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Face paint?

Yeah it's weird how deer can pick out the whites of your eyes. I do facepaint too but I'll also just run a mesh head net sometimes when I'm not in the mood to feel like a commando.
 
DeerNuts said:
this^

My Grandpa taught me this also. I will hunt without a mask or face paint but I always like to wear a hat. You can keep your eyes covered with the rim of the hat and squint while keeping track of where the deer are.

Have you ever had an owl land in a tree next to you unknowingly? The first thing you notice are the eyes and not the coloring around them and they have perfect camouflage.
Click to expand...
That’s some darn good woodsmanship, I never thought about that.
 
I don't wear face paint, I have loose fitting face mask I can drop to my chin with a slight head bob if I need to shoot. I have found that the worst thing I can do if my form is spotted in the tree is make direct eye contact with a deer. There is some sort of connection that occurs with direct eye contact. They seem to immediately know I'm a living creature in a tree and therefore a direct threat.

However, I have found that if my form is spotted in the tree and I immediately direct my gaze away from the deer's face, i.e. stare at it's hindquarter, they most often will eventually dismiss me as just an inanimate object in a tree. By looking at the hindquarter I can still keep track of the direction they are looking without making direct eye contact so I still am able to know when I'm ok to slowly move and when I need to be absolutely still.
 
The majority of this thread is ignoring the science of how ungulate eyes function. What is perceived by hunters and passed down in myths is simply not true, and they are not reacting to your face or eyes, but you may have something else going one like UV glow, poor background cover, or simply you moved something enough to gain their attention. Dr. Sheppard addresses this in his book and I intentionally stared down deer last fall after reading his observations and not a single deer acted any different being stared down versus not.
 
It was 41 years ago. A company came out with a camo face paint kit and I just had to have it because EVERYBODY KNOWS that unless you are camo head to toe a deer can see you a mile away. LOL

I spent a good amount of time opening morning of bow season painting my face up just right. It was a Saturday. I saw NOTHING that day. Spent at least an hour trying to get that stuff off my face that night and IT WOULD NOT ALL COME OFF.

I went to church Sunday with a camo haze on my face. It took almost a week for that stuff to finally disappear. Never used it again.

I started using a head net, mainly because of the gnats and mosquitoes, but it does hide the shine of the face and the movement of the eyes. But I did find that I really needed to pay attention to keep the net tight against my face and not let my bow string grab it. I was using a peep sight on the string at that time. When I went to using a kisser button combined with the same anchor point every time to allow seeing the sights better in low light I had to ditch the head net.
 
Bwhana said:
The majority of this thread is ignoring the science of how ungulate eyes function. What is perceived by hunters and passed down in myths is simply not true, and they are not reacting to your face or eyes, but you may have something else going one like UV glow, poor background cover, or simply you moved something enough to gain their attention. Dr. Sheppard addresses this in his book and I intentionally stared down deer last fall after reading his observations and not a single deer acted any different being stared down versus not.
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So ungulates can't see faces?
 
Bwhana said:
The majority of this thread is ignoring the science of how ungulate eyes function. What is perceived by hunters and passed down in myths is simply not true, and they are not reacting to your face or eyes, but you may have something else going one like UV glow, poor background cover, or simply you moved something enough to gain their attention. Dr. Sheppard addresses this in his book and I intentionally stared down deer last fall after reading his observations and not a single deer acted any different being stared down versus not.
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Beat me to it. The idea of a deer seeing the whites of your eyes at bowhunting distance seems kinda silly to me based on what we know about deer biology.

