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Camo is not unnecessary

I hunt near people as my most common hunting. I wear camo simply to not be noticed by them. I get spotted by deer all the time. Sometimes they even run away after they spot me. Probably 50/50 they will still come within 30 yards and give me a shot even after spotting me, though. I don't think the camo has any impact to them at all, personally.
 
Any camo, cheap or expensive, will elicit the marginal advantage offered by camo against whitetails. So, if I have camo, any camo, I’m not going to drop money on “new camo”. If I need warmer clothes and those clothes come with the latest in the camo craze that’s fine, but I’m not paying extra to get it.
 
Most camo patterns are designed to catch hunters, rather than hide from deer. That said I almost exclusively hunt in cheap camo. I try not to stink it up, I launder it in the fancy scent-killing-UV-deadening-whiz-bang detergent, and I don't care if it gets muddy or bloody or ruined. And I try to sit still.
 
BTaylor said:
Another point I dont remember being mentioned is down here in the south, camo is a color.
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Makes me think of a line from a Bottleneck song called redneck life, he starts it off saying “this redneck life is for me, and my favorite color is real tree, I like to drink a couple beers and shoot a couple deers at night” :sweatsmile:
 
frankp said:
I hunt near people as my most common hunting. I wear camo simply to not be noticed by them. I get spotted by deer all the time. Sometimes they even run away after they spot me. Probably 50/50 they will still come within 30 yards and give me a shot even after spotting me, though. I don't think the camo has any impact to them at all, personally.
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I agree with everything but the very last sentence. I do think it impacts them, but not maybe in an immediately appreciable manner. I think anything you do in the woods impacts the deer, and your clothing is absolutely part of that. Do I think one type of camo versus another versus solid drabs will change their lives to the point they become either incredibly unhuntable or incredibly killable? Nah. That’s up to the swinging monkey in the tree diaper.
 
DelaWhere_Arrow said:
I agree with everything but the very last sentence. I do think it impacts them, but not maybe in an immediately appreciable manner. I think anything you do in the woods impacts the deer, and your clothing is absolutely part of that. Do I think one type of camo versus another versus solid drabs will change their lives to the point they become either incredibly unhuntable or incredibly killable? Nah. That’s up to the swinging monkey in the tree diaper.
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Ironically for this site though, I think that if every hunter in the woods used a saddle and hung from a tree the technique would quickly lose its effectiveness. Deer seem to be constantly assessing potential threats and the name of our game is to be unpredictable and stealthy. Which, if things continue as they are will mean we go through a phase of dressing and acting like joggers, hikers, dog walkers and farmers as the new wave of camo.
 
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Jammintree said:
Ironically for this site though, I think that if every hunter in the woods used a saddle and hung from a tree the technique would quickly loose its effectiveness. Deer seem to be constantly assessing potential threats and the name of our game is to be unpredictable and stealthy. Which, if things continue as they are will mean we go through a phase of dressing and acting like joggers, hikers, dog walkers and farmers as the new wave of camo.
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i read on another forum (maybe it was this one)about a guy eating vegetarian before bear hunting swearing the bear were less spooked cause he didnt smell like a meat eater. Thought it was hilarious. But then again, i may start wearing my patagonia in the woods with teva sandals and wool socks while eating a soy protien bar. Maybe the deer will think im just that crazy vegan antihunter hiking to disrupt the hunters day…
 
gcr0003 said:
Oh you’re missing out then. Everyone gets to throwing the newest hottest bait and then fish get use to seeing it! Or so I’m told lol
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I have no doubt fish have pretty solid vision since they have camouflage and breeding colors. No need to evolve those things if ya can't see down there.

I have no problem with entertaining the idea that fish learn. Nothing like human consciousness, but they have a nervous system and a brain and many of them are social creatures. It'd be weirder if they didn't learn to some degree than if they did.

But...how many times does one fish have to see a lure, hit it, and have the hook set to catch onto a ruse? How many fishermen have to throw that lure, and for how long? Why did the bass and bluegill in the residential pond at my first apartment hit a white Berkeley powerbait jig almost every day of the summer for 3 years without catching on? And why haven't fish by now learned that earthworms floating in the water almost certainly have a hook attached to them?
 
Jammintree said:
Ironically for this site though, I think that if every hunter in the woods used a saddle and hung from a tree the technique would quickly loose its effectiveness. Deer seem to be constantly assessing potential threats and the name of our game is to be unpredictable and stealthy. Which, if things continue as they are will mean we go through a phase of dressing and acting like joggers, hikers, dog walkers and farmers as the new wave of camo.
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You might be onto something
 
Fl Canopy Stalker said:
You might be onto something
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The deer in my area clearly recognize different kinds of people. In my yard I can get within 20 yards of a deer before they spook, so long as I don’t stare and walk strait to them. Same deer - if I leave my yard and enter the field or woods I can’t get 200 yards using the same approach without spooking them. I agree with @Nutterbuster they definitely have a capacity to learn fairly rapidly, which doesnt have to mean “intelligence” in the form we recognize. Which in part may be related to their rapid regeneration. They do have a new generation Every year. And we force learning with the pressure we apply. Some of the behaviors they have to learn will stick with them for a long time, even after they cease being requirements for survival - such as scanning the canopy for threats. We have to constantly change tactics if we plan to be successful - and even more so in places with higher pressure / lower deer density.
 
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