Camo Clothing When Hunting

[blusokx]

Well as the title says, why do people go to great lengths to wear all camo clothing from the head down then wear bright orange vests or hats - Now I fully understand the orange is for the visiblity of other hunters to identify a fellow hunter, but does this not defeat the purpose of all the camo gear?

Thanks!!

[Bish]

Apparently deer and other game can't see orange and I spose we have to believe them. Many animals see different light spectrums to us. For instance apparently dogs only see in black and white, where some insects can see into the ultra violet range which we can't.

In mammals at least it's all about how the retina of the eye is made up. For instance us as humans have rods and 3 types of cones in the back of our eyes. The rods detect light so they give you your night vision and are black and white (thats why you can't see colours at night). The cones are good for either Red, blue or green, this gives you colour perception. There is a bit at the back called the focal point and it's full of cones which is why at night you can sometimes see things out the corner of your eye that you can't see when you look straight at them. If you are missing a specific type of cone or photo receptor it makes you colour blind for specific colours. Ie if you don't have red or green cones your red/green colour blind and you really suck at snooker and have no fashion sense

In summery Deer are colour blind.

Birds can definately see orange.

If you want further reading try http://health.howstuffworks.com/eye3.htm

[...dan]

Well as the title says, why do people go to great lengths to wear all camo clothing from the head down then wear bright orange vests or hats - Now I fully understand the orange is for the visiblity of other hunters to identify a fellow hunter, but does this not defeat the purpose of all the camo gear?

Thanks!!

For most species no, the orange won't defeat the purpose at all. Most mammals other than primates have fairly poor colour perception, especially of the longer wavelengths like red and orange. There's been a fair bit of study of colour vision of deer and of horses for example, and their eyes just don't have the necessary structure to perceive orange. They are however capable of distinguishing colours at the shorter wavelengths from blue to UV, and they see these better than us, so blue jeans are best avoided, as well as detergents with "optical brighteners", which cause the clothes to fluoresce in the UV end of the spectrum, which stands out like dogs balls to deer. Much the same seems to be true of horses.

Cats and dogs (and probably foxes) don't have good colour perception at all, but in this case the function of the camo is to break up the distinctive human silhouette.

Of course there's more to camo than a fancy set of clothes though, and such things as covering your hands, face and neck are at least as important, as are movement, wind, use of cover etc. I haven't found that wearing an orange vest or hat has hindered me in getting really close to a range of game species from rabbits, cats and foxes up to deer.

BTW birds and for that matter fish tend to have excellent colour vision. Many use colour for signalling, and are better able to perceive colour than even humans. For this reason orange vests aren't the go if birds are on the menu.

[waydog]

camo and camo patern on orange break up the human outline/shape.

[blusokx]

Well thanks guys. That certainly answered my question!! I appreciate your efforts.

Brett

[phillip2007]

so is the fluro yellow safe for deer hunting as well.? as everyone seems to go orange

[MattyV]

Nice answers Bish and Dan!! Very Imformative

[El Toad Man]

+1 Dan, good post!

Against most mammals, fluoro orange will look like another shade of green. If it's got a camo pattern though it, it will be like wearing green camo.

Colour blind is an often misused term, usually referring to having less colour receptors (cones) than the average human. It does not usually mean "inability to see colour", but is more like "less defined colour".

Birds however, have excellent colour vision. Cockatoos seem to be attracted to flouro orange. Screeching cockies are great for scaring away game!

[muzza64]

Exactly El Toad Man - colour blind is very misused in the animal kingdom. As already said the "rod" cells in the eye (human and animal) that are responsible for the low light end of the spectrum and this is where most animals excel. Also, we all know about the coloured eyes when spotlighting - a dead give away for foxes etc. - this is because they get a second go at light entering the eye due to a reflective layer that bounces light back through them.....Not really fair, but thats all part of the hunt.

Muz

[123wsm]

You don't have to get sucked into the latest Camo pattern either,

They are only for the trendies who want to look good in camp or town.

Or have this years pattern on. "Didn't you wear that last year"

and most are useless at distance as all the colours merge

Break Up patterns are the best,

Or any clothes with large colour sections (exlcluding White, Yellow or Blue)

So your yellow is a no no Phil

[Matty_22-250]

There is a bit at the back called the focal point and it's full of cones which is why at night you can sometimes see things out the corner of your eye that you can't see when you look straight at them.

Just a little more to this. When looking at things at night and trying to focus look to the left or right of the object. This is because the rods are on the outer edge of the iris and during the day you predominatly use the cones and look straight at things. The human eye has about 120 million rods and 6 million cones. The cones take 9 minutes to adjust to changes in light whilst the rods can take hourse depending on the variance in light.

(just a little something I learned when I joined the Army)

[Matty_22-250]

Birds however, have excellent colour vision. Cockatoos seem to be attracted to flouro orange. Screeching cockies are great for scaring away game!

Apparently the tawny owl's eyes are 100 times more sensitive at night than a humans. (learnt that last weekend lol at a zoo)

**sorry not trying to have something to say against everyone's post either, just sharing my useless bits of info**

[Weihrauchpower]

You don't have to get sucked into the latest Camo pattern either,

They are only for the trendies who want to look good in camp or town.

Or have this years pattern on. "Didn't you wear that last year"

and most are useless at distance as all the colours merge

Break Up patterns are the best,

Or any clothes with large colour sections (exlcluding White, Yellow or Blue)

So your yellow is a no no Phil

I wear Realtree but have always stuck with just a few patterns. Advantage Timber, Hardwoods and Hardwoods Green (in the U.K).

Trust me, i try not to be seen wearing full realtree camo anywhere apart from when i'm hunting, then i don't have to try at all.

[kirragc]

Humans brains also focus on the centre of vision as well. Other animals dont do this especially ones with eyes on the sides of their heads and high sensitivity to tone. They are tuned to looking a wide area and being perceptive to movement. they are no where near as stereoscopic as humans.

Think as if you are staring into the middle distance and try to be aware of every little thing in you entire field of vision. ANd then think that they can see another 40 degrees on each side and can hear and smell better than you