Humans are one of the only animals in the world to have eye whites noticeable from a distance. Biologists and anthropologists speculate it's because we communicate nuanced information through our gaze and slight facial expressions. Deer and deer predators (besides humans) do not have eye whites. They've got eyes on the side of their heads and vertical pupils. They're not geared towards high def, binocular vision. A bird of prey definitely is, but I've been swooped by them before and I think they saw the redneck as a whole before they said "hmmm, eyeballs."
As far as face paint, those of you who've met me know I'm "mayonnaise is spicy" white. I cover my face with a mask when ground hunting, and wear paint for duck hunting. If I'm in a tree, I don't cover my face until it's cold.
 
www.themeateater.com

Are Deer Color Blind? | How Deer See Color, Light, & Movement

Whitetails can distinguish blue from red, but not green from red or orange from red. Research also suggests deer distinguish light grays and tans better than dark reds, browns and greens.
www.themeateater.com www.themeateater.com

Just one of hundreds of articles on this topic, but they do not see things the way we do in colors or accuity, so to say they see your eyes is simply a stretch at best. Yes, they can see a face, but that alone is not enough to draw their attention unless you are moving too much or something else is going on.

If you choose to put on face paint or wear masks, then feel free, I'm just pointing out that science does not back most of what has been said in this thread and others like it.
 
Bwhana said:
www.themeateater.com

Are Deer Color Blind? | How Deer See Color, Light, & Movement

Whitetails can distinguish blue from red, but not green from red or orange from red. Research also suggests deer distinguish light grays and tans better than dark reds, browns and greens.
www.themeateater.com www.themeateater.com

Just one of hundreds of articles on this topic, but they do not see things the way we do in colors or accuity, so to say they see your eyes is simply a stretch at best. Yes, they can see a face, but that alone is not enough to draw their attention unless you are moving too much or something else is going on.

If you choose to put on face paint or wear masks, then feel free, I'm just pointing out that science does not back most of what has been said in this thread and others like it.
Click to expand...

I read the stuff from Dr. Karl Miller who is in charge of the UGA Warnell School program.

One key takeaway for me is the horizontal orientation of the deer pupil meant to maximize light on the horizon providing an advantage in stealth to elevated hunters.

Sure deer have lower acuity, but I'd at least want a face mask of some sort when at ground level. IMO, if you can minimize the total of all things giving you away its a good thing. Once a deer is on alert, it starts narrowing its focus.

I've never used face paint though.
 
Plebe said:
Once a deer is on alert, it starts narrowing its focus.
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There's the crux of it. I like hunting deer that are generally less alert, in areas where they don't suspect they have to be alert, and I like to shoot them before they're alert.

Good deception works better the less the deceived slows down to think about it. Once they slow down and start paying attention, the odds instantly tilt in their favor.
 
I wear it whenever I hunt but especially after leaf off. I HATE masks and honestly, the only time out of the year I chew is while I’m hunting or fishing. So I don’t/won’t wear a mask. I don’t think you have to have it. But I figure if it helps in anyway I’m gonna do it....as I spit wintergreen on the ground.
 
In addition to the many things already mentioned above, I think where you hunt is also important. If you are hunting pressured deer they would probably be more likely to shy from a shiny face. On the ground, my opinion is that you definitely need something on your face at bow ranges. Face coverings usually involve covering your ears and that’s a no go for me. I’m old and can hardly hear to begin with so I don’t want anything over my ears. Secondly, I don’t want to look through any type of netting, but the masks with the eye holes to shift at just the wrong time when you turn your head, hampering your vision. I tried multiple face coverings and none of them worked well for me.

The only thing left is face paint. I used face paint for the first time last year and it was great being unhindered, while knowing that I was covered. If you are 20+ feet up you probably wouldn’t need it “most of the time”. But I’m not going to risk getting busted by the biggest deer I have ever had in range because I thought the deer wouldn’t see me or notice. It’s amazing how deer can still bust you in a tree at 20 feet. I used the Hunters Specialties cream. It’ cheap, effective and only requires a small amount. A three tube pack will last you all season for less than $10. It comes off easy enough and I take a shower every day so it’s no biggie;). Everyone has to decide what works best for them.

 
Nutterbuster said:
There's the crux of it. I like hunting deer that are generally less alert, in areas where they don't suspect they have to be alert, and I like to shoot them before they're alert.

