Camo Pattern Selection

[LLOYD]

For Western states hunting, particularly Wyoming and Montana, does anyone have a preference on Camo patterns? Specifically, how do you feel about the more open patterns(i.e. Cabelas Open Country or Outfitter Camo, Kings, etc.)VS. the more traditional patterns such as Advantage Timber, Mossy Oak New BU, Realtree HD patterns? I realize that some people feel it makes no difference, but if you were in the market to purchase some new Cabelas outerwear what would your preferences be?

[Yooper]

One of my favorites has been Advatage MAX 4HD. I picked it up for waterfowling and have found it to highly effective for just about every situation I've hunted. I like to go for as much concealment as possible and with MAX-4 being so widely accepted, I can all the accessories I need and even have some selection in thing like gloves and facemasks.

That being said, I really like the Cabela's Seculsion Open Country pattern and Seclusion 3-D seems to fit in really well too. I have yet to see MAX-1 camo but the ads look nice. Mossy Oak's Brush camo looks really good.

Cabela's Konifer pattern is hands down the best pattern I've seen yet for hunting in the pines, something I do quite a bit. Might have to get me some of that!

Usually what I look for in a pattern is not so much the camo itself, but the shadowing effect. I look for what I think will blend in best with the background. Take a look at a picture of a grassy, open field. You'll see a lot of blades of grass. Now take them out of the picture and what do you see? I hunt a green alfafa field for early season geese. Until a short while ago, I used all types of camo to find a way to blend in. One day, I wore out my turkey hunting camo, Mossy Oak Forest Floor and it blended in great due to the shadows.


Great topic!

[Coug]

My personal open county favorite is the Cabela's outfitter camo. It isn't really a fancy intricate pattern but it sure works in a wide variety of open country and prairie applications. It does a great job of avoiding the "blobbing” effect that can occur with some of the darker patterns. Good hunting.

Coug

[nash1519]

I Live In Montana And Mostly Hunt For Elk And Deer In The Western Part Of The State. I Have Used Konfir Pattern "made By Dickies"the Only Thing I Really Didn't Like About It, Can Be Noisy In The Dense Timber. I Usally Try To Stay With Some Sort Of Fleece It Is Much More Quite For Hunting In Bow Season Mossy Oak Advantage Timber Pattern Has Worked Well For Me.

When I Hunt Antelope In The Eastern Part Of The State Or Grassy Areas, I Like The Paraire Ghost Pattern It Blends In Well With The Open Praire Lands Of Eastern Montana And I'm Sure It Would Work Well In Wyoming

Good Luck
Nash1519

[wrenchbender]

I live in western Kansas and really like Predator camo. It works well in the open grass areas as well as river bottoms. Ipurchased the brown deception pattern from cabellas and used it for spring turkeys. I had no troublewith turkeys or the many deer that came within 10 feet of me. It is not a picture perfect camo like the major brands but I feel it works better than the others. It really breaks up your outline.

[MNHunter]

Predator camo is awesome - I have used fall grey for years and it breaks up your outline great. Another camo would be ASAT camo. These patterns work great in all terrains from my experience.

[wrenchbender]

MNHunter, glad to see someone else likes Predator camo. I'll tell you what sold me on Predator camo. I was turkey hunting last spring and got caught by some deer coming out of the river bottom. I was sitting by a tree but not against it, and with no other cover around. Two does came within feet of me, even looked directly at me. This went on for about 10-15 min. until they finally caught my scent. They ran about 15 yards away, stopped and stammped trying to scare off what they smelled but couldn't see. They finally left and never did see me. I feel that if I had on typical camo with no backround cover they would have seen my shape and bailed out. The large open pattern must have worked or these two does were blind, Ha,Ha. I would recommend Predator camo to anyone for any terrain and any season. I've not used ASAT camo but it looks interesting also.

[turner1978]

Most of the camo patterns are good designs and they do exactly what they were designed to do. It has always been my theory to mix it up a litle bit. For example I will wear alight colored camo pants and a darker colored coat with light gloves and hat. This stratagy has always worked well and has alowed me to get very close to elk and deer during the archery season. Camo is designed to break up your pattern and by mixing up my camo it breaks up my sillouet even more. If you look at someone from a distance with matching camo on there whole body they are easy to identify as a human body. But by mixing up diferent colors of camo it is even more dificult to pick out the body shapes.

[solestrutter]

another good pattern is lod military unifors. work great in all enviornments and is real cheap to. for those of you wanting newer patters mossy oak absession is a great patten and it really works.

[airborne]

You could go broke buying all the good stuff that works in every situation. Before deciding on a camo pattern, decide on where you will hunt and the weather conditions. I have a camo outfit with lots of brown leaves on it for when I hunt on the ground in late fall, one with lots of green leaves for hunting on the ground for spring turkey or in the trees during early archery. I find that faded mossyoak breakup is great for in the trees during late fall and early winter. It has a greyish look. I have thin wet weather suits, along with med weight and cold weather. Let's not forget orange camo and snow camo. I guess the point is you need alot of diffrent patterns. Make sure the pattern you choose matches the environment you plan to hunt in, be it on the ground or in a tree. You wouldn't wear a cattail pattern if you were hunting in hemlock. Turner 1978 is right on. I will wear pants with brown leaves and a shirt with green leaves if I hunt turkey. My legs blend in with the ground and the green pattern helps blend in with the bush. Deer are color blind but can still see shade diffrences just like we did on old black and white TVs. Camo only helps to hide your outline and slow movement. Hope this helps.

[tmag41]

I personally use the more open patterns for where I hunt, such as Cabela's Original Outfitter pattern and Predator Camo's Fall Gray. Everything else makes me stick out like a raisin on white bread. The area I hunt is mostly popple trees mixed with a few oaks. Natural Gear would also be a good bet.

[11-87rem]

IMHO, one of the best camo patterns was the original gray Real Tree. It was one of the first breakthroughs in camo and is still as good as any when woods hunting. Some of the new ones are too dark. The one thing one must be careful of is looking like a dark blob. Older deer pick this out immediately and veer off. Wish I had bought a few more outfits of the gray Real Tree back when.

[airborne]

IMHO, one of the best camo patterns was the original gray Real Tree. It was one of the first breakthroughs in camo and is still as good as any when woods hunting. Some of the new ones are too dark. The one thing one must be careful of is looking like a dark blob. Older deer pick this out immediately and veer off. Wish I had bought a few more outfits of the gray Real Tree back when.

Buy MOSSY OAK BREAK UP in cotton and wash it several times. It gets a real gray look and has just enought white in it to blend in with snowy trees. I used mine last year during flintlock season and the guys had such a hard time seeing me that I wore an orange camo hat. I figure the hat was cheaper than a pine box.

[wrenchbender]

You guys are right in not wanting to look like a dark blob at a distance. That's why I like Predator Camo. I think that all camo patterns work when used in a situation where they blend into the backround. It is when you get caught in the open or don't have a perfect match to your pattern that you stick out. The more open patterns seem, to me, to break up your outline. With my Predator Deception camo a part of me always seems to blend in, even in limited cover. To me if a part of you matches your backround, then the rest is too broken to make into a human shape. Of course this is just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions.