Western camo pattern

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GQ9

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I am in the final stages of picking a new set of hunting clothes.

I was able to try on at the Minneapolis Cabelas, some of the Sitka Gear stuff in open Country pattern.

Any opinions on this one?
 
Don't know where you are planning to hunt or what your game may be, but if it is whitetail, I would save myself about 4 or 5 hundred dollars and just buy some dollar store camo. If you are in a state that requires 500 square inches of bright orange to be worn, then your defeating the purpose of camo anyway. A plain old dark colored shirt and pants will do the trick in most circumstances, since the movement is what will get you caught quicker than anything else. All the camo in the world won't keep you from spooking a whitetail if you show any movement.
I buy camo material from a sewing shop, and let my wife sew it up into a pull-over cover-up for Turkey hunting, and it works just fine. These camo companies have lost their mind when it comes to pricing. You can buy another rifle or scope with the money you save.:D

Just my 2 cents
 
Camo, in general, is over the top. Not saying it can't help but it's more about the gazillion patterns out there. 100% marketing. Personally the only reason I have camo cloths is so I don't get my work clothes mixed up with my hunting clothes. Fences, briars and blood take their toll. But I'm perfectly happy wearing brown duck pants and whatever natural tone coat I have handy.

In general just pic something close to the same tone as your area. Not the dark bark imitations intended for tree hunters, nothing really light either. No critter out west is gonna give too hoots if you're wearing a marsh grass pattern while sitting next to a sage bush.
 
I hunted for years in sage green canvas jeans and tan canvas work shirt from JC Penneys. Only camo I had up until 1988 was my USMC uniforms, and I definitely didn't want to wear them out in the weeds (colors too dark and not enough disruptive pattern). Like the others said, it's movement that gives you away. Learn to sit still or move well, and hunt into the wind.
 
I get most of my big game gear at shops that cater to backpackers. The colors and styles change every year. There are a few shops locally that run 50% off their winter merchandise starting on June 1, 70% off starting July 1. To make room for next winters styles

Over the years I have assembled a pretty good assortment of high quality goose down vests and jackets as well as fleece in various shades of green, brown, black and gray. Didn't pay much more for most of the stuff made by North Face, Marmont and Mountain Hardware than what they are charging for camo clothes at Walmart.

I usually wear these pants.

http://www.uscav.com/ProductInfo.as...fa=1007&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=33353738302d3737353832

Not because they are camo, but because the military surplus pants are the toughest, most comfortable pants I've found to hunt in. And if I'm going to wear camo I think this is the best I've seen. I paid about 1/2 that price at a local military surplus store for mine.

Saw some of these at a local Sportsmans Warehouse and will have a 2nd pair this fall.

http://www.militaryuniformsupply.com/propper-atacs-acu-style-pants

Camo used properly, has it's place. I dress in it head to toe if archery hunting or duck and turkey hunting. Exactly which pattern you use is HIGHLY over rated. Anything reasonably close to the same color as the area you are hunting is close enough. The old woodland patterm military camo was way too dark for 90% of my hunting. For big game hunting with a rifle it is not that important. Especially if you are wearing an orange vest over it.
 
We hunt in rather close in woods and brush with under 100 yard visibility in any situation. I use an Orange Tee shirt under an OG Mesh Tac-Vest and an Orange cap. I have a 3 color desert cammo field jacket for use in the cooler weather I can tie a cheapie orange vest on if needed during the cold weather to meet the legalities.
Basically I agree with the thoughts of those who say movement is more important than blending colors. Save your bucks for something more important than faded Persimmon Leaves !!
 
If you are planning on hunting Wyoming, Montana, or Colorado with a firearm, Camo doesn't matter because you need (its the law!) to wear a Hunter Orange vest or hat anyway!
 
It will break up your pattern but then again so will any other camo pattern out there. Don't sweat it, pick a pattern you like and remember that it's movement that is going to give you away, not your camo pattern.

By the way, I've had several successful antelope hunts in Wyoming and wear my normal woodland camo. No antelope has shown any concern that I look like a hardwood tree with a splash of evergreen spruce instead of a sage bush.
 
Most camo is designed to appeal to the consumer with oak leaves, etc. The patterns would be much more effective if they were more open to break up your outline. Current camos tend to blob out at over 20 yards. A good camo does not need to look like anything in particular. It should just keep animals from immediately focusing on you. Nothing will cover movement. Whatever, get clothing that will work for the weather you will encounter. Your survival may depend on it, at least your comfort.
 
From what I know Sitka Gear is marketed towards the "high end" of the market which means people who have lots of money and probably won't use the gear too hard.
Like what others have said camo doean't make you a hunter. I usually wear earth tones and let my clothes wrinkle which breaks them up. Knowing how to hide (use shadows and cover) is more important than buying the "right" pattern.

Here's my favorite camo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX3NdjGbjqk
 
One of the guys on THR who hunts extensively in rough country was pretty negative about the Sitka stuff. He said it started coming apart after two hunts. Overpiced for what you get in his opinion.

The camo pattern thing doesn't concern me much since about every state is going to have you wearing bright orange. But, the jackets that have all the pockets, warmth, and water proof features a hunter wants usually come that way.
 
Any opinions on this one?
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Hunter orange. Most western states (Wyoming is one) require it. Critters can't tell anyway.

Those fancy camo cloths are for attracting hunters, not the game they hunt.
 
I wear cheapo surplus camo. As others have already mentioned: after you slip on a solid block of orange, it's sort of a moot point.
 
$90 for a t-shirt? I get camo stuff from WalMart when they do close outs on hunting stuff - usually $2 a t-shirt. Some of them are going on 5 years old and doing just fine, like this old one.

712bunnybuster.jpg
 
I don't wear camo much either. But, It's not trying to make some statement. The stuff certainly isn't going to hurt anything.

And, some of these new quiet fabrics are a bigger deal than the camo pattern on them. Polyester and even denim are noisy trying to snake through thick cover. I had friend elk hunting with me years ago and we were trying to get up on a herd of elk. He had on new Carhart cover alls and it sounded like somebody switching a card board box trying to get through the pole pines.

Some of these new hunting coat materials are pretty cool. And, yes they are camo.

So far I haven't been able to make myself fork over the money. But, I wouldn't mind having one.
 
If you are in a state that requires 500 square inches of bright orange to be worn, then your defeating the purpose of camo anyway.
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It may seem silly to wear camo and an orange vest and it would be silly if a deer's vision worked like a human's.

But deer do not see the world the way humans do. Their eyesight is not a sharp as a humans and they perceive color differently. They do not differentiate between red, orange and green like we do. They see leaves as yellow brown. They see a blaze vest as a yellow blob.

This has been very well established:

http://www.northcountrywhitetails.com/articles/whatdodeersee.htm

http://www.shamancamo.com/research.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNe2PB3CSnA

http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/9186.html

So if you wear a blaze vest over camo, you will be visible to humans (good) but hard to see to deer (also good). If you hunt in areas where there are lots of hunters you might want to consider wearing a solid blaze vest to satisfy the law over blaze camo clothing for concealment from the deer while being highly visible to other hunters.

A plain old dark colored shirt and pants will do the trick in most circumstances, since the movement is what will get you caught quicker than anything else. All the camo in the world won't keep you from spooking a whitetail if you show any movement.
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This is certainly true, but it's sort of beside the point. Camo is not intended to keep deer from seeing you if you move, any more than it's intended to keep deer from hearing you if you play a boom box at full volume. You have to keep still regardless.
 
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