Good deception works better the less the deceived slows down to think about it. Once they slow down and start paying attention, the odds instantly tilt in their favor.
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Agreed. According to the article “How important is blue-spectrum light to deer?” as cited by @Bwhana above, “The greatest amount of light reflected by the underside of a deer’s tail is in that spectrum [blue light]. When deer flee threats with their white tail flagging, they’re waving powerful visual cues to other deer.” While your face is not as white as the underside of deer’s tail, one could easily draw the conclusion that it would likely emit a significant amount of blue light, which is the color of light the deer sees best according to all of the studies. So, if you draw the deer’s attention, your face could be glowing like a blue neon light. Can’t prove it or disprove it, but it’s enough to make me want to cover my face.
 
This is a problem I gotta solve soon. Switching to a nose button means the head net I wore previously now interferes with aiming/feeling/net catching on the spiky button.

I can't stand bugs buzzing in my ears, but also had the headnet shifting problem. I solved it with a headnet, with a bowie hat on top - also gave me a way to shade my eyes from the sun by looking down a little.

What I need to invent is a camo mesh just a little thicker than saran-wrap I can press-on my face, and peel off as easily, no mess left behind. Mesh so my face doesn't sweat under it, camo on the mesh to hide my lightbulb bright face, and maybe a little skeeter repellent for good measure.

2Sloe said:
In addition to the many things already mentioned above, I think where you hunt is also important. If you are hunting pressured deer they would probably be more likely to shy from a shiny face. On the ground, my opinion is that you definitely need something on your face at bow ranges. Face coverings usually involve covering your ears and that’s a no go for me. I’m old and can hardly hear to begin with so I don’t want anything over my ears. Secondly, I don’t want to look through any type of netting, but the masks with the eye holes to shift at just the wrong time when you turn your head, hampering your vision. I tried multiple face coverings and none of them worked well for me.

The only thing left is face paint. I used face paint for the first time last year and it was great being unhindered, while knowing that I was covered. If you are 20+ feet up you probably wouldn’t need it “most of the time”. But I’m not going to risk getting busted by the biggest deer I have ever had in range because I thought the deer wouldn’t see me or notice. It’s amazing how deer can still bust you in a tree at 20 feet. I used the Hunters Specialties cream. It’ cheap, effective and only requires a small amount. A three tube pack will last you all season for less than $10. It comes off easy enough and I take a shower every day so it’s no biggie;). Everyone has to decide what works best for them.

Click to expand...
 
Deer can obviously see well enough to determine shapes. For instance, a human-like shape at a distance will cause them more alarm than will something that is shaped like a plant of some sort (or even another deer). If they can do that, then it isn't silly at all to think that at close range the shape of a human face could be alerting to them when that face is a shade that is different than your surroundings. Deer then watch these more troubling shapes and if they don't move then they don't necessarily alarm, but still they are treating these certain shapes differently. I've heard it claimed that the head and shoulder shape of humans is different than other things in the woods and that ghillie suits breaking this up is a big advantage of them (but who knows).

A study to determine if deer recognize human shapes and are bothered by it would have to be properly designed to find the effect. All studies start with the idea that the effect is absent and then you collect evidence to disprove that null hypothesis which then infers the effect.

Camo that breaks up the human outline is praised. This might be wrong, but it infers that deer see shapes and are troubled by some of them. Seeing just the eyes (or just the whites of them) might be a stretch but I would not find it odd if the whole package of the human face (including 2 forward facing eyes in the right location) might be troubling. Heck, there are lizards with spots that look like their eyes on their tail and this makes predator attack the tail.
 
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I wear glasses so a face mask is problematic when I pull it up over my nose., so I'll generally put a swipe of black or brown on my nose and under my eyes. I almost always wear a hat with a brim to shade my eyes. I do like to paint my face because I like to paint my face. I painted in the service and I still like to do it from time to time. I love Carbo Mask. I don't get crazy but if I'm out for the day it's paint time. I don't know if it makes me deadlier but I feel deadlier. Again probably a throw back from my Infantry days.
 
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