camo - mix and match??

[Southern Man]

I think of camouflage as as just a description of blending into surroundings.

The very best camo is your natural surroundings.

I agree. I hate open woods and I like brush of some kind.

A few years ago I took a few camo T shirts to the woods in the winter and hung them up in several spots on coat hangers. Both in the sun and shade. I would step back to 20, 30 & 40 - 50 yards away and look at them. I didn't hang them in open areas, but areas with brush or structure of some type. The camo I used was ASAT, predator, realtree, mossy oak, and military BDU's in woodland camo. At 30 to 40 yards the ASAT just disappeared, sun or shade. The predator was a close second. The tight patterns of realtree and mossy oak were just a dark blob at any distance and the farther away you got, the worse it got. Needless to say, I don't wear those anymore. The military BDU's in woodland camo works great in early fall when there's leaves.

[Rob loper]

every warm blooded animals brain is programed to see a face one thing I was always taught from a child is don't look straight at an animals eyes they will pic up on you way faster. I never look directly at a animal and I stare at their but or feet. I also think a animal can sense your energy I don't think about killing an animal till its time. It sounds far fetched but I rarely get spotted in some really open situations. a deer's vision is based on movement and I've found as long as I move the same speed as the moving deer I can get away with a lot. they have good eyes but they are not as complex as a predators vision.

Ive also read alot about a deer seeing your face and my dad and brothers always did tell me dont stare into its eyes. But you know what ? For whatever reason or cause we all know those dreaded reactions a deer does when the stare at you. And just know somthing isnt right.
And i think it happens in cammo and without cammo
Tree width imo behind you covering your outline or sufficient back drop is a huge advantage. There is alot of hollys in our woods here and i love to get a big old holly tree around me or behind me when setting up.
They or great cover. Pines and cedars are great too
Or oaks they usually hold their leaves throughout the season.

[<DK>]

every warm blooded animals brain is programed to see a face one thing I was always taught from a child is don't look straight at an animals eyes they will pic up on you way faster. I never look directly at a animal and I stare at their but or feet

Ive also read alot about a deer seeing your face and my dad and brothers always did tell me dont stare into its eyes

I tested this twice last year and it worked both times. Closed my eyes and prayed when they stared at me, then squinted just to see what was happening.

[wolverinebuckman]

every warm blooded animals brain is programed to see a face one thing I was always taught from a child is don't look straight at an animals eyes they will pic up on you way faster. I never look directly at a animal and I stare at their but or feet

Ive also read alot about a deer seeing your face and my dad and brothers always did tell me dont stare into its eyes

I tested this twice last year and it worked both times. Closed my eyes and prayed when they stared at me, then squinted just to see what was happening.

I had stare downs with three deer this past season. 1 was a younger doe, we looked at each other from about 8 yards away. I was on the ground right off of a tree on the run she was taking. she didn't bolt she just looked at me really odd and we stared at each other for about 30 seconds before she moved off 10 yards, turned and looked at me again, she then disappeared off into the cat tails.
The second was a 10 point buck, probably 2.5. We stared at each other from less than 10 yards. I was hanging on the side of the tree probably 15 feet up, we locked eyes for about 10 seconds his head was sort of cocked, then he just turned and slowly wandered off. he left so slowly, in fact, i was able to get myself phone out and recorded him walking away. (Man, I'm wishing now I would have arrowed him, the season ending with a tag still in my pocket and all.)
The other one was a small button buck at 5 yards. when he looked up and we met eyes, I've never seen anything move so fast in my life, he was gone like a shot. Of course, he looked at me when he caught my scent, so...

[ghoasthunter]

every warm blooded animals brain is programed to see a face one thing I was always taught from a child is don't look straight at an animals eyes they will pic up on you way faster. I never look directly at a animal and I stare at their but or feet. I also think a animal can sense your energy I don't think about killing an animal till its time. It sounds far fetched but I rarely get spotted in some really open situations. a deer's vision is based on movement and I've found as long as I move the same speed as the moving deer I can get away with a lot. they have good eyes but they are not as complex as a predators vision.

Ive also read alot about a deer seeing your face and my dad and brothers always did tell me dont stare into its eyes. But you know what ? For whatever reason or cause we all know those dreaded reactions a deer does when the stare at you. And just know somthing isnt right.
And i think it happens in cammo and without cammo
Tree width imo behind you covering your outline or sufficient back drop is a huge advantage. There is alot of hollys in our woods here and i love to get a big old holly tree around me or behind me when setting up.
They or great cover. Pines and cedars are great too
Or oaks they usually hold their leaves throughout the season.

