was gonna go buy new camo this year....

but after driving thru the country yesterday I'll just go buy some gray T-shirts.


it looks horrible out here!

I remember in the 80's when hunting videos first came out on VCR, Chuck Adams had a few and always was wearing blue jeans and a flannel shirt, later, as hunting got "commercialized" he shows up in camo!!

Your right though, "desert" pattern should be good for Texas this year.

Heck if the wildfires keep going just about anything in the "Johnny Cash Camo Pattern" will do.

Yeah, wont be much need for green camo this year, I switched to the Mossy Oak Brush a few years back, it seems to work well in the Hill Country, and was a little too brown for our place in Madison County, however I do believe it will be just fine this year.

ok, this might be a really stupid question, but: does camo really make a difference? or is it just a "i'm-going-hunting" fashion statement? i'm curious - i've been researching this topic out of curiosity for a while and i can't seem to find anything to indicate that dressing in camo makes a big difference.

ok, now before you bash me, please remember i don't hunt - i just cook'em and get curious from time to time...

If it stays hot, I'm going back out in my blue short sleeve Hawaiian shirt with the palm trees, cargo shorts, panama hat & flip-flops....I do have one Hawaiian shirt in burnt orange and some smoke gray shorts just in case!

You need something to break up your outline. Whether camo does that better than a flannel shirt or a Hawaiian shirt, who knows?

I do think that critters will notice patches of unnatural hues though (bright colors, large patches of solid color)...

Do you notice bright colors if you are color blind?

They might not see "colors" but they see something. No where in nature do large patches of bright colors exist.

Heck, I hunt in a box blind so the deer can't see me anyway. I buy very little camo anymore. It's to expensive and the quality is usually poor.

Deer aren't totally color blind. They just see very similar to a person that is red-green colorblind. Red, orange, yellow, and green look alot alike to them. They see shorter wavelengths like blue on into the ultraviolet spectrum very well.

opening weekend was so warm last year that I took off all my camo and hung it on my coat hook. I hunted more than once sitting in my box stand wearing just my drawers and an undershirt.

If I buy camo at all it's because it's on sale and cheap cheap cheap...clearance price cheap.

I typically hunt from a box blind so there's no real need for it. I usually wear Wrangler camo cargo shorts, tennie-runners, and a t-shirt right up until the first of December. Heck, last few seasons I wore that same attire many times in Jan/Feb while hunting S. Texas.

Agree ........ I think one could wear just about anything with some sorta pattern. Palm trees work..( )

FYI - I always mention "blue" just to get a rise. In reality I'm almost like LandPirate. Sometime wear cheap camo, but in the blind during the last few years it has been the lightest weight pants/shorts I can find and some old kaiki colored shirt with long sleeves (I burn real quick). Usually have some old coveralls around to cut the chill just in case...

I'm GUILTY, bought cammo of all types, I really LIKE Vietnam tiger stripe,but have spent years hunting out of a blind of some sort. Over the last few years I wear a dark shirt(mostly long sleave) and jeans and my daily foot wear.Drinking coffee,or sweet tea looking a GODs creation!! Hunting season yet?

i was actually referring to how dry it was and how all the brush has died.

only one person got the message.

gold star for stxranchman

hahahaha. :o) i got it too txtrophy85. i was just curious. my hubby just goes out in jeans hanging on to dear life by a thread and an old t-shirt which may or may not be camo - depends on the day. he never camos up 100% but i've been seeing camo fly off the shelves at Academy so was wondering if people really believed it disguised them from deer. :o)

Don't I even get an "honorable mention" for my BURNT Orange shirt and SMOKE GRAY shorts???????

Camo is mostly for the "who has the newest/coolest/most expensive new gadget" contest held informally and subliminally in most deer hunting camps. I hunt almost exclusively in a blind and I wear whatever is the most comfortable and temperature appropriate. I put on camo for the "after" pics!!!!

Hunt n fish your my kind of hunter,I like my flip-flops and Hawaiin shirts,pretty much my daily dress-unless I have business to attend to.If your in a stand you don't need camo,stalking I'm not sure, deer are color blind.

If you are coyote hunting on the ground you better be in some camo. Some animals are alot smarter than others. Ive noticed i have to pick my spots out of all the light brown grass and more in the shady darker areas to keep from sticking out. Try crow hunting in blue jeans and a bright shirt and let me know how that works out!

I hunt "commando".

I wear a camo shirt from time to time, because i like the shirt, not because its camo. Only thing i like about camo, is you can get blood on it and it won't show up after you wash it, not so with regular color shirts.

