# Deer And Camo



## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

Ok, this question is for all you smarty pants deer and elk experts out there:

I know the premise behind camo clothing breaking up your outline so that deer (which are colorblind anyway) can't tell you from the trees/bushes/grass/rocks etc., but I was just thinking, can deer or elk or other big game tell the differences in shades? For instance, if I was wearing a prairie type camo, with sagebrush and lighter tan colors in it, and I stood against a dark green coniferous treeline, would they be able to distinguish me from my surroundings? Or say I wore a darker pattern with the coniferous type prints, and hunted deer in the sagebrush, would it give me away? Obviously both scenarios are dependent on not moving at all, but can the animals pick up on the differences in color shades?


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

Deer are not completely color blind. They can see some shades of green and yellow from what I understand. They do see ultra violet light better than we do. That is the light right at dusk and dawn. When you get up on the mountain, and your buddy is wearing his favorite faded blue jeans, make a mental note of how they glow in the pre-dawn light. That is the brighteners in your favorite laundry detergent at work. They work in your camo, too. The deer can see those really well. They can see the light blob (or dark, depending on your camo and location) as well. Most important is they are really good at picking up movement. If you don't move, and they don't smell you, they might just come a little closer to check out what the blob is. Or they might just run away. Deer are funny that way.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

Loke, I can always count on you for a good solid answer in this forum!  

So what you are saying is that its more important what I wash my camo in, than the pattern I choose?

If so, who makes a good detergent to avoid this problem?


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## RatherBHuntin (Dec 23, 2007)

I've found this stuff in a bottle called "Sportwash". No UV brightners, no scent, lasts forever.

I've found it at Walmart for a reasonable price. Sure the Warehouse or Cabelas has it too for more $.


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## Mojo1 (Sep 8, 2007)

LOKE is right on the uv light.

You want to look for a non optical brightener type clothes wash, I believe Woolite makes one (I'd check your local store to see what they are carrying) or you could go with Sports-wash or one of the other name brands sold in your hunting stores; they sometimes come combined with no-scent or scent away detergent.

Anytime you silhouette yourself against something you increase the risk of being detected, I like Nat Gear for a general all around camo; it blends well in most environments. 

Movement is the number 1 enemy when hunting.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I own numerous, so numerous I'm embarrassed, varieties of camo. 

Looking back at 45 years of hunting I find faded brown Carhartts the best camo.

IMO Natural Gear is second best.

I think lack of movement is as critical as camo with the "UV" taken out of it.


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

From what I have seen, lighter is better than dark. The Army has finally started to get it right. Any of the new digital patterns should work nicely. Just try to keep the UV brighteners away from them. 
This might be an option if you can't find the Sportwash.
http://www.puraderm.com/baby-laundry-detergent.php


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## proutdoors (Sep 24, 2007)

wyogoob said:


> I think lack of movement is as critical as camo with the "UV" taken out of it.


I agree 100%. Most camo is 'eye candy' for the hunter more than concealment from critters. I wear camo just to fit in with all you yahoos. 8)


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

proutdoors said:


> wyogoob said:
> 
> 
> > I think lack of movement is as critical as camo with the "UV" taken out of it.
> ...


Ditto, my right-wing friend. Sometimes me and Mrs. Goob "camo-up".


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## marksman (Oct 4, 2007)

This is the best as I can type it from the July field and stream.



> *THE OLD:* Once a deer sees you , even from a good distance. the game is over.
> 
> *THE NEW:* We already know quite a bit about how deer view the world: Deer vision, like our own, is a function of rods and cones; deer can see extremely well in low light; and deer have only two types of cones (blue and green-yellow), whereas humans have three (blue. green . and red). Their color vision is of lower quality generally and narrower in overall ability to differentiate certain hues.
> Researchers believe that deer see blaze orange as a shade of gray. However, their blue cones enable them to see that color distinctly so the hunter who wears blue jeans and a camo shirt rather than full body blaze orange hast got it backward. He is _more_ visible to a deer and _less_ visible to fellow hunters, which makes it a safety issue as well.
> ...


