Kola Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 I wear cams when I'm shooting usually mostly just camo pants and what ever shirt im wearing at the time. If I think im going for a stalk hunt I will throw on the camo shirt and some scrimmage net as well. The cams are comfortable and the scrim keeps off the sunburn and the flys. I have noticed that when wearing cams the Roos are more intent on looking at me, I guess they are trying to work out if I'm a Yowie or not Goats also tend to stare at me longer as well. Leads me to think that they struggle to recognize the shapes more. As opposed to the white or tan skin of a human. So have you had better success in cams is the real question? Any insight to how they see, like dogs only see in black in white etc would also be good. Cheers K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamHuntVic Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 Kola, check this out for the absolute basics. http://www.wisegeek.com/do-animals-see-in-color.htm It gets more complicated than this but it's a start Grant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gryphon Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 believe me camo works,I have taken more than a few pics of sambar while cammed and the diff good cam makes is well worth it..most important are face and hands though especially around the eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIX Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 so gloves and a vale are a must? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gryphon Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 so gloves and a vale are a must? NO! Not at all,there is no MUST in it at all. But for the fella equipped as such he has a far better chance of remaining unseen or unidentified. I have deer on the wall in pics and heads that were taken without camo but since then believe me it is way better with it,contact is more often and closer...maybe I am evolving as a better hunter as well,that also comes into the equation as there are blokes that could be tattooed with Mossy Oak and still not get near a deer haah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rono Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 I believe camo is a must i will wear anything that will get me in a better position to shoot a deer or any other game... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe.358win Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 The right camo has certainly made a difference to my hunting.I used to don the same green trackie dacks and any old green jumper or shirt and off I went.These items were niether waterproof or thorn proof either,and I would often end up cold and wet.These days,with the addition of a good breakup pattern in an appropriate color,and better suited to the conditions that we as sambar hunters hunt,I am more comfortable,and therefore can remain in the field for longer,which increses my chances of seeing game.Just last year,I stalked past a wallaby as he watched me from 5 metres as I followed up some nice marks that had taken the deer past the wallaby as well.The wallaby never moved.I had a face viel and gloves on.It is not imperative that you wear camo,but it does help.At the very least,I would hide my face and hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jock Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 Don't know if Wallabys are as smart as Deer, but we walked up on this bloke. While whistling for Dogs, this one in the red circle, nearly jumped on old mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkeye Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 i'm puzzled at some hunters, who go to the effort of wearing camo pants, shirt and hat - but they are all different colour/camo patterns. no bush looks like that - must all be the same. also, wearing camo shirt, pants and hat, but then having a big white face and hands also seems to be defeating the point. use gloves and a mesh mask (i just tie a bit of scrim around neck and cover face like a robber when convenient). doesn't matter whether chasing rabbits or deer - if you want to get close you need to cam up. however, camo doesn't make you invisible. doesn't matter what you're wearing when you're walking for example, movement gives you away regardless of clothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe.358win Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 Don't know if Wallabys are as smart as Deer, but we walked up on this bloke.While whistling for Dogs, this one in the red circle, nearly jumped on old mate. Wallaby's have nothing on deer mate,but they don't usually sit around either.As I said though,I see more game now wearing camo than when I was getting around in tracksuit and jumper.You will see when you get to Vic for the sambar mate,good camo and PATIENCE makes all the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fangster Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 i'm puzzled at some hunters, who go to the effort of wearing camo pants, shirt and hat - but they are all different colour/camo patterns. no bush looks like that - must all be the same.also, wearing camo shirt, pants and hat, but then having a big white face and hands also seems to be defeating the point. use gloves and a mesh mask (i just tie a bit of scrim around neck and cover face like a robber when convenient). doesn't matter whether chasing rabbits or deer - if you want to get close you need to cam