I do quite a bit of guiding, so I have to dress to a certain standards when on the job, have to play a character so to speak, so most of the time i'm in the field during season i'm in snake boots, jeans, nice (for hunting) shirt and a cowboy hat.

as for hunting in shorts and flip flops, forget it....i could't walk 40 yards down the road before my legs and feet would be full of thorns

This thread makes me laugh. As mentioned in one if the posts above, if you hunt coyotes then you better have camo on. This is true. If you hunt ducks or geese you better have it as well. If I was hunting deer the ol fashion way like a spot and stalk then I would camo up. But sittin in a box stand...

wait ti'll you get a guy from houston that gets in full head to toe camo/including facemask and you show up to sit with him wearing jean, a burgandy shirt and a black hat.

look on their face's is priceless

Well if all your doing is sitting in a box blind or pop up blind, you really don't need any camo anyway.

Funny true story. I like camo, and I have several sets in different patterns, including a full Ghillie suit. It might be just-for-show in some cases, depending on the hunting type (archery, spot-and-stalk, etc.) - but I can tell you the Ghillie suit is awesome - I have had all sorts of critters walk so close I could feel their breath - including an eagle who perched right on top of the branch I was sitting under not 18" away.

That being said, this past spring I did an axis doe hunt from exposed tripods with 2 of my buddies. Typical Friday afternoon to Sunday noon hunt. For 2 days we hardly saw any axis (only one small buck) - yet we know they were there - and close to us.

The last morning, I said "sc---w it", and just put on my blue jeans and white t-shirt (my camo was getting a bit gamey after 2 days). Jeans/t-shirt was typical garb for the rancher.

Yup, you guessed it - had the whole axis herd walk out right past me without a care in the world - and I got my doe. Sometimes you have to re-think "blending in".

Another time I was hunting with a local guide on a small private ranch owned by an elder couple. The lady of the house often walked around and put out "treats" for the animals (fruit, nuts, etc.) and always wore a bright pink sun bonnet. The guide confessed this on a hard hunt for a customer one time they weren't seeing any animals and the guy was getting discouraged after 2 days. He borrowed the pink sun bonnet and tried to get the guy to wear it. He refused, thinking nit was a joke or hazing attempt. So the guide put it on and walked around a bit in an open pasture. Almost immediately 2 large axis bucks and several does came out of the woods and followed the trail he was walking - right past his client who got his buck. Too funny - the animals were NOT tame, but they knew that pink bonnet.

Hmm.. I must be doing something wrong! I've killed a bunch of coyotes in blue jeans! Hogs too! Wait-yep, even deer. However, my preference is to wear brown Wranglers as my 'hunting pants', and either a camo shirt or something in natural colors. I can get my outline broken up fairly well just by choosing where I sit.

Funny thing about those large, unbroken patterns..deer are mostly one color and large enough that you think they'd stand out as a 'patch' of one color against a background. And yet, they can disappear in plain sight!

I like camo but if I buy it it's only because I LIKE it, I personally don't think I NEED it.

why come i don't get credit for understanding the post, i said I wear mossy oak brush because of its dry brush colors, in Menard county where I hunt, there's never anything green on the ground so I wear it.

Guess I don't count

How come you don't hunt?

Dickies insulated overalls and jacket in dark solid tan always worked for me.

First off I understand the post.. and I want a gold star too

Our place is coverd in 4-5 foot tall brown grass during the winter, cant beat a carhart jacket. Past that we have blinds so it doesnt really matter.

One of my budies dad hunts out of a tripod his boys wear all cammo he wears a pair of faded blue jeans and a bright blue shirt, claims it blends in with the sky.. it works for him.

matt

unless your wearing a ghillie suit or some other 3D attire, i think the deer can always see you, its whether or not they care your there.

i know i'm not being stealthy in my blind texting, spitting out the window and opening the door to pee

Somebody explain wearing blaze orange color then???

Deer don't look up in trees, so they don't see you unless you move. Camo/3D suits/whatever just help hide your movement a little bit more.


In a shooting box, who cares what you wear. That's the point of a box blind, isn't it?

I am sitting in a box blind about 120 yrds away. So what is he looking at then if deer don't look up in trees?

Deer don't look up in trees, so they don't see you unless you move. quote]

don't look up my a$$

you need to get away from the CPU and into the woods more

I don't think the buck is looking up the tree to see what the hell is up there. I think he's checking the wind and that's why his nose is up in the air. I've seen plenty of animals do that and not notice me up in a tree even with blue jeans on. They notice movement and scent more than anything else.

exactly Curtis

While I have seen many a deer check the air for scent like this. He was not doing that.

Deer don't look up? Why not? Crazy talk I tell ya!!! I have seen them watch birds, coons, or just watch the magestic sunset in West Texas.

I think that sometimes Camo is more for the hunter than the hunted. I don't know if it works because I have seen deer spot me in full camo and walk past me in blue jeans and dark t-shirt. I do know when I am sitting in a tree or a bush on the ground, I feel better in camo than anything else. I also know that my white face glows like a beacon and if it isn't covered, I tend to get spotted more.

