Camo and Orange Vests

[ZeroJunk]

I was just surfing around the outfitter websites and looking at all the deer hunters wearing several hundred dollars worth of expensive camo and then have a big orange vest on top of it. Like a uniform or something. Almost looks silly to me. I do wear camo bow hunting. Otherwise it's jeans or grey wool pants if it's cold.
If you go out west you will see most hunters in their best Cabelas and then the guide beside or in front of him has on a cowboy hat, blue jeans, and some old blue coat or something.

Hats off to realtree etc. for some great sales and marketing.

 

[horseman308]

Agreed. Even though I've got some brand name camo (Cabela's Seclusion stuff), I picked most of it for bow and turkey hunting. The other camo stuff I have is because that's what fabric the stuff I wanted came in. I usually wear a brown carhartt coat and insulated pants hunting in cold weather. Camo is something you do, not something you wear. So if we're honest, we should be wearing ghillie suits and tying branches to our clothes if we're gonna be serious about camoflage.

 

[Kreyzhorse]

Camo does a great job breaking up your outline, but, despite what the camo makers tell you, being still is the biggest key to filling your tags.

I think hanging a soild orange vest over your camo pretty much verifies that "new ultra improved ninja camo" is pretty overrated.

 

[Gunplummer]

The marketing angle is not that great, they just stop making the clothes people want and you are screwed into buying something you don't really want to wear. About 20 years ago I bought a Winchester camo orange suit, which is pants and coat. It really is invisible to deer with snow in the laurel. The pants have been repaired too many times because I can not find new pants, not even solid orange pants. I can't imagine wearing those ridicules bib overalls and climbing up the side of a mountain without sweating to death. I really don't think it is a good idea to wear brown camo pants on the sides of mountains with thick stuff, as someone looking up will only see brown moving. Cabelas is the Wall-Mart of the outdoor world, run everyone out of business and then push junk at the public.

 

[hogdogs]

I really screw with the deer's head! i camo my self in old jeans and faded flannel jacket. They think I am a farmer lookin' for my tractor... they just stand there or walk up offering to show me where it is parked... Than BOOM.... freezer is filled again...
Brent

The above is what I said about it a long time ago...
Brent

 

[Pahoo]

Every year, the squirrels in my woods, looked forward with anticipation to my new Camo pattern as I got caught up in this pretty deep. Then I figured out that no matter what I wore, the little buggers would still see me a mile away. So, I went back to my woodland BDU's and they work for me and are well made. As mentioned, the purpose is to break-up the pattern. I also wear blue-jeans with my BDU feild shirt and cap. Going price at Goodwill, is $3.47 for rip stop fabric.



Be Safe !!!

 

[briandg]

guy I once met up with as he was heading for deer hunting was wearing an orange vest and various camo.

I mentioned that his white gloves looked too much like a deer's tail, and that he needed to get the heck rid of them. He thought I was kidding. I wasn't.

There he was, heading into heavy cover and a ground stand. (300+ pounds.) He was bound and determined to hide himself, and what did he have? white gloves that might have been the only thing another hunter would have seen. A typical native missouri hunter coming up behind the tree he was at would have seen only the gloves and maybe a bit of orange, and taken a shot at what he knew for certain was a deer's butt.

Totally irrelevant, I'm sure, but an interesting experience. I always wondered if he made it home.

 

[jmr40]

Sometimes I wear camo, sometimes not. Try to find a good quiet jacket made for hunting that is not camo. I wear it when hunting ducks, turkey and during archery deer season.

You are right that it is not needed during rifle season when wearing orange. But I already have it, why not use it.

 

[Gunplummer]

Totally relevant statement. Those little orange vests, when seen from the side, are almost indiscernible. It is not worth the risk to use the minimum amount of orange clothing. A few years back in Bucks county Pa. a hunter was found shot next to a deer that was starting to be gutted. The game warden thought it might have been the white flashing when rolling the deer around that attracted the shot. I agree that deer can pick out blaze orange under low light conditions, and if you stand in front of dark objects, but to be safe I would drop the camo stuff during rifle season. Also avoid white or brown under your coat, as most people take their coat off to gut a deer.

