Thursday, March 8, 2012

To Camouflage Or Not To Camouflage

Whatever hunt you choose weather it is Birds, Elk, Deer, Big Horn Sheep, Antelope, Or some other wild game do you use cammo? Does it work? Do the Animals see you? Others? Just what is the truth of the matter?

Well here's my point of view. I write this not to offend anyone but to give a different prospective. Many people like to have "The Advantage" over whatever they are hunting. To some extent this makes a lot of sense. If you can "Hide" you can get a closer look or shot. This is most important to bow hunters. You need a close shot. The closer the better. 30 Yards and in are preferred. Yes I know someone will say these bows have the same power as a 30-06. And it is true. To a point. Many I have talked to have taken high risk shots at the"big one" from suspect distances, wounded the animal and lost it. I myself have found dead animals with arrows in them. So it is important to get as close as you can. No one wants to lose food or waste an animal that could have fed the family.
 Does cammo work? To some extent yes. But my experience is no it doesn't do that much. Why do I say that?First of all the animals may not "see you" no they "Smell you" long before you see or hear them. Its not a matter of them just seeing you. So you say I put on scent to mask my smell. Well that has some benefits.Buy do you shower before you go out? Put on Deodorant? Pack a lunch? Give the animals more credit then that. The scent may confuse the animal but they can still smell what you are under the scent. The bow hunters often call in a bull but if the wind is going the wrong direction you won't get close. Scent or not. And what about their vision. They also see movement very well.  Yes you may blend in but they are said to be color blind so they see in black and white. Hence it isn't the color of your clothes they see but the subtle movement you make. They are used to seeing movement in the wild, and you aren't one of the normal movements out there.

I know many hunters read this and say you don't know jack. However I do know from my own experience what the facts are. First of all  I don't wear cammo or scent. I wear red or bright yellow clothes. I have had people drive by me while standing next to a tree on the road, people walk by me in the woods, just a few feet away and not even see me. It seems to me that It doesn't matter what color clothes you wear out there.

Hunting is a skill. You need to have a lot of things going your way. Wind direction, right place at the right time, patience, knowledge of the animals and the land. You need to be slow and QUIET to sneak up on the animals. Sometimes all you get is a glimpse of them. Most of the time we are "outsmarted" by the animals. We expect them to do this and they do that.
 My bottom line? The animals don't get the credit they deserve for their senses. No they don't think but they hear, see, and smell us "Way" before we often know that they are there. So Camouflage clothes make little to no difference. Unless someone buys me a set of camouflage clothes [I would wear them] I will be wearing what I usually do yellow or red of some sort. Maybe I will see you out in the woods someday, the question is will you see me...?  I doubt it!

No comments:

Post a Comment