Hunting House » Deer Hunting » Science of Camo
Science of Camo
Question:
> Does anybody have any scientific information on what makes for good > camouflage? … Anybody out there > have access to military studies or such that would help a person choose > the best camo?
I wouldn’t think that military studies would give *all* the answers. Military camo is designed to fool the *human* eye, be it unaided or assisted by light amplification or IR, etc. Humans don’t see as animals do. Humans see color, depth, and shape. Deer primarily key on movement. Ken H (delete the X’s to reply) Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
The "science of camo" really has different aspects, depending on the game you wish to hunt. Most big game species are color blind so color of camo is unimportant. What camo can do for the big game hunter is break up his/her outline so that the hunter doesn’t look like a human. you must remember that humans are the only predator which walks upright, so an upright silouette or shape can frighten away game, even if the animals can not tell the color. Probably the best method of outline break-up is to use bold irregular markings with highly contrasting colors. For species that can see colors to a greater extent like geese & turkeys color in a camo pattern becomes more important, but not solely important. The greatest factor is to match the background. It is still important to break up the human outline, but camo must also match the local area in color, tone, and brightness. I have found that for species like duck and dove, one must match the brightness, but color is not as significant. -Zimmy Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
Does anybody have any scientific information on what makes for good camouflage? The best explanation I’ve seen so far has been from a guy promoting Sticks N Limbs camouflage (see http://www.bowhunting.net/sticks/how.html#tophow). Anybody out there have access to military studies or such that would help a person choose the best camo? I realize camo only counts for about 15% of stealth in deer hunting, and many of us, wearing solid blaze-orange and sitting motionless, have had deer stare straight at us at five yards and then calmly go about their business. Of course I’d rather have a camo that causes a deer to look through me or past me and not even stare at me in the first place. Well, if you’ve got some good solid info please don’t keep it to yourself. Thanks. John Hanka Minneapolis MN USA Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING