Camo - who uses it and which pattern?

[norseman]

47 minutes ago, WSA said:

Well, as they say, elk don't know how many legs a horse has, eh?

 

But, we are talking about a BF, after all. An animal we assume to be smarter than the average bear. No sure what quadrupeds were native to the vicinity, besides mule deer, but if we believe a BF can't tell the tread of a delicate cloven hoof and a fully loaded (and steel shod) horse, we might want to reevaluate our assessment of their capabilities. Apparently, they ain't none too bright.

 

They were in a sandy crick bottom. The steel shoes will sound no different.

 

If I blind folded you or 100 other people and walked my saddle mount or pet moose past you in sand? I bet it would be a 50/50 flip of the coin.

 

Bigfoot apparently should be working for JPL designing mars rovers or something. Scratch that. He should have his own Bear Grylls style survival show. We could blindfold him and have him guess how many pine cones are in a tree. Or how many fish are in the lake! Sheesh.

[WSA]

And with crick shingle everywhere? Not so sure, but a valid point. I'd defer to any who have walked that ground because it is just an educated guess for me. Still, I could see the random cobble getting knocked and giving away their position.

 

As to its abilities, I am of the opinion it is somewhere N. of your average 18th century Chiricahua. In other words, scary adapted and dialed in to a degree that would seem supernatural and prescient to the rest of us, even to you Norseman.  

[norseman]

Even for me? Im a mule skinner....... 6’3” 250 lbs. Im no Apache.

 

But Im gonna defend camo, not because its the magic bullet. But its a tool in the tool bag!

[norseman]

Good advice from Don Shipley.

 

 

[hiflier]

Hi everyone, just got back from the Shenandoah National Park. Six days of incredible beauty and a nice respite from the bare trees and lawns in Maine. No internet either which I didn't mind at all! Currently sitting in a State Park in Pennsylvania with a three nights ahead of me before arriving home. Internet here as you can see so I have been catching up on things here on the BFF. This thread is interesting and thank you, Norseman, for starting it. For myself I go as scentless as possible but no camo. I dress in mostly earth tones with dungarees and do not stalk anything. I look for signs and work on getting better at that along with tracking. As far as what has been said about normal folks having encounters I would have to agree that while camo has its place and purpose it isn't, as Norseman said, the be all to end all.

 

I will take advantage of this topic and post an excerpt from my book and you will see that I think taking advantage of Sasquatch's apparent natural curiosity may be the better road to follow:

 

From "The Sasquatch Hunter's Field Manual":

"If one can access their chosen site by vehicle then setting up camp is easy. If one parks and has to walk in, then one has a different course to take with its own set of hurdles. When going in don't be shy. Making noise is not something to avoid but rather something to endeavor to do. Any bears in the area will usually leave and so there should be no surprises on that front. An animal like Sasquatch which might be drawn to investigate noises will eventually arrive at one obvious conclusion: a Human or a group of Humans has entered the habitat. It seems ironic that stealth isn't to be part of approaching the location chosen as a base camp when one would normally think the complete opposite should be true. The nature of Sasquatch allows, if not requires, that there is a better chance for an encounter if a Human presence is in some way announced ahead of one's arrival.

 

Don't hurry the walk in but instead enjoy it while carefully studying the scene around you. This can be something that you and everyone on a team can endeavor to do along with conversing in normal tones. There simply is no need to enter the habitat quietly thinking that any Sasquatch would be driven away by Human noise; especially when reports suggest the opposite. Laughter and even playing a flute or harmonica can make the attraction more seductive. Over the years there is no doubt that the Human shape in it various forms has become a familiar sight, including backpacks and hats in all colors, so don't worry and enjoy the journey."

 

Don't be fooled by the seeming nonchalance of the above two paragraphs though. The book is about grassing a Bigfoot and getting the body to science. ONE BODY TO SCIENCE. If the creature is as curious as just about everything I've read says that it is then the two paragraphs above should be interpreted as "draw it in and then.....shoot it!" First and foremost though is to find a dead one or its skeleton. So make no mistake, shooting one is the absolute last resort.
 

Edited May 11, 2018 by hiflier

[scottv]

What are the olfactory capabilities of the other apes? My understanding is that they are not that much better than our own. Yes people that have to hunt and gather for a living pick up on scents better than most of us but no matter how long one lives in nature you'll never have the capabilities of a wolf, bear etc. Do gorilla, chimp, orangutan or gibbon researcher worry that much about scent when they go in the field? Is there any real evidence that bigfoot has much better olfactory sense than other apes or is this speculation? Just wondering.

[ShadowBorn]

The way I see it is that camo is there for a reason and if it can help you then you might as well use it. This also goes with scent free stuff as well and this stuff helps out a lot. If you can sit still in one place for a long amount of time you will see a lot of creatures that most people do not see. I also know that these creatures do use the wind to wind us just like any other wild animals that are out there and I am sure that their sense of smell is way more heighten then ours for their survival.

 

The reason I say is that I happen to notice this on a trail as I walked it. I started to get this strong bed smell following me on this trail as I was walking back to my truck during hunting season.  The wind was blowing towards my direction which was coming from the northeast and I was walking north and what ever it was that was smelling so bad was just northeast of me running parallel with me on the trail. I stopped and started to lift up my nose to get a good wiff of what was following me. what ever it was must have notice that I must have smelled it and fell back so it's smell would blow behind me as I walked up the trail. Every so often I would catch it smell since the wind would change. Now this in an area that I know these creatures were in. You can say it could all be speculation But not in my mind. They know how they smell and understand the wind and use it. Not sure if primates are smart enough to do this except humans.

 

But I will always go with scent free clothing and soap and deoderant with shampoo out into the woods.