up. however, camo doesn't make you invisible. doesn't matter what you're wearing when you're walking for example, movement gives you away regardless of clothing. Spot on, but it can be dangerous to others too, I fell off the chair in my kitchen laughing uncontrolably after reading a recent copy of Sporting Shooter that a mate lent me, a story was in there about a regularly contributing couple who go tearing around on quads flushing out pigs and shooting them - there would be not one item anywhere near them that isn't auscam and it looks new. What, you need all that army wannabe stuff then when you're obviously gunning engines everywhere? Sh1t it hurt when I fell on the dog, he didn't like it either and bit me. It always amuses me when I see stories in magazines with blokes dressed like they're in Timor yet they have the most obvious black hats on, which anyone can see miles away bobbing about in our predominantly khaki aussie bush, and this white moon face shining out like a mirror. In all my hunting when I was younger and I too fell for the camo story, but when I finally learned to stalk slowly and got some patience, I found I could get just as close with well used khaki work clothes or a checked flanno shirt, the main thing was covering the face with scrim or one of those face veils sold at most archery shops. It's the face, and your eyes, that the animals I sneak up on look straight into. Makes me wonder sometimes those blokes that swear that cammo is needed, when 40 years ago no-one wore it as that was only for the soldiers. More hunting pressure now is a cop out answer to that, if the animal is unaware of you because you can stalk and watch the breeze, you could be wearing the missus's bikini and they wouldn't know. I think Jock, that's why when you dress up in your cams the animals see your face, it makes it stand out even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkeye Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 that's a good point Fangster - that not wearing gloves or face cover, but being clad in camo elsewhere, only makes those white bits stand out even more - silhouettes them. i reckon animals like deer have a sixth sense - i don't even stare at the buggers when watching and waiting. i reckon they get that 'i'm being watched' feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gryphon Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 Thats it on the nose hawkeye,after hunting all sorts of different game in Australia one does come to the conclusion that there are those species that do have that sixth sense and thats what separates the six deer species from the other game we have here. Amazing to have a deer just lift its head for no reason other than a "suspicion" when it cannot see,hear or smell you yet they will often do that and stare right at you until they are comfortable in their own security...well the big boys might look once and generally go,thats why they get big of course. Its when the deer looks at you even after your movement has alerted it and after you have stopped for example its then when the cam is excellent,you will blend in enough to persuade the deer that you offer no harm...until bang! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jock Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 I think Jock, that's why when you dress up in your cams the animals see your face, it makes it stand out even more. And I thought it was because, I had a head like a dropped pie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sco_aus Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 Something that was brought to my attention recently was that UV stands out big time to animals. The advice given to me was to wash your cams/hunting clothes etc 2-3 times without powder as the powder uses UV stuff to brighten the clothes up, therefore standing out like dogs balls. Then just wash it without powder once after the first time, or if you get blood on them wash them a couple of times or with powder then no powder a couple of times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gryphon Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 get with it Sco and look up "sportswash" I have been using it for years ever since Woody put me onto it,I have another brand here also,cant remember the name right now. I dont even know if it works (uv wise) but it does take the stink out of your clothes and thats a big bonus. Google UV safe detergents etc ...should get you there in the zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fangster Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 There's a great little story in the latest Shooter mag (for a change) in the "Around the Campfire" page filler. The bloke talks about that sort of sixth sense that animals have when they somehow can tell if you mean them no harm. Dunno what some of you else think, but at times I've thought that this was the case and even made a point of taking notice when watching something I'm totally uninterested in, yet would normally bolt. I've seen this with pigs many times, when all I wanted to do was photograph them, same with fallow deer. They just let me crawl up to them, without any camo on at all. Wild dogs have sat and watched us fencing, they know there's no threat. How many times I've sat on a log in a clearing and by not moving (dressed in work clothes) pigs or deer look at me and continue doing their thing. Now, if I'd had a rifle and intended on shooting something then I would somehow (who