I always look for a double tree or a hemlock or brushy tree also or one with good cover behind I can be tucked into. but the right tree is the right tree sometimes and I've killed my share out of telephone pools I just don't like them because I feel like I'm falling all day. the tree saddle has fixed that for me.

[OldMtnMan]

[EdC]

great info, never seen anywhere mentioned about the color of what a deer see's
had me a little puzzled when you mentioned yellow in the first post about this
can you point me to the studies that support the image?

[OldMtnMan]

great info, never seen anywhere mentioned about the color of what a deer see's
had me a little puzzled when you mentioned yellow in the first post about this
can you point me to the studies that support the image?

I wish I could. I read it about 4 years ago and it had some much better pictures. I ran across this picture by accident. I'll keep looking for the article.

[Grizzlyadam]

I believe most camo patterns are developed to fool hunters more so than deer. Like the newest fishing lure designed to catch more fishermen than fish. You can wear blaze orange head to toe and have deer walk by at ten yards as long as you don't move. Movement is far more important than anything else when it comes to fooling a deer eyes. They pick up on movement. Camo is important for turkey hunting.

As far as eye contact goes, if you make it with a deer at close range your busted more often than not. The trick is to just close one eye and look at their but or foot etc with the opened eye. They don't see a predator staring at them, they just see a odd shiny dot in a tree and don't get too concerned with it. Try it next time, it's amazing how well it works. Even with squirrels and other prey animals.

[OldMtnMan]

I'm blind in one eye and wear a patch full time. I wonder what they think I am?

One thing i've discovered in still hunting. Game will pick out the human form. So, if i'm in a situation when I know they'll be looking at me. I never stand up. I'll crouch down. They look at me forever trying to figure out what I am. When they finally decide i'm not a threat and look away i'll take a shot if I have one.

[Rob loper]

Is this true?

[Boogieman1]

I believe deer can see the human eyes. All predators are dark colored around the eyes, I think there's a reason behind it. For this reason I do the BW and wear my hat sideways so they think I'm looking the other way! I don't close one eye but I try to avoid eye contact and sometimes put charcoal around my eyes to blacken em.

Also agree with Oldmtmn we are the only vertical predator in the woods and easy to pick out. We also carry a diff rythym with our walk since we only have two legs, if u listen to a man walking sounds completely diff than a 4 legged animal. They have an additional leg hitting the ground.

[Twenty Up]

Eye contact with duck hunting is the same thing. Look down when they're circling above (looking down) or you'll flair them.

Our heads and eyes stand out much more than we think. Face masks & paint while annoying probably help tremendously. The only things moving besides our hands are our heads to see the deer.

I'm a firm believer in beards and wearing a hat low to cast a shade over your eyes. Better than dealing with face paint or itchy masks

[<DK>]

every warm blooded animals brain is programed to see a face one thing I was always taught from a child is don't look straight at an animals eyes they will pic up on you way faster. I never look directly at a animal and I stare at their but or feet

Ive also read alot about a deer seeing your face and my dad and brothers always did tell me dont stare into its eyes

I tested this twice last year and it worked both times. Closed my eyes and prayed when they stared at me, then squinted just to see what was happening.

I had stare downs with three deer this past season. 1 was a younger doe, we looked at each other from about 8 yards away. I was on the ground right off of a tree on the run she was taking. she didn't bolt she just looked at me really odd and we stared at each other for about 30 seconds before she moved off 10 yards, turned and looked at me again, she then disappeared off into the cat tails.
The second was a 10 point buck, probably 2.5. We stared at each other from less than 10 yards. I was hanging on the side of the tree probably 15 feet up, we locked eyes for about 10 seconds his head was sort of cocked, then he just turned and slowly wandered off. he left so slowly, in fact, i was able to get myself phone out and recorded him walking away. (Man, I'm wishing now I would have arrowed him, the season ending with a tag still in my pocket and all.)
The other one was a small button buck at 5 yards. when he looked up and we met eyes, I've never seen anything move so fast in my life, he was gone like a shot. Of course, he looked at me when he caught my scent, so...

Is this crocodile dundee?

[<DK>]

Iv had more deer pick me off bc of a stand platform over any mis matching of camo. Cover is important on the ground and in a tree