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## proutdoors (Sep 24, 2007)

goob, from that picture I see something else you and I have in common, we both married UP. Camo can't hide that. :shock: :wink: 

I have had deer/elk with inches while wearing wranglers and a WHITE t-shirt. Most of the patterns do NOT break up your outline, they are too dark and too 'pretty'. The more open patterns like ASAT and Predator are good for breaking up your outline. I also like, mostly because it was free, the MAX1 camo.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

proutdoors said:


> goob, from that picture I see something else you and I have in common, we both married UP. Camo can't hide that. :shock: :wink:
> 
> I have had deer/elk with inches while wearing wranglers and a WHITE t-shirt. Most of the patterns do NOT break up your outline, they are too dark and too 'pretty'. The more open patterns like ASAT and Predator are good for breaking up your outline. I also like, mostly because it was free, the MAX1 camo.


......married UP. What?..............yah, I s'pose

Yes, most hunting camo is too dark. My brother and old buddies from back east change camo about every 2 years. Hey, we all know how quickly those whitetails catch on. They wear that dark stuff out here elk hunting. Good grief, from a distance they look like black bear when they are walking in the sagebrush. So I try to put them in the dark timber up against the trunk of a limber pine.

Here's another example: Sit on the Bear River Migratory Refuge 1A dike on a Saturday, in the middle of November. Point your gun up in the air and fire off a couple rounds. Every person on the unit will stand up and take 2 steps out of the reeds onto the dike. Then look down the dike at all the hunters that are "camo'd up". Most stick out like a sore thumb, just too dark. But the hunters in brown Natural Gear are very hard to see. Once in awhile a guy will be wearing faded Carhartts. He's practically invisible in the marsh.

I have 2 buddies from Randolph that have this video of one of them sticking an arrow in a large bull elk on Deseret. They were wearing sweats, top and bottom. Grey bottoms and printed tops; you know a sweatshirt with University of Utah or BYU on it or something. They were both standing flat-footed on a two-track and the bull just walked up to them.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

The responses have been a great help guys. I guess I must have just read right over that F&S article. :shock: 

I need to get some camo for coyote hunting too, so I guess I will get a lighter shaded prairie camo pattern, and call it good all around!


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## quakeycrazy (Sep 18, 2007)

Camo is a passion, I have half a dozen different pairs, some I can no longer wear since I am not as fat as I used to be. Gotta love Max 1, I also like the Camo West Vanish and a few years ago I think it was Western Camo or something like that made a sweet aspen camo. But in the long run most of us just wear camo to look like a "hunter", deer can see limited color and it is really movement and scent that alert them to our presence.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

quakeycrazy said:


> ....................................or something like that made a sweet aspen camo. But in the long run most of us just wear camo to look like a "hunter" ............


Wow, I thought I was the only goofball that had the aspen camo.


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

Do you have the shirt, pants, and hat?


















I do.


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## quakeycrazy (Sep 18, 2007)

Loke said:


> Do you have the shirt, pants, and hat?
> 
> I do.


As well do I, if anyone that is obese needs some fairly new autumn aspen tee, pants and boonie let me know!!! ahahah


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Loke said:


> Do you have the shirt, pants, and hat?
> 
> I do.


Yes, and aspen camo jersey gloves too!!!!!!


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## Finnegan (Sep 7, 2007)

Camo is like 90% of the junk hunters buy - we've been convinced by the industry that it's necessary. Marketing is powerful stuff.

With the objective being to avoid drawing a deer's attention, I figure camo that's been properly washed and treated gives me a 1% advantage. Add scent control and that's another 1%. Another 1% for sound and another 1% for movement and that gives me 4%. So everything else being even and a lot of luck on my side, (which is always the key factor), one of these precautions will help me get a shot at 1 out of every 25 bucks I encounter.

Add to that the advantage of my magic shaman's charm necklace and I'm usually successful. I can't say enough about my charm! [Insert photo of me over a monster elk/deer/antelope/carribou/jackalope] Similar charms were used for centuries by indigenous hunters who depended on a successful hunt for the survival of their tribe, so you know how effective they must be. Hand made by an authentic heathen on the night of the full moon, each charm comes with a certificate of authenticity. Every real hunter wears one. Jim Shockey wears his. Now available in Mossy Oak pattern! Just $99.99! Call 1-800-USUCKER. (Have your credit card ready.)


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## Treehugnhuntr (Sep 7, 2007)

wyogoob said:


> proutdoors said:
> 
> 
> > wyogoob said:
> ...


Which one is Mrs. Goob? Whoever has them glasses on has purdy eyes. :wink:  :mrgreen:


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Hey those are camo eyeglass frames for my prescription glasses....safety glasses to boot....true story.

How sick is that?




Geezus, Mrs Goob and I don't dress up and go out like we used to.


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