knows how) have exuded this intent to harm, which they would surely have noticed. Or at least they seem to know when I have the intent, and somehow always behave differently. The latest this happened was when a bloke from work came out with his wife a few weeks ago and we snuck up on some fallow does in this creek gorge to show them some wild deer, they were feeding amomgst the river she-oaks and although we had the drop on them, and they noticed us with alarm, they soon settled down and fed past us. They were noticeably alert, but somehow knew they were meant no harm. These people had your typical towny clothes on as well. Hunting pressure in this area is high, with this area being a favourite to Brisbane Fallow hunters, so it's not like these animals get old by blundering around. I know some may not agree and like their cams and that's OK, to each his own, but I think there's more to dressing up in the latest $150 camo shirt and somehow miraculously becoming invisible to animals. Sure when you get all dressed up in the latest hunting gear and make the gun shop very happy, you look the part in the mirror alright. You might be hard to spot from your fellow humans, but not so to the animals you hunt, I think somehow they've got some senses much more developed than we do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gryphon Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 An animal can sense when a predator is interested or not,body attitude tells it all and they will and do pick up on it,one only has to watch a well fed pride of lions walking past antelope that hardly lift their heads and then only to satisfy them selves that the preds are not in hunt mode. Sambar deer will sit and watch a hunter walking past them if they know they are unseen,they take it that the hunter has not got his eyes on them, when they realise they have been sprung then they know they are the hunted,now they will often stand completely still unless they perceive that the predator (hunter) is changing his posture....exit stage right! A hunter sneaking (predatory) about for the chance of a shot (camera or rifle) in mind is readily apparent to the higher developed senses of the upper end of the game animals scale. Sambar deer are the most highly sensed animals we have in Australia and to take them (decent stags) with rifle is a tough ask ...photographing the same close up is a far tougher task,let me say this that in nearly 30 years of trying I can tell you that without hesitation that the cammo clad hunter photographer has a far greater chance of success than the civvy clad hunter,it is as simple as that. I have a couple of credentials to help me out here the last front cover of the ADA mag and the front cover of the Vic Game Guide,both are of wild sambar deer photo`s and believe me I wouldnt have taken them without my cam`s. They along with several hundred wild sambar photo`s were all taken with the aid of camo,of course the long shots across a gully dont warrant the wearing of it but in the thick tight bush down here it is getting closer to "almost" a must. Heavily hunted deer herds could almost make it mandatory in some areas if one wants to get into close quarters and close up is a far better option for increasing the chances of a kill or that cover pic! Shooting /photographing fallow is not such a hard task as they essentially are an open field species,ah yes they do go back to their bush/cover strong hold during season but any other time they sit about like Browns cows. Hunting bush run Fallow in Tassy is another matter though and my cobbers down there with anything up to 50 years experience will readily don cammo over anything else,they give it the thumbs up too! It all go`s hand in hand with hunting expertise too,some blokes will never get there no matter if they have the best camo,rifle,scope,ammo and truck nothing helps them at all . Cammo enables the hunter/photographer to view his game far more readily thus he or she will learn or should learn far more about the quarry thus increasing their expertise for future huntings learning curve. We do frig all duck shooting now but try and convince a simple mob of ducks to drop in on your lake side stand while wearing civvies during season,they will shy off as soon as they see the hunter`s face,boat,gun,coloured clothing etc one see`s it happen repeatedly. I reiterate it isnt a must but it is certainly worth while for the results that are achieved by many hunters,lets face the fact that the hunter chooses his rifle and ammo combination to maximise results,why not enhance it with some camo! The attached pic is another that I wouldnt have taken without camo,oh yes he`s wild alright,he stepped over that farm fence like ..........a deer! Shooting pigs is right out of the equation when it comes to hunting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Jaeger Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 Excellent explanation Gryph. For those interested, Ansco is the Australian distributor for Sport-Wash - (03) 9480 8500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickgibbo Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 I have found the face veil and gloves to be the most intrigual part of my camo. I have just started washing mine in the aware washing powder that can be bought from any supermarket. http://www.ecoshop.com.au/asp/product.asp?...y&PT_ID=all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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