants to shreds where the Duluth’s still look new. They don’t really have good colors for hunting though... and they eventually do soak through when there is a heavy dew in waist high grass. I typically wear an earth tone green shirt to go with the beige bottoms, and have no problems getting fairly close to deer on the ground... so I doubt the camo pattern is all that necessary.


................................................................................All climbing methods, platforms, saddle designs, and/or use of materials possibly mentioned in the post above are not peer reviewed for safety, and should only be used as an example of my own method. Do your own research and testing before becoming confident in any DIY solution to support your life.
-IkemanTx
 
Hear say::: Studies show while in camo clothing, movement is more noticeable than while wearing solid earth tone clothes.....how true, I don't know
 
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