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USA
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Posted: 9/21/2023 7:27:56 AM EDT
I just recently completed my hunter safety course and am planning to try my hand at hunting this fall for the first time. I'm not interested in trophy hunting, only providing meat for my family. I'll be hunting for whitetail deer on some private land I have access to in the Piedmont area of NC. The area is all woods, with some areas being almost entirely white pine, but some areas with deciduous trees as well. There are also a few areas with decently heavy brush. Basically it's typical NC woods. My question is regarding camo: how necessary is it, and is there an ideal or preferred pattern for this type of environment? Do I need to fork out money for some type of fancy Kryptek, or will whatever is on sale at Wal-Mart or Academy Sports suffice? Or will the smattering of coyote, gray, and ranger green clothing items I already have work well enough? And if it matters, I plan on just hunting from the ground at this point and not using a stand, as this is my first foray into hunting, I'm not ready to shell out a lot of money quite yet. Thanks for any help y'all can provide.
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Posted: 9/21/2023 7:37:52 AM EDT
[#1]
Aren't they color blind?
Here hunters wear orange so they don't shoot each other as often, still happens. |
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Posted: 9/21/2023 7:42:00 AM EDT
[#2]
The old guys sat on a stump wearing red wool coats. Don’t get too worried about camo . Your scent and the wind are bigger factors. Most states make you slap $5 worth of hunter orange over your fancy $200 camo suit. Just wear earth tones or cheap camo if you want and be still . Movement and scent will give you away before camo . Good luck hunting there’s nothing like it.
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KY, USA
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Posted: 9/21/2023 7:42:05 AM EDT
[#3]
In most scenarios camo is camo. In some areas a specific pattern can make a big difference (open areas out west, waterfowl marshes, etc), but most times pretty much any camo will do. People get too caught up and treat it as a fashion trend. Wear what ya got. I assume you’re talking about taking deer with a firearm as opposed to archery tackle, in which case you’re gonna need to abide by the blaze orange requirements in your state anyway. As a beginner it’s more important to learn woodsmanship, how to use the wind to your advantage, how to read terrain, etc.
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Posted: 9/21/2023 7:46:58 AM EDT
[Last Edit: turfengineer]
[#4]
Noise and scent are bigger issues. A good camo will break up the outline of a human body, but the colors aren’t important for deer. Any of the common patterns will work just fine, but that’s just the starting point to a successful hunt.
Good luck |
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MN, USA
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Posted: 9/21/2023 7:59:17 AM EDT
[#5]
Deer are not color blind, but according to biologists the receptors in deer’s eyes interpret colors differently than human eyes. Camo patterns work by disrupting your silhouette. Motion, noise discipline and staying downwind will impact your success much more than designer camouflage patterns.
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Posted: 9/21/2023 8:05:24 AM EDT
[#6]
Deer do see movement and shades of color. I try to break up my outline as much as possible. Your face and hands probably give you away more than anything, especially if the sun is shining on you. Shade is better. I basically use the same colors as when I’m turkey hunting. Anything with green, brown, tan, which covers most patterns.
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Posted: 9/21/2023 8:07:35 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Rodent]
[#7]
The best camouflage is sitting still. What catches their eye is movement. Wear a mask over your white moon face and gloves over your white hands fluttering like birds, though.
But vision is not their primary sense, or even their secondary. Play the wind and be quiet, too. My condensed advice for beginners is to find "funneling terrain" - anything that channels movement. Sit quietly there looking upwind and let the deer hunt themselves as they cruise for food or girlfriends or get pushed by other hunters who don't sit still. |
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Posted: 9/21/2023 8:13:33 AM EDT
[#8]
Think of camoflauge as a concept, not a pattern. I routinely hunt with a longbow wearing OD moleskin pants and a wool plaid shirt. I kill deer like this every year.
Shadows, sunlight, backdrop cover are all more important than what you are wearing. To be fair, I DO own and hunt in lots of camo, especially Sitka....but it is because they are designed and built like hunting clothes should be. Sitka is awesome because of it's warmth, pockets, flexibility, wind blocking....it's camo pattern is even on my list of importance. Ever wonder why camo patterns change all the time? Marketing. Sales. |
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Posted: 9/21/2023 8:27:56 AM EDT
[#9]
Lots of good advice above.
Get a tree stand and use it. Being 15 feet up a tree is the best camo. |
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Posted: 9/21/2023 9:15:40 AM EDT
[#10]
As stated , scent , movement are important . A cheap ground blind is great to eliminate scent and motion . Military surplus is a good bet for cheap camo .