I hear that deer are color blind and that if you wear clothes that are in the same color spectrum as your surroundings, they have a hard time spotting you. Not sure if that is true, but hunter orange does not seem to be in the same spectrum as brown and gray, but people kill deer in it all them time. Figure someone smarter than me figured that out though.

I still wear camo unless I am in a ground blind or tower. Don't care if it works as long as I feel confident I have done my best to improve my chances.

What I should have said is that deer don't look for people in trees.

If they see movement or smell something, yeah they will try to figure out what it is.

If camo can help break up your outline and hide movement a little bit, it is well worth it. That was my only point.

i love all cute little, furry critters. and i can't explain it to the point that it will make much sense to anyone else, but i personally feel like i have no right to decide what lives or dies, and i have no right to take a life. i personally feel that its like playing God, and those are some big shoes to fill and i don't want to go near them.

ALL THAT SAID, let me answer the next unspoken question: yes, i do eat meat. once an animal no longer looks cute and furry, but instead like a chunk of meat like i would see at a butcher shop i even help process it.

i completely respect people who hunt to eat. i don't really care for people who just do it for the thrill.

God gave main dominion over all the creatures in the sky, on land and in water.

Hunting is one of the biggest thrills you can have in this life, the kill is just a part of it. I suggest you try it sometime

X2

This is a hunting forum... not a cooking forum

I think the last statement can be a little misleading. Some of the people that hunt "just for the thrill" care more and do more for the animals than anyone else. I would say that many if not most hunters hunt for the thrill of it, or they wouldn't do it. Few hunt out of necessity anymore, mainly due to the cost.

That being said, hunters do more and give back more to the environment, animals, and have created organizations that make up a majority of the funds that go to creating wetlands, help with habitation improvements, restocking, etc.

I love to hunt, I eat most of the animals that I kill, but don't let me fool you...I hunt for the thrill of it but I don't hunt to kill. I have much respect for the animals that I hunt and I have risked my body numerous times to save animals from fences, mud, creeks, crevices and sometimes have had to put them down to alleviate their suffering.

as i sit here in my office surrounded by my mounts, I just realized how awesome hunting is.....

Bought me some new camo this year too.

i realize this is a hunting forum. i married into a hunting family. i'm here to learn about hunting and hunting culture. as mentioned, i am not against it and i respect those who choose to hunt. it's just not my thing.

fair enough, but i won't be trying it anytime soon.

i can see how my last statement could be misleading. what i meant by "people who just do it for the thrill" are the gun-happy folks who just go out shooting to shoot. i completely respect the kind of hunters you describe above. it's my husband to the T.

You must be hunting around the Bastrop area!

If it don't rain soon it might the camo of choice for the whole dang state.

After typing that, I realize how insensitive that comment really was.
Being right in the center of it all and only about 8 miles from the big one in Bastrop, our cars are facing the road and we still have bags packed for a quick exit if needed!
On the first night, I shot some video from the roof of my hanger showing fires burning all around.
My son and I took turns staying up all night on fire watch for three or four days.
I spend quite a while cutting fire lanes around my houses, shop and barns.

hello all,

i'm sorry if my earlier words offended anyone. that was not at all my intention. i am not here to judge, criticize, tell you that what you do is wrong, etc. that's honestly not the case - heck if that were the case i'd join PETA and i don't mean "People Eating Tasty Animals"... ;o)

i'm realistic. i know that hunting is necessary. i just personally can't do. i respect those who can. on that note i purposely joined THF to be a part of a community of conservationists and to from you guys.

if it helps any, we're having tasty broiled red deer steaks for dinner. i'd invite ya'll to join but i wasn't expecting any guests and only defrosted enough for 2. sorry... ;o)

I will take a raincheck

That is the most factually inaccurate statement on this thread. Have you ever seen a corral snake. Do me a favor and google South American monkeys. You will find lots that have very bright colored patterns. Go snorkeling in Hawaii and tell me "no where in nature do large patches of bright colors exist." These all occur in nature.

Do we have coral colonies in Texas?

Are coral/king snakes 6 ft tall and 200lbs?

Camo or no camo it all comes to personal preference. I wear a full camo bib while hunting in a box blind. Is it necessary, absolutely not. Does it keep me warm IF its cold, Absolutely.

At the same time, I have hunted in snake boots and basketball shorts in tripod, ground, box blinds and did just fine.

When you are taking 1000+ yard shots like me, it really doesn't matter what I wear.

Hey Bill, where in your initial post did you specify a size (the colors on a coral snake are large compared to body size, no?) and geographical region. YOU DIDN'T. Let me quote you again, "NO WHERE IN NATURE DO LARGE PATCHES OF COLOR EXIST". Sorry man, just callin it like I see it. Maybe your world is only as big as Texas.