Interesting study on what and how deer see.

www.petersenshunting.c...hitetails/

Good ole buckskins work just fine I guess....where'd I put those things? Camo is an interesting subject. Military heavy equipment and ships at sea with giant blocky patterns. Break up the silhouette and that's the game. Our hunting camo with it's intricate patterns of leaves and branches just look like a dark color from a distance. If you painted on a giant white X it would break up your silhouette better. Wouldn't go over well in the supermarket on a beer run but how many deer are shot in supermarkets? I always think it's best to hide behind something at least partially, then the small movements you make aren't so obvious and just sitting on a fallen tree can hide you pretty well too.

Better not wear blue jeans tho
Suz

This subject was covered in a similar thread quite some time ago...as has the debate on camo.

From memory, the one thing that let's us down in the bush where deer are concerned is our propensity for cleanliness. We wash our clothes regularly using the best of laundry detergents and fabric softeners on offer without realising what these products contain. Other than specialist cleaning products, all detergents etc contain brightened to make the colours in our clothes look great. It is these brighteners that make us shine like a neon light at midnight.

Camo is designed for the Army. It is designed to break up the outline of a man in the bush...but only when he is trying to hide from another man. Animals don't see colours the way we do which is why fancy camo patterns aren't needed. I vaguely remember one of our members saying he wears a red and black check jacket with success when hunting. Suz hit on one of the main reasons we are seen in the bush...movement. Even a small movement can and will attract our eye. The only other factors that we must consider is sound and smell, which is where animals have it all over us...in fact their senses of sight, smell and hearing are highly refined, so much so they will often be aware of our presence well before we are of theirs.

I guess the old guy that taught me how to track and still hunt was right all along. I own no camo. My main hunting coat is an old wool red and black plaid. The whole idea is to break up the human silhouette. The only time I wear red/orange is so other hunters will know that I am human. And then it is not solid red/orange, but camo looking. Some states require a certain amount of red/orange be worn. Nothing funnier then to see Bubba in full camo wearing a red/orange vest.

Yup Suz...Break out the buckskins...

I try not to wear anything that the other hunters can see - it's bad enough that they shoot at sounds. Just east of seattle there was two incidents where a cow with a blaze orange blanket was shot by a deer hunter and another where the horse was shot out from under a ranger by an elk hunter. I have never seen an elk in red and orange...

shot a red deer hind today while I was wearing a nato blue camo Tshirt. at barrel stretching range of about 50yards...its mate hung around long enough to be given a close range "shot over the bows" ( read Elvis missed )

Look at natures top predators. Besides being usually drab coloured they move slowly. The exceptions are those who are striped or spotted to blend in with dappled lighting of high grass and in the canopy. I am convinced that smell, noise and movement are our biggest problems. I once shot a moose that could see me out in the open from several hundred yards but walked toward me for almost 30 minutes. I just hunkered down and made like a rock. As soon as I raised my shotgun he stopped and turned. Like many of his kind he then glanced sideways at me. He looked liked a range target. A 12 guage slug made him freezer cargo.

Yup camo makers have been pulling the wool over hunters eyes for years !!!

Chambered...ya found yer way back to Nut HQ mate. Where ya bin hidin'.

Behind the wool camo no doubt.

I have to come down on the side of movement being of far more importance than coloration or camo. In our state we have to wear at least 400 square inches of "safety orange" on the torso and an orange hat. In spite of this glowing image, I have shot two deer over the years while standing in full view without even a twig to break up the outline. I was standing perfectly still both times and waited until the deer looked the other way before I moved. One had been staring at me from inside of 15 feet before he finally looked away and since our state required shotgun slugs only at the time I actually pulled the wad from his hide while dressing him out.

Vince wrote:

Chambered...ya found yer way back to Nut HQ mate. Where ya bin hidin'.

I got lost again !!!

I've been lurking in the shadows, just haven't been doing any shooting for a while.

Quote::

In spite of this glowing image

The second time I had a deer walk up to me while wearing orange is when I started to rethink things......that was years ago !!!

I was taught in the military of the 5 S's
Size Shape Shadow Silhuoette Shine and for hunters Smell

Yup...Smell...

I cooked up some bacon and eggs for breakfast and washed it all down with strong black coffee in camp and went out 200 yard [down wind] and shot a 3 point.