 

[rickyjames]

i just laff when i see a hunter dressed in camo, with a camo gun and a big blaze orange vest and/or hat. i realize it is a law in some states but wouldn't you at least use a camo blaze orange vest to at least continue with the camo theme of breaking your outline?
camo is cool, but how important is it when your guide who advertised a 95% success ratio and depends upon your success doesn't wear it?

 

[TheNatureBoy]

I always wear camo and a blaze orange hat or vest. Matter of fact, I refuse to hunt with a anyone who won't wear orange. I used to hunt with a friend of mine who would take his orange off and step into the woods when we were hunting using dogs. If a deer ran by me on his side I couldn't take the shot because I didn't know where he was. Its a matter of safety. I shoot
3 1/2" mags through my 12 ga. Wouldn't want him to come into contact with one.

 

[kkb]

... wouldn't you at least use a camo blaze orange vest to at least continue with the camo theme of breaking your outline?

In CO breakup blaze isn't allowed. It has to be at least 500 sqr inches of solid orange. See Colorado Big Game regs page 5, bullet 25.

 

[Fat White Boy]

I am in California. I hunt pigs and birds. I wear jeans and dark tops when I hunt. I will wear an Orange vest if required and if/or there are other hunters in the area. Camo? spare me. As mentioned before, stillness is the best camo....

 

[kraigwy]

Yeah Butt.........you need camo for turkey hunting, proof is in the picture.

 

[rickyjames]

"In CO breakup blaze isn't allowed. It has to be at least 500 sqr inches of solid orange"

well hell then whats wrong with blue jeans and a blaze orange jacket then? why buy all that expensive camo from boots to hat and then wear a neon sign?

the question or argument as i see it isn't really about blaze orange, it's more about camo. camo is a big money industry. if you watch tv then you will see that you can't hunt a turkey or duck without a camo shotgun. if you believe the ads even deer hunting requires a camo rifle even if it holds a shiney stainless steel barrel and action. then of course there is the whole mens/womens fashion designer camo clothing lines.

there is no question camo works, but with 500 sq in of blaze orange is it worth it? it makes me wonder how we ever took a bird or a buck or brought the buffalo herds to the brink of extinction without camo.

 

[briandg]

I got to get me a real tree recliner so I kin nap when the grandkids is over.

 

[Evan Thomas]

Try to find a good quiet jacket made for hunting that is not camo.

Exactly. Try to find a decent, reasonably priced, waterproof/breathable jacket, for any outdoor activity, that's not rustley noisy nylon. It's going to be camo.

Camo sells well, I think, for two reasons. First -- yes, many people are looking for that magic gimmick that'll make them successful hunters. But it's also a fashion statement: it's about who you are and how you want others to see you... which groups you identify with and which you don't. I mean, wear blue jeans and you could be, well, anything or anybody. (And dang if I'm not wearing them this very instant...)

And people do see you a certain way: my dog, who gets cold easily, has a little camo fleece pullover that she wears indoors. Someone's tree-hugger friend saw her in it recently at a party and said, "Oh my god, we have to get you out of that camo, you poor dog..." I guess she thought it made the dog look like some sort of crazed redneck killer... I just said, "Well, of course she wears camo, she's a hunting breed."

Actually, what I really want is a set of those camo sheets.

 

[Wild Bill Bucks]

I live on a street that is pretty heavily traveled, and I have sold several trailers, 4 wheelers, pick-up trucks, and a jeep, that I couldn't get a decent price on otherwise, by giving them a good camo paint job.
I had a 4 wheeler last year that was beat up pretty bad (body wise) that sat in front of the house for a week with a $2000.00 price tag on it, and every person who stopped said it was to high. I put a leaf pattern camo paint job on it, and sold it in 1 day for $2500.00, and the guy thought it was a great deal.

I do wear camo when I hunt, and I really can't tell any difference in my harvest rate. I shot a lot of game before anyone ever introduced me to camo, but it brings in a few extra dollars if I want to sell something around hunting season.

 

[roy reali]

TP

I go full out camo. Even the toilet paper I carry with me is camo.

 

[Dannyl]

Off topic but wirth pointing out

KraigWy,
Well done on teaching the young one to be safe.
The open bolt in the photo is the mark of a truly safety conscious person.

Brgds,
Danny