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IN, USA
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Posted: 9/21/2023 9:23:53 AM EDT
[Last Edit: TSmasher]
[#11]
I have alot of money wrapped up in hunting. Guns, stands, calls, camo, tripods, packs, processing gear and land.
With that being said, I have killed alot of deer sitting on a chair in the woods. Deer don't see that well and we humans give them WAAAY to much credit. Especially if your gun season falls in mid November and your hunting private. Find a nice place to sit against a tree and you can kill deer. Don't start pouring money into unless you want to. Now killing a particular huge buck that you're trying to figure out is different then just killing any deer. Deer as a whole are not hard to kill. Edit: to put it into perspective, I've killd alot of deer sitting on a chair with a child anywhere from 6 to 11 with me. No ground blind and the kids were wearing those loud walmart snowpants. My 11 yo when he was 8 shot a doe with a crossbow like this at 5 yds. As pointing out above sit still and you can kill deer. |
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Posted: 9/21/2023 9:55:46 AM EDT
[#12]
Wear camo if you want. If you are not in a stand, definitely wear some orange, private land or not.
Be still. Be quiet. Be aware of which way the wind is blowing and try to be as scent neutral as possible. Mostly be still and be quiet. |
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Posted: 9/21/2023 10:09:28 AM EDT
[#13]
If your just out to kill a deer, any deer, it's all about wind and noise. I own zero camo designed specifically for whitetail hunting and i've been deer hunting for 30 years. Green/black/brown in some form based on foliage is all you need. I've had 25 deer eating and drinking within 20 yards of me when I was wearing a full blaze orange coverall. Don't overthink it.
The camo I do own is multi purpose for marsh, harvested grain fields, CRP/prairie grass, and western big game. Scenarios where camo is more important than being in the deer woods, but again, still not as important as wind and movement. |
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TX, USA
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Posted: 9/21/2023 10:20:19 AM EDT
[Last Edit: WayneB]
[#14]
As others have mentioned it's more about being still and scent. They know you are there even if you are still. I always imagined that I am in their living room and I am that new chair or picture on the wall that they never noticed before. Kinda like if you walk into your living room and somebody has moved some things around you will notice it and be like hmm what is different here.
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AR, USA
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Posted: 9/21/2023 10:43:46 AM EDT
[Last Edit: SC4eyes]
[#15]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Rodent: The best camouflage is sitting still. What catches their eye is movement. Wear a mask over your white moon face and gloves over your white hands fluttering like birds, though. But vision is not their primary sense, or even their secondary. Play the wind and be quiet, too. My condensed advice for beginners is to find "funneling terrain" - anything that channels movement. Sit quietly there looking upwind and let the deer hunt themselves as they cruise for food or girlfriends or get pushed by other hunters who don't sit still. ALL of this.  Most people think sitting/standing in one place is sitting/standing still, it isn't. Learn to be still, quiet, and not stinky.  If you have to move, move when a breeze blows and at the same speed things around you (leaves, weeds etc.) are moving. When walking only take two or three steps at a time, and LOOK around when you stop every time. That is how EVERYTHING in the woods moves. (except people...and dogs) 
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Posted: 9/21/2023 10:45:26 AM EDT
[#16]
I use a ghillie suit. But my forefathers slaughterd deer after coming home from work in red flannels and blue jeans
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Posted: 9/21/2023 10:56:39 AM EDT
[#17]
I hunt the same general area as you OP, though mostly in Siler City.
Like others have said motion and scent are the most important. That being said, I don't know why but I love buying new gear and camo. It makes no difference in the hunt, and I constantly swap back and forth based on what is there when I grab at it. Sometimes I will have a Kryptek shirt with old walmart mossy oak pants that I bought my first year of hunting. The biggest difference you will find is in the quality of the clothes. Kryptek is pretty nice, much better than your basic walmart stuff. I also like the Instinct line from Bass Pro/Cabelas. But if I am going to spend that much money, I tend to look at and buy Sitka instead. Just a little bit more and the quality/design is superior. If you're going to be hunting out of a ladder stand or ground blind, you won't need to worry so much about what makes Sitka gear nice though. How they have thought out keeping you warm, while being able to hike in to places and stay cool aren't usually necessary for ladder stand type hunting. In my opinion anyway, it is more useful when going out and stalking type of hunting. |
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USA
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Posted: 9/21/2023 7:40:48 PM EDT
[#18]
Thanks for all the input guys. It's very helpful and gives me a lot to think about. I know there are deer in the area where I'll be as I see tracks back there every time I'm back there, which is frequently. I'm planning to start paying close attention to where I see them, which way they're going, etc. to try to figure out where they might be sleeping vs. passing through.