[17x7]

The problem with camo is that we just don't know what critters see.  Do they see colors we don't, like UV, or see them differently?  How do they see the repeating patterns against the backdrop of grass or forest?  I always thought camo was less about this pattern or that, and more about shape, sound, and basic color.  It just made sense to me to wear clothes in basic earth tones.  I typically wore a pair of black cotton jeans that had faded to an uneven gray.  Over that, I put a fleece poncho that reached to my knees in browns and greens.  Never washed that poncho, but stored it in a bag with a piece of cedar bough.  The things I liked best about that poncho was it was really quiet against brush and such, and it changed my shape.  No matter the pattern, camo pants and shirt still leave you shaped like a human.  You retain your outline.  In that poncho, I became a blob.  Sit down and I became a bump.  A mound.  I had lots of things walk right past me while I sat in the shadows, hat drawn low over my eyes, under that poncho.  A couple of deer hunters nearly stepped on my foot once.

I don't know what BFs see.  It just makes sense to me that if I am the same color as my surroundings, and have a common shape, I won't stand out to the things that live there.  If my goal is to blend in, that seems like a good start.  Now, if creating curiosity it the goal... sequins and a bucket of chicken might be in order.

 

17x7

[wiiawiwb]

I'll have to respectfully disagree that camo pants and shirt leave you shaped like a human.  There are certain macro patterns that eliminate the human shape. The most notable is ASAT which has been around for 35 years and has never changed their pattern. ASAT (All Season All Terrain) is designed for hunting because it so successfully breaks up the human shape.

The light tan background reflects the colors around it so you could be in a green environment and still be camouflaged:

http://forums.bowsite.com/tf/pics/00small10327694.JPG

http://forums.bowsite.com/TF/pics/00small20868964.JPG

or in a wooded forest against a tree:

https://ixquick-proxy.com/do/spg/sho...3adf60ab7f751b

or grassy area in Fall:

http://www.bowhunting.net/Hunts/Wade...ayLiechty.html

or in a tree stand:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xMi7z4S0J_...asat_stand.jpg

 

 

[norseman]

I think your both right to a certain degree. Disruptive patterns do a better job than solid colors. But physically erasing the human upper torso requires more than a shirt or coat.

 

Viper hoods are becoming all the rage.

[Airdale]

On 5/16/2018 at 2:32 AM, 17x7 said:

The problem with camo is that we just don't know what critters see.  Do they see colors we don't, like UV, or see them differently?  How do they see the repeating patterns against the backdrop of grass or forest?  I always thought camo was less about this pattern or that, and more about shape, sound, and basic color.  It just made sense to me to wear clothes in basic earth tones.  I typically wore a pair of black cotton jeans that had faded to an uneven gray.  Over that, I put a fleece poncho that reached to my knees in browns and greens.  Never washed that poncho, but stored it in a bag with a piece of cedar bough.  The things I liked best about that poncho was it was really quiet against brush and such, and it changed my shape.  No matter the pattern, camo pants and shirt still leave you shaped like a human.  You retain your outline.  In that poncho, I became a blob.  Sit down and I became a bump.  A mound.  I had lots of things walk right past me while I sat in the shadows, hat drawn low over my eyes, under that poncho.  A couple of deer hunters nearly stepped on my foot once.

I don't know what BFs see.  It just makes sense to me that if I am the same color as my surroundings, and have a common shape, I won't stand out to the things that live there.  If my goal is to blend in, that seems like a good start.  Now, if creating curiosity it the goal... sequins and a bucket of chicken might be in order.

 

17x7

 

Not sure what part of the country you live in, 17x7, or if it makes a difference, but being indistinguishable from the  landscape in big game season is inviting disaster. A nice buck grazing unawares a few yards away is awesome, we often have them in our yard in the Elkhorn Mountains. But to a hunter settling his crosshairs on said buck, your "bump" may appear as a safe back stop for a miss or through and through shot. Hunter Orange has prevented many an accidental shooting over the decades. Suddenly startling an armed individual is also generally considered unwise. Outside hunting season though, it sounds like you've developed an effective observational tactic.

[norseman]

http://www.hunter-ed.com/blog/blaze-orange-regulations-every-state/

 

Not all states require hunter orange.

 

But with most game animals like deer, orange-red is invisible to them.

[NCBFr]

I don't care what you are wearing and how much scent blocker you use, if you are moving, you will be seen thanks to the amacrine cell of which BFs have in abundance due to their very large eyes.  This tread is only useful as a BF hunter if you are the type to go sit in a spot for 8 hours and hope that one walks by.  Seriously, what are the chances of that?   

 

The one common theme with my encounters is I was in the wrong spot at the wrong time and pissed them off and they let me know it.  

[wiiawiwb]

"Seriously, what are the chances of that?"

 

I would submit that sitting and letting one come to you is better than the approach of doing calls and thinking you're going to outwit one into thinking you're a sasquatch.

 

[17x7]

On 5/17/2018 at 6:59 PM, Airdale said:

 

Not sure what part of the country you live in, 17x7, or if it makes a difference, but being indistinguishable from the  landscape in big game season is inviting disaster. A nice buck grazing unawares a few yards away is awesome, we often have them in our yard in the Elkhorn Mountains. But to a hunter settling his crosshairs on said buck, your "bump" may appear as a safe back stop for a miss or through and through shot. Hunter Orange has prevented many an accidental shooting over the decades. Suddenly startling an armed individual is also generally considered unwise. Outside hunting season though, it sounds like you've developed an effective observational tactic.

 

While I appreciate your concern, it is obvious that you haven't been shot at specifically because someone thought they could hit "that big red thing" standing in a clearing waving it's (my!) arms.  Fortunately, they were lousy shots.  Anyway, I decided to take my chances at just being unseen all together than setting myself up as a target.

17x7