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Posted: 9/21/2023 8:05:01 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Stryfe]
[#19]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Blackie: Deer are not color blind, but according to biologists the receptors in deer’s eyes interpret colors differently than human eyes. Camo patterns work by disrupting your silhouette. Motion, noise discipline and staying downwind will impact your success much more than designer camouflage patterns. I read a DNR biologist that said based on their rods and cones they can probably see blue. I hunt on public land so I wear orange and earth tones. I have a pair of green jeans and a pair of green overalls. Like others have mentioned pay attention to the wind and don't move. Hell some hunters don't see me. I do pick up camo gear in post season clearance because you can some good gear for less than buying normal stuff. |
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Posted: 9/21/2023 9:24:39 PM EDT
[#20]
Being still and quiet is more important than camo, at least for game other than deer.
Our grandfathers nearly extirpated whitetails wearing their work clothes. |
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Posted: 9/21/2023 9:54:53 PM EDT
[#21]
Just don't wear anything blue.
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KS, USA
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Posted: 9/21/2023 9:57:34 PM EDT
[#22]
Jeans and a flannel shirt is all you need
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Posted: 9/21/2023 10:05:51 PM EDT
[#23]
I hunt from the ground with a bow, ghost blind, and 1980s Woodland BDUs that were cheap and sometimes a 3D leaf suit top, face net to break my face and gloves
Play the wind Be perfectly quiet and perfectly still, on move ie bring gun up or draw bow, when the head goes behind a rock or tree. pay attention to the sun, don't highlight yourself, be in the shadows or at least no with the sun in your eyes. Plan an ambush based on sign and deer trails. |
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Posted: 9/21/2023 11:57:46 PM EDT
[#24]
Before you sit in your chair or sit on the ground clear the dead leaves away so you are on bare ground.
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Posted: 9/24/2023 7:07:45 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By ruffhowzer: Before you sit in your chair or sit on the ground clear the dead leaves away so you are on bare ground. This is a good tip. I wear whatever earth tones or camo deer hunting or orange during firearms. Doesn't matter much. Predators are a different story and I get meticulous with full snow camo everything. |
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Posted: 9/27/2023 10:59:54 AM EDT
[#26]
I"ve killed deer from 15yds archery from the ground wearing red sweat pants and a blue hoody. Camo really does not matter much.
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Posted: 9/27/2023 1:22:31 PM EDT
[#27]
When I first started hunting deer I was told you may get away with movement now and again and you may get away with a little noise, but you'll never get away with them getting your wind. Especially when you're within bow range.
Camo gives the hunter the ability to get away with a little movement. How much movement? Depends on the situation. |
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Posted: 9/28/2023 1:40:58 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By LoudLyle: The old guys sat on a stump wearing red wool coats. Don’t get too worried about camo . Your scent and the wind are bigger factors. Most states make you slap $5 worth of hunter orange over your fancy $200 camo suit. Just wear earth tones or cheap camo if you want and be still . Movement and scent will give you away before camo . Good luck hunting there’s nothing like it. I'll just quote this whole post cuz it's everything you need to know. |
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OK, USA
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Posted: 10/17/2023 7:09:40 AM EDT
[#29]
Buy a sitka stratus bib and jacket and then just buy all the insulation layers from anywere.
The windstopper in these are worth it and versatile.But you really don’t need camo,what you want is quite fitting clothing,it’s more a fashion statement. |
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OK, USA
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Posted: 10/17/2023 7:10:55 AM EDT
[#30]
I were a lot of Eddie Bauer pants in brown and grey,they also have a good sale once a year at 50% off.
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Posted: 10/18/2023 1:55:52 PM EDT
[#31]
if i was you i'd rethink the hunting off the ground only plan
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Posted: 10/18/2023 10:14:31 PM EDT
[#32]
I stalked this one to ten feet in drizzling rain wearing orange.
Wearing jeans and flannel with the orange vest would not have changed anything other than my comfort (the camo is rain gear). Movement, noise, scent all matter more than camo 
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WI, USA
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Posted: 10/19/2023 11:41:51 AM EDT
[#33]
My boy and I sat in a brushy hedge row with blaze orange on and had deer within 20 yards of us. A couple of them noticed us and gave us the head bob for a while... but not before presenting us easy broad side shots.
Camo isn't necessary to kill deer. The exact type/brand of camo is of zero importance for deer. |
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Posted: 11/16/2023 11:20:44 AM EDT
[#34]
Deer see hues of blue and yellow, similarly to a dog.
Orange is grayish to them. Camo just breaks up the blobs of solid color. Scent is nothing unless you're stalking for a close kill where you're coming up on a deer un detected. If you hunting in a stationary spot, go pee, poop or whatever within shooting range. Deer are curious and will come